Update your old website before Brexit or a recession
When faced with this kind of uncertainty and insecurity, businesses naturally tend to try and tighten their belts. Planned projects are put on hold, investment is frozen and costs are cut. This, of course, feeds into the great self-fulfilling prophecy that makes many recessions worse than they need to be.
In fact, if hard times are coming then this might just be exactly the right time to make a positive move and prepare yourself. If it’s time that your website was overhauled, either because it’s tired and outdated or simply because it’s just not working hard enough, then this could be the time to do it.
If you’re still unsure, then here are some more recession-busting reasons for why now could be the right moment:
The cost and what you get for your money have never been better.
These days, to get a great-looking and high-functioning website doesn’t necessarily mean spending thousands on a high-end development team. Yes, you can still go that route if you want, but the improvements in programming and computing power mean it’s now possible to get a great website at a fraction of that price.
If a recession is coming, then you need to be doing all you can to maximise your potential.
That means that rather than just keeping business hours, you should try and keep up with the 24 hour business culture. If you don’t have the resources to make this happen with actual staff, then you can do it with a website.
A website with a working contact form, 24 hour shop or chat facility lets your customers enquire, engage and buy from you 24/7, even when you and your staff have clocked off for the day. If your site can’t currently offer these services, maybe it’s time that it did.
The other way to boost sales is to try and target a bigger market.
In the old days, a physical shop or business premises meant you were grounded by geography to your local area. But a website theoretically opens your business up to the world. You can sell across continents, access more lucrative markets, and grow your business without the huge expense of a physical expansion.
Companies like Airbnb and Uber have managed to conquer world markets with the staff you would normally associate with an SME. A good website gives you the power to tap into this kind of global potential. Why not apply the same thinking to local areas of the country that your business should be serving. Google search your business and look for what it should be showing up for and if it’s not — plan these targets into your website re-design. Learn to understand what your website traffic is telling you.
This is where your clients are
Whether you like it or not, the reality is that most of your clients are now online.
There are now around 4.2 billion people online around the world. And the one thing standing between you and all of them is the success of your website.
Of course, you don’t have to be targeting those kinds of numbers, but the reality is that more of your business transactions over the coming years will happen online. The smoother and easier you can make this process, the better your business will respond to the trend.
New customers are the engine that drive growth.
Even if you think you have a nice set of regular clients who keep you ticking over, your business will never grow in this way. Over time customers will drift away, as either their business or circumstances change. And if you’ve become complacent, then suddenly having to find new business can be tricky.
Which is why you should be starting the search now. And one key way of doing this is with a new website that can reach out to new customers. A well-designed website can position your company as an authority, boost branding, and create a presence in the market place. Even if you’re not looking to grow right now, having your website in place will make it that bit easier in the future.
The idea of a shop window makes perfect sense.
This was the place where you could display your goods and services so that passing trade could see what you were offering. A website acts as your shop window in the digital world. Use it to display your products through content such as pictures, videos, and animations.
Web users are your passing customers and your landing pages are your shop window. So, put as much time and effort into making them look good as you would a physical shop window.
Having social media accounts is essential in modern business.
It’s a way of reaching out and connecting with your customers. However, you need a place to direct them towards. Once you have made that all-important first connection, the next logical step is for them to find out more on your website. If it’s not up to scratch, then that’s where the relationship ends. Do it right and you can turn social media interest into sales.
All your marketing efforts should be part of a wider strategy.
Do it in a scattergun way and you risk losing any power that it might have. Central to your marketing strategy should be your website. This is the hub around which everything else revolves.
Your services don’t just end once the customer has paid for their goods.
You have a duty of care to them to be on hand to offer support. This is the kind of strategy that also helps to build long-term successful relationships. Your website should offer contact info, FAQs, instructions and guides to use — basically, anything that a customer might need after the sale to improve their experience.
Your website should be designed to make all of this easy to access and find. Establish yourself as an authority and you’ll keep them coming back for more.
You know what it’s like when you have one of those days when the phone just won’t stop ringing.
Customer after customer calls to ask you questions and you don’t seem to be able to get anything done.
Wouldn’t it be great if you had a permanent resource where you could address these issues — a place where you could put everything from opening hours to product descriptions? That’s exactly what your website can do, leaving you free to get on with your business.
If the recession is coming, then unnecessary expenditure is something you can avoid.
So, why print out flyers when you can do it online? Why use outdated physical marketing methods such as listings and directories when an SEO-friendly site could put you top of the Google rankings?
It might seem like spending on a new website you don’t absolutely need is not the best idea when a recession is coming. But sometimes the counterintuitive move is the best one. Prepare yourself for tough times ahead by revamping your website as part of an overall marketing strategy and you could give yourself the boost you need to ride out the recession and even get stronger as a result.
Originally published at https://www.itseeze-ashford.co.uk.
