.png)
When working with clients on their digital marketing, we always start with the website. This is because it's the closest extension of any business, whether they have a physical shop, online business or delivery service. A website is an important asset for any business looking to appear professional to its customers. Without one, you will lack trust which will ultimately always limit the possibilities for growth that your business has.
Should I invest in a professional London website design for my business?
The answer is, it depends (but probably yes). The easiest way to consider this question is to look at your competitors. Do they have official websites? Or is your business type one of the few that doesn't need a website?
An example of a business that may not need a website might be a YouTuber. This is because 100% of their business can take place within the YouTube platform. They put their content and branding there, grow their following and visibility, monetize with ads and can grow naturally there. However, even with this example, a YouTuber's business could still be enhanced with a professional website. For example, data collection of your fans (email marketing), paid placement opportunities, affiliate marketing etc.
At Olson Digital Marketing, we have noticed a lot of businesses in 2024 are putting all of their eggs in one basket, i.e. sticking to a preferred social media platform to conduct their trade and grow. It can definitely work but much like the example above, you are probably missing out on a lot of business growth opportunities by eschewing a professional London website design.
When it comes to whether you should invest in the building cost of a modern and professional-looking website, you need to ask yourself whether it would make a return (Return on Investment - ROI).
How to get a Return on Investment from a Business Website
This is such an important question to ask when it comes to your marketing and one that needs a few points of consideration:
The Scale/Capacity of your business model: this is so key, it's why it is first in this list. If your business does not have the capacity to grow or take on new customers, any marketing spending you make is likely to be wasted.
To give you an example, if you make wedding cakes and you are your only team member, and your orders are booked out throughout 2024 (well done) a website is unlikely to help you. As is any form of digital marketing. You are what's called a single point of failure. Meaning your business only exists if you do, and you are fit and well. It's a position a lot of small business owners find themselves in.
Now, if you are baking wedding cakes simply because you love it and do not need the money or need any growth, then that is fine - don't bother with a website, simply use social media and maybe a referral system if you get less busy. However, if you wanted to scale your wedding cake business up, you would first need to fix the capacity issue. Ask yourself, how could I cope if double the orders came in? Or 10 times? This could be done by perhaps adding an extra baker (or two or three) or even upping your own hours if you only do this part-time currently. The first solution is best because then you have unlimited scale - every time your business grows to the next level, you simply recruit another baker (another thing a London website design can help with!).
Are you currently making money?: Another very important consideration because if you are a business that doesn't make money, you aren't really a business yet. You need to solve that riddle first. Many people have many wonderful ideas all the time but until they are tested there's not really a way to know whether it's a viable business opportunity.
For example, if your business is selling something homemade, like jewellery or a bird-feeder, you need to find out if people like it enough to part with their hard-earned money. Selling to friends and family is often not enough, as these people likely love you more than they love your product, so you need to do some business testing. In this situation, you could use social media and find a way to take payment, or use a website builder, like Shopify or Wix, to showcase your products and see if they sell. These platforms are often cheap to start with but you will likely have to pay for a Premium Subscription in order to take payments online. This is called eCommerce and is something a lot of businesses need in order to thrive. If you try this and start making money, then you can definitely scale it up and a professionally crafted website, like one made by Olson Digital Marketing, can help you take it to higher levels, especially if you start to consider using an SEO company in London like us too.
Is your business ready to grow?: for many people they have hurdles to jump before they can really focus on their business. Life is not just money and emails (thankfully!), so maybe there are other aspects of your life that need your attention and focus right now. For example, maybe your relationship needs to be a priority, or your parental responsibilities are not balanced yet, or you are in the process of some health issues that are more important. There is likely never a great time to really push your business but there are certainly better times than others. Ask yourself if you would be able to find at least 1 hour a day to extra growth. Could that time be feasibly cut out from your current day-to-day? If the answer is yes, then you probably are ready.
So, once these considerations have been considered, here's how your website can make a return-on-investment and more:
Make you more visible: if your business is not being found on page 1 of Google when you search your keywords + location (for example "Accountants in Leeds") then you can be sure of making a return. This visibility alone (as long as the above considerations are met) will mean more customers, more money, and more long-term growth.
Make sales easier: having your own business website allows you to control the space. You can display your products or services how you like and you can make the journey to paying customer a lot more efficient. This will lead to a lot more sales.
Grow your database: paying customers are the best customers! A website with a decent CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software will allow you to keep these people on file, and you can contact them again with reminders or new products. This repeat business model works incredibly well for most businesses.