Our recent study on Small Business Online Presence revealed that a staggering 74% of small businesses in Uganda are missing out on the benefits of having a website. By not having a website, these businesses are losing potential customers and falling behind their competition. Don’t be one of them – unlock your business’s potential today by investing in a website.
Contrary to what some may believe, having a website is crucial for all businesses, not just those operating in the online or e-commerce space. Join the ranks of successful companies and learn about the Price of having a Website today.
Common Objections Business Owners Make Against Having a Website
I have listed the most common objections below, along with our typical responses.
- “My business is too small to afford a website.” This is the most common objection we hear from small business owners. Look—your website is your number one marketing asset. Saying you don’t have the budget for it is like saying you don’t have the budget for an LLC license—you’re going to get in big trouble later if you don’t fork over that initial investment. Get a website—it doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but it needs to exist and be discoverable by search engines.
- “I have sufficient business and do not require a business website.” Even if you have more business than you can handle, you still need a website; there are no ifs, ands, or buts. After all, having more clients is always beneficial for business.
Why You Need a Business Website No Matter Your Industry
Our in-depth analysis of connected small businesses in Uganda reveals that those embracing digital advancement are not only thriving but also setting the standard for success in the modern marketplace. These businesses;
- Earned two times as much revenue per employee
- Experienced revenue growth over the previous year that was nearly four times as high
- They were almost three times as likely to be creating jobs over the previous year
- Had an average employment growth rate that was more than six times as high
This applies to all industries, even industrial and manufacturing. Digital advancement starts with a website. If that’s not enough to convince you, here are eight non-negotiable reasons you need not just a website, but an optimized and accessible one.
More than 30 percent of consumers wouldn’t consider a business without a website.
Your website is your number one marketing asset because we live in a digital age. Americans spend, on average, 23.6 hours online per week and are on their mobile devices for up to five hours per day. By now, consumers expect companies to have an online presence (including a website) and will consider a company that DOESN’T have one as less professional.
People are searching for you online.
One of the benefits of having a website for small businesses is to be where your consumers are. There’s a reason so many companies invest in a website with search engine optimization (SEO): 97 percent of people go online to find a local business, and 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine. Believe it or not, there are 3.5 billion searches on Google per day, and at this very moment, there is someone in your area online searching for your exact service. Guess who’s getting their business? Not you.
The majority of consumers use websites to find and engage with businesses.
According to the Local Search Association’s (LSA) April 2017 report, “The Digital Consumer Study,” 63 percent of consumers primarily use a company’s website to find and engage with businesses. That’s a significant portion of consumers. Combine that with the fact that 93 percent of online experiences begin with a search engine—you do the math. Another compelling reason your business needs a website? Research by Yellow Pages and LSA found that, on average, consumers use approximately three sources before making an individual purchase decision, and 30 percent automatically strike a business from consideration if it doesn’t have a website.
Commercial transactions in all industries, including b2b and manufacturing, are influenced by digital website content.
The majority of companies without a website cite that their industry isn’t online, primarily from business owners in the B2B, industrial, and manufacturing sectors. A full 75 percent of B2B buyers say that digital website content significantly impacts their buying decision, and 62 percent say they can finalize their purchase selection criteria based solely on a website’s digital content.
Answer Frequently Asked Questions Quickly
People visit your website when they want to learn something or take action. They also expect immediate gratification, which means visitors should be able to answer three questions within three seconds of landing on your website:
- Who are you?
- What do you do/offer?
- How do I contact you?
Consumers want the information they seek instantly. This means your company’s website should answer each of the questions above without requiring the user to scroll through many pages.
The business website will empower you to conquer the Goliaths in your industry.
Having a business website in Uganda can help you beat the Goliaths in your industry if you can optimize it for search. The reason is simply that the internet offers small online businesses the same resources as larger ones. Therefore, the competition is on a level playing field.
A decrease in social media market research.
So, you think you don’t need a business website because you’re on Facebook. Great, so is every other business in Uganda. You need a business website in Uganda, even if you have a Facebook page. And guess what? It’s becoming increasingly challenging for businesses to engage with users on the platform. Within a week of the last Facebook algorithm update, organic reach plummeted to a level lower than it already was. Another bummer? In 2018, people spent 50 million fewer hours on the platform than they did in 2017.