Africa Basics: Websites For Small Businesses

Sawubona Africa!

If you’re a small and medium business owner without a website, you must have pondered over the following questions: –

1. Do I really need a website? What good it’ll do for my business?
2. What’s the use of a website? My customers won’t even take a look at it.
3. Designing a website is expensive? Is it really worth the investment?
4.  We are a local business. Social Media works fine for us. Why do we need a website?

Now this calls for throwing some light on such doubts and misunderstandings about owning a website. The truth is irrespective of the size, all businesses need a website. However, this does not mean your business needs a complicated website, with heavy functionality and rich graphics. A lot of businesses do really well with a simple informational website of 4-5 pages. A basic website comprises of:-

• A homepage (with some basic information about your business)
• Products/Services section
• Contact information page
• and perhaps, some info on the industry you serve or client testimonials.

So, what is the value-addition is here? Let’s see

An easy way for prospects to learn about your business

Yes, you read that right. With the no. of mobile users surpassing the desktop users in Africa, the Internet has replaced telephone directories, Yellow-Pages, and other printed mediums. Every time a user wants to acquire information, his/her first action is to use internet search on their mobile device. In addition, telephone calling and voicemail for follow-ups is a tedious process.

Secondly, a website enables customers to learn about your business in an easy way at their own pace. This may give a boost to your business’s sales inquiries.

Also, read  6 Know-how to a Mobile Ready Business.

Cost Optimization

Instead of redesigning your advertisements for print media (Banners, Newspapers, Magazines etc.), business owners can publish the relevant updates on the website. All it requires is to redo the copy/caption and integrate it with the website. Hence, business owners can save up on a large amount of offline advertising cost.

A touch point for all questions your customers have

Business owners can put up a FAQ section or a terms-of-service section on the website. Additionally, a chat window or a contact form can enable visitors to directly interact with the customer support function.

First Impressions Matter!

A well-designed web-site acts as an extension to your brand. In fact, It can leave a positive impact on your prospects. An easy-to-use website, which addresses all the implicit questions a potential client may have, results into an approachable mindset.

Websites Expand Your Reach!

This is a major advantage for businesses capable of selling their products and services beyond their own geography. A simple web-site optimized for search engines and social media can give such businesses a higher visibility. As a result, organizations can cater to new clients from a different geography

Better Than Social Media Alone

A web-site can act as a hub for all the content you share on social networks. There’s a limit to how much you can share on social media. Express your ideas without any restraints and then bookmark them on your favorite social platforms.

Accomplish your business objectives

For instance, business owners can: –

1. Do eCommerce by integrating a shopping cart
2. Generate a business contact list through a newsletter sign up
3. Educate prospects through a blog

and much more. It might require a little brainstorming to find alignment between business objectives and the site, but the effort can lead to charming results.

Next Steps…

The aforementioned points are just a few of many benefits your small business can gain from a web-site. Although the effort of setting up and maintaining a web-site may require some time and money, the long-term implications are worth it.

For a business ready website tailored as per your business requirements, Click Here