You know you need a business website if you hope to attract customers to your local business. After all, very few people turn to the phonebook for local business information anymore. But exactly what do customers expect to see when they visit your business website? What do you need to offer to get them into your physical location?
A recent survey by BrightLocal polled over 800 U.S. consumers to see how websites affect their opinions of local businesses. Here’s a closer look.
How much does your website matter?
Takeaway: Whatever age group or gender makes up most of your customer base, having a business website will help you attract more of them.
What should your website offer?
Consumers in all age groups expect your business website to include certain basic information: a physical address, phone number, operating hours, and a list of products or services and prices. Beyond that, however, there are some key differences among age groups.
What are the biggest website turnoffs for consumers? Websites with poor-quality content, no phone number, and no pricing information annoy consumers in all age groups. However, consumers 18 to 34 are also irritated by websites that are slow, buggy or not mobile friendly. Those 55 and up say typos, misspellings and other issues relating to content quality bug them the most. Women are most turned off by poor quality content, while men dislike it when they can’t find a phone number, an address, product prices, or directions.
Takeaway: Prominently displaying your business phone number on your website is critical. That’s because all age groups say the phone is their preferred method of contacting a business. However, to attract the widest possible range of consumers, you should also offer a range of options for contacting your business, including emails, contact forms and and social media.
Rieva Lesonsky is CEO of GrowBiz Media, a media and custom content company focusing on small business and entrepreneurship.