There has been a fall in export prices, repeated budget deficits, an end to the biggest resource development period on record, a slow in productivity growth, wages growth slowed and real national income has contracted per capita since 2012.
This should make you pause for a moment and consider at least these three questions.
What does this mean for my business ?
How are you making it easier for your clients to find your website online ?
How easy is it for your clients to find your competition’s website online ?
It means that potential customers have less discretionary funds to spend in an ever increasing competitive space. It means that when a customer needs or wants to make a purchase they are going to be looking for more information, more pricing points and value.
The internet is the new home of comparison shopping.
Your business is competing against other businesses, both large and small. In your local area or over the internet.
If your potential customers can’t find you or worse still they find your website, but it doesn’t function on their device (mobile phone, tablet or even laptop) how does that make your business look?
Now that same customer who just looked at your non functioning website flicks across to your competitors site, which is mobile ready, which has video, audio and images, pricing, order and payment online functions and the ability to share, like and pin to social media.
Web design, responsive flowing design that appears the same on different devices levels the playing field between you and your competition. Instead of being judged on how your website is not working you are being evaluated on your product and service. Having your website online with consistent uptime, a responsive design no matter the device, and a big clear call to action for your potential clients to act on gives you and your business a chance to be seen and heard in the Internet market place.
What do you think happens to your sale then?
If your site is either non existent or not working properly. Your online brand is non existent or damaged. The client couldn’t get the information they needed to be informed and more to the point came away with the impression your business is not professional or at least doesn’t consider their online customers to be important enough to provide adequate time and energy too.
Now consider:-
Fewer and fewer people are opting to receive the printed directories that used to be so common place. At best these deliveries are relegated to a forgotten corner of the office or placed back into recycling after a few weeks.
Even the online versions are receiving less views than they were.
Google delivers a large chunk of the traffic to the places like yellowpages.com.au and whitepages.com.au. In fact global stats stat counter (http://gs.statcounter.com/) shows Google having a 93.11% market share of search in Australia from June 2014 to June 2015.
Even with the deal made between Google and Sensis to include Sensis customers in Google maps searches the Sensis stable of websites, yellowpages.com.au, truelocal.com.au and whitepages.com.au are no longer the place we ‘let our fingers do the walking’.
The Wrap.
Your website, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest account need to be accessible, clear, available and provide the information your potential customers are seeking. There is no point leaving your pricing off the website expecting them to call when they are doing their research at 9pm and your closed. Your competition will have a website, and it will have the information they are after.
60% of the population use a tablet (2014 Australian Mobile Phone Lifestyle Index) and are often sitting in front of the TV of an evening researching their next purchase.
Now ask your self these questions:-
How do my target market find my website online?
Is my website and social media presence able to attract clients and customers?
Are my products and services being found when potential clients search online?
If you don’t have a website or a online presence or its not done right you’re business is leaving money on the table.