If you’re looking to grow your client base, increase sales or increase your brand awareness, having an up to date website is paramount. There used to be a saying that if you didn’t have a business card, you didn’t have a business. This saying really does hold true with websites nowadays. If your customers can’t find you online, you might as well not exist in their eyes. Not only that, but your website must be accessible and responsive from mobile devices.
According to Statcounter, a research company that tracks internet usage on approximately 2.5 million websites, 51.3% of pages were loaded from mobile devices in October of 20161. This was the first-time mobile devices have surpassed desktop and laptop computers. This means that your website should function just as well from a phone or tablet since this number is only expected to grow!
If someone is searching for landscape or maintenance work in your geographical area, chances are they could be using Google or Yahoo to try and find a local business to do the work. Even if your company gets a lot of referrals, people are likely still to search for you online to see the services you offer and portfolio before contacting you. If you do great landscaping work but have an old outdated website (or no website) that doesn’t show off your work, you could be missing out on quite a lot of potential sales and leads that are looking to know what they can expect if they hire your company. First impressions go a long way, and first impressions of websites are no different. If your website is old and outdated, you’re doing your company a disservice by not updating it and potentially losing out on sales!
By having an updated website available for potential customers to research, you’re also saving yourself time by dealing with less prospecting phone calls or calls with leads that are looking for services that you don’t offer. Not to mention that your website is also always online and available to your customers even if your business may be closed. Customers and leads can still find you even after hours or on weekends when your phone lines might be closed.
Websites help you keep in touch with your customers.
Another reason to have a website is so you can keep in contact with your customers. By keeping in touch, you’re giving your customers a constant reminder about your services. The next time they need work done to their yard, for example, they’re likely to think of you for the job! You can communicate to your customers easily by running a newsletter and it can highlight that you’re offering deals or promotions, new services, upcoming events, etc. You don’t have to send out a newsletter every week either. Even a quarterly newsletter with updates for each seasons service offerings would be a great start.
Lastly, a great reason to have a website is that it gives you instant credibility and can really make your company look more professional. With most websites, you can also get your own email domains as well which will resonate a lot more with your customers than a Gmail or Hotmail account would! It’s easier to remember for your clients and more professional as well.
With a relatively low barrier to entry in making a website or getting one created for you, there’s really no reason to not have a website in 2017!
