Small businesses should have websites (Essay Sample)

Small Businesses should have Websites Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Course Instructor Date Small Businesses should have Websites In the modern world, technology has become a powerful tool that influences and changes consumer behaviors, and companies can go out of the market if they fail to go along with technology. All businesses require a website because information processed through the internet influences consumer behaviors. Consequently, all small businesses should have websites because it allows them to establish credibility, have a powerful marketing channel, and gain competitive advantage. A website can enable a small business to establish credibility. In the modern world, all customers expect a company to have a website, just like they used to require a legitimate business to have a real physical business address (Stephens, 2013). Most consumers expect businesses to provide online content on their products or services. Not having a website raises many negative questions in the minds of consumers, for instance, is the company a technological Luddite or is the company cash strap to the extent that they cannot afford a website (Harris, 2015)? These are questions that any credible business would not want any existing and or potential customers to think about their business. A website can help a small business to enhance control, flexibility, credibility, and branding. Around 80 percent of consumers in the US believe that companies with websites are more credible than the ones that only have social media pages (Nahai, 2014). A small business requires a website to attract more consumers and become trustworthy. Secondly, having a website gives a small business a powerful marketing channel. Although established companies like Samsung, Coca-Cola, and Adidas still use traditional marketing methods such as billboards, television, flyers, radio, and print, they are not a good fit for small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs (Doherty, 2015). The traditional marketing techniques have lower engagement rates, imperfect measurement, limited customization, and are very expensive. On the other hand, digital marketing has higher engagement, the potential for enormous Return on Investment, ROI, non-intrusive, and is incredibly cost-effective (Stephens, 2013). A website is the digital “home” of a business, and it is the only place where a company has complete control of the message. It is an online billboard where a business can instantly introduce people to their products and another way for people to find them through marketing efforts such as blogging, online advertising, and Search Engine Optimization (Harris, 2015). Finally, a website can give a small business a competitive advantage over others. According to different pieces of research conducted in the US on competitive advantage, around 90 percent of Americans use the internet for research before purchasing a product or service (Nahai, 2014). Consumers want to be more informed about their purchasing decisions, for instance, from whom they buy and what they buy. Without a website, small business risks losing customers to companies that are already taking advantage of the online marketplace (Harris, 2015). If a small business without a website is directly competing with another business that has a website, its competitor is likely to have a clear ad...