Websites are now one of the most important marketing tools for businesses and individuals. A website is the official online identity of a company or business owner, and its importance comes down to these points:
1. Why a website matters: your official online identity
A website is your official online identity. Most internet users worry about whether information is genuine, and they’re cautious about trusting businesses, especially when it comes to paying. They can’t always tell whether the information really comes from the company, whether the person they’re talking to actually represents it, or whether a payment is going to the business or to a scammer. Having your own website builds trust, because visitors know they’re dealing with the company directly, with no middleman. The same applies between businesses: many companies, especially in Europe, the US, Canada and the Gulf, avoid working with any business that doesn’t have a website.
2. Why a website matters: lower printing costs
Most companies used to rely almost entirely on printed material to present their services, products and past work. Print comes with several challenges:
- High printing costs and prices that keep changing.
- The extra cost of changing anything, such as the details of a service or product, or adding or removing a product. Every change means reprinting everything and throwing away the old copies.
- Distribution: you have to hand out printed material in person or send it by courier or post, which adds cost and limits your reach to the people you can meet.
- Mistakes: if there’s a typo or a printing error, you can’t fix it without redesigning and reprinting. Find out how much it costs to design a website here
3. Why a website matters: easy access
A website works differently from any other sales or marketing tool. It handles several jobs that save a lot of time and effort, and can even reduce the staff you need in some departments:
- Search: Most people now use search engines like Google to look for products, companies or a specific business. A website makes it easy for customers to find you and all the details of your services or products without any effort.
- Presentation: A website presents information about your company and services in a clear, organized way. Customers can learn about you on your About page, read the details on your Services page and find every way to reach you on your Contact page.
- Filtering: One of the biggest challenges for any business is dealing with people who aren’t serious buyers, usually because they don’t know enough about your services, products or how to buy. You end up wasting a lot of time on calls and meetings with people you know won’t sign, either because they’re missing information or have the wrong idea about what you offer. Your website can explain all your services and products in detail, including the whole process, how you handle shipping or bookings, and answers to common questions. That filters out many people who were never going to buy, so the ones who contact you already have the information they need and are far more serious.
- Distribution: Unlike print, sharing your website with potential customers couldn’t be easier. You might be on the phone or in a quick meeting with no brochure to hand over. Just tell the customer your domain name or website address (such as kemetova.com.eg), and they can open it on their computer or phone and see all your services and everything you want them to know, at no extra cost beyond building the site.
- Sales and bookings: Unlike print, your website can actually work as a member of your sales team. You can offer products, services, even property or hotel rooms for sale or booking online. A guest can open the room they want, choose their check-in and check-out dates and fill in all the details you need, and you can add online payment if you like. It saves a lot of time and effort, and gives you a separate sales channel that needs very little follow-up.