Websites & Social Media – The New Storefronts
In the “old days”, businesses invested hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in their storefronts, corporate offices, outdoor signs, and more. These investments were made not only to provide a positive and welcoming experience for customers but also to showcase their brands, create credibility and inspire trust. Eventually guiding the customer to feel confident and comfortable patronizing and purchasing the end products or services.
In a way, this strategy is still the same. Except now there are “virtual” storefronts. These virtual storefronts are how your potential and current customers visit, research and make decisions. All before being anywhere near making an actual purchase on your site.
Yet, many businesses allow these digital sales funnels to go without maintenance. An empty social media page has the same mental effect as if a customer visits was visiting an empty, unkept store, with a salesman sleeping behind the counter. Same goes for websites. If you’re strolling down the Magnificent Mile window-shopping some breathtaking displays and then come to a window that you can barely see into, there’s very little chance you’re going to walk into that place. And you won’t be recommending it to your friends either.
The good news is, website design and social media management will not even come close to breaking your bank like a brick and mortar store with a beautiful sign will. There’s a chance to welcome and capture new customers that fits within your budget. Pricing can vary sure, but you need to invest in this experience as much as you would invest in the quality of products or services you are selling. Otherwise, it’s going to be extremely difficult to grow. After all, first impressions still matter.
Social Media
Whether you enjoy using Facebook or not, your business needs a page. As long as it continues to be around, it’s important to have. Depending on your business, it can be even more important than having a website. But I would place it just below that for most. Facebook not only gives you a ton of options to communicate with your audience, but also is extremely beneficial for being found on search engines.
What’s on that page when they click on it is also important though. Going to an empty Facebook page is just about as bad as getting an error when going to a broken website. The user is gone within 1 second.
It’s not easy managing social media. It takes the one thing business owners don’t have – time. That’s why businesses like Qwik Design exist. We put value on that time and optimize it to make sure it has a return of successful achievements of the goals your pages should have.
At the very minimum, you should be filling that page with quality content on a weekly basis. Whether it’s related articles, special offers, questions to your audience to drive engagement, or a plethora of other options.
Social media also changes every other week. Not every outlet is going to be beneficial to every business. I despise cookie-cutter approaches to marketing. Your business is unique. It deserves customized strategies tailored to achieving its specific goals.
Every business does not need an Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest TikTok etc. unless there is a strong case that there will be benefits from these platforms. Examples being a makeup artist must take advantage of instagram or an interior design firm can use Pinterest to show their styles and imagination. If you’d like our input on this, we’re here to help!
But at least get your Facebook page up!
Websites
Unless you’re on day 1 of starting your business, you most likely have a website. How old is it? If the answer is more than 2 years, you either need to seriously update it, or refresh with a new one. You may feel your business is doing just fine. You’re getting traffic, phone calls, sales, and even seeing your margins go up. But I can guarantee if your site is older than 2 years from the date of reading this blog, you’re making LESS than you could be making.
Why? Because the percentage of that traffic converting into paying customers is lower. Simple. Just like the new people driving by your dirty storefront are going to be less likely to come in when they see the owner isn’t showing enough passion to even keep their windows clean. Current customers who know at least the quality is there may still go in. But less and less new customers will arrive every day.
Websites are not just an aesthetic part of your business any more. Even if some one is only visiting just to get directions, phone numbers, or confirm an appointment. It’s part of their overall subconscious experience with your brand. And every red flag gets saved as a negative experience. This makes it easier for that “shiny new thing” to steal your customers or distract new ones from even noticing you.
Your website may need just to be updated to make sure it runs smoothly on all the new gadgets that come out every 6 months. Or you have a website that is older than your customers. In which case, just call us now!
Give Your Business The Digital Presence It Deserves
In all seriousness, treat your websites and social media as a vital organ of your business and not accessories. I stand by this with all customers I have talked to. I’ve said this many times, “If our price doesn’t fit your budget, find some one who does, I will even happily vet them for you. Just make sure you get this done.”
At Qwik Design, I make sure our whole team actually is invested in helping our clients. Sometimes that means we don’t get the job, but we pointed you in the right direction. Maybe you’ll be back once you find out we had your best interest in mind. Maybe that’s worth the investment alone. In fact, we’re betting on it!
