A recent survey from IPSOS showed that 40% of SMEs don’t have a website and of those, 60% don’t feel it is important for their business.

That’s a pretty shocking statistic, especially when thinking how shopping, searching, reviewing and booking habits have changed over the last few years!

People are spending more time than ever online and it is more often than not, the first port of call when looking for specific information about a business, address, review or product. The recession has also impacted, making us more canny shoppers, looking online for offers, vouchers and thoroughly researching products we are interested in to ensure we are getting a good deal.

So, if you haven’t got a website yet, what is holding you back?

You may rely on word of mouth to get new business, but with people checking online to get more information about a business, do you really want to miss out?

Here’s a real example for you – One of my friends recommended a hair dresser to me, they had been going for years and really liked them but didn’t have their number to hand.  I took the name and did a search online – no website… I searched again wondering if I had misspelt the name and eventually found a listing on a site I hadn’t heard of before, but no information from the business itself.  By this time I was already losing interest in this particular business. I wanted to be able to easily find them and see what they had to offer!

It took me far too long to find their contact number, whereas if they had had a website giving their contact info, address and opening hours (at a basic website level) I could have quickly called and checked availability to book myself in.

Or they could have had a website with all the above, plus images of styles, their prices, special offers page and possibly an online booking tool and I could have booked myself in, knowing exactly what to expect price-wise.

Either of those 2 scenarios would have been much more positive than the first search I did. Word of mouth had got me interested in this particular business, but due to the nature of the way I now shop, I still looked for that online presence. 

Your customers are searching online, can they find you?

We've recently been out on the road meeting some of our website customers. Many of them had the realisation that their potential customers were now online and they needed to be available there to get found by them. One of them even got  business from Australia after a new customer found their new website from an online search - He was looking for local care for his elderly mother and found their service. Something that wouldn’t have been achieved by word of mouth.

Take a look at what they had to say by watching our videos.

If you are wondering about getting a new website or think your current website could do with a facelift to get better results, get in touch for a free 15 minute web review with one of our team. You can also take a look at the website design services we offer. We'd love to help you get your business online

And if you are looking for some inspiration, why not take a look at our portfolio?

We'd love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to leave us a comment!