ROI for Having a Professional Website

To stay relevant in today’s competitive industries, having a professionally developed website is a critical step a business should take.  What do most people do when they are considering a new purchase or seeking a particular service?  They go online of course.  Everything is online and if you are not, you have set yourself up at a competitive disadvantage.  There’s a world of potential clients out there, and you can benefit by catering to them when possible.

Advantages of Selling Online

Many small business owners choose to sell their products solely online.  By doing this, they can significantly decrease their expenses and therefore increase their profits.  Entrepreneurs that have storefronts are many times surprised at how expensive it is to keep their doors open.  For example, a storefront will have to pay for electricity, water, gas, not to mention employees.  All of that adds up and when you add the purchasing of inventory and that can put some business owners over the edge.  That is why so many people have chosen to either skip storefronts altogether or close-up their existing shops and sell totally online.

When you choose to sell your products solely online, it’s important that the website they are going to is user-friendly and provides an overall good experience.  To do this it’s important to know who your audience is.  For example, if you are selling vintage toys and collectibles, it’s important to match the theme of the different pages to the actual products you are selling.  If you are developing your website on your own, you may find some templates that are handy, however, a professional website developer will be able to work with you to give you just what you are looking for to showcase your different products and/or services.  Someone that has a professional background in website development has the experience and expertise to bring your website to the next level.  This could make or break whether or not someone actually stays on your website and hopefully makes a purchase.

Faster ROI

So how does this affect your return on investment?  Think of it this way: if your brick and mortar’s monthly expenses are $5,000 per month, then you will have to bring in more than $5,001 to even make a profit.  If your online business has monthly expenses of $750 (which is very feasible since you are not spending on utilities and employees) then if you bring in that same $5,001 you have increased your profit from $1 to $4,251!!  That is a huge difference, especially for someone that is a small-business owner.  Basic economics says that by decreasing your expenses you will increase your profits.  These increased profits could be utilized in so many different ways.  You could use the money for personal expenses or reinvest back into your business (or both).  By investing back into your business, you have exponentially set yourself up for success month after month.

Your relationship with your website developer does not have to be a one-time business transaction.  Just like markets change constantly, so does your business.  When your business changes, more than likely you will need to update your website. Keeping your website developer handy is a wise business move and will help you keep you successful for many years to come.

Less Need for Physical Inventory

Another thing to consider when selling online is the amount of inventory you can have.  With a storefront, you are considerably limited as to how many items you have on your shelf.  These products must be purchased in advance and increase your monthly expenses greatly.  However, with a well-thought-out website, the sky is the limit.  There are many ways to stock your shelves online without having a single product in stock.  For example, many third-party companies allow you to put their products on your website and fulfill orders through on-demand fulfillment.  This is extremely beneficial for small business owners that have limited budgets.  So, if you take this already built-in inventory and cross it with a professionally developed website, then you have set yourself up for success.

Showcase What You’ve Already Sold

For small business owners that are selling a service, having a professionally developed website is also a great way to get your name out there and display the types of services you can offer.  For example, if you are a landscaper, you can work with your developer to have a website full of beautiful pictures of the different jobs you have done.  Many people that are seeking services will go online first to see what the business can offer and to also read different reviews and testimonials.  What better way to display your work then have professional pictures of the services you offer?