Your website is a powerful marketing tool. A well-maintained website can help you gain a competitive advantage in your industry and improve your business image. Developing your web site offers many benefits including helping you get more leads and prospects, increase sales, enhance your professional brand, and improve your customer service.

But surprisingly, according to various recent studies, just about 35% – 40% of all small businesses don’t have websites.

Below are 10 benefits of a website for small businesses you may not have thought of:

1. Improve Your Advertising Effectiveness

Placing your website address on all your promotional material will help you gain additional exposure and encourage the visitors to first check your site for the information they are seeking.

2. Save Money on Printing and Distribution Costs

A website can act as your online brochure or catalog that can be changed or updated at any time. If you employ a content management system (CMS) you can make changes quickly and at no charge.

3. Easy Access to New Customers

You can have your existing customers refer you to their friends and relatives using only your web address or URL.

4. Improve Productivity

A website increases your company’s productivity because less time is spent explaining product or service details to customers because all this information is available 24 hours a day on your website.

5. Promote & Sell Products & Services

Provide photos and detailed descriptions of your products or services. Explain why your products or services are superior to your competitors. Show visitors how your products or services can help them in their personal or professional lives.

6. When You Change Locations

If you move your business to a new location your customers can still find you because your main marketing tool, your website, is easily changed and updated. Your website is flexible and if your search engine optimization is done properly your business will appear to online visitors who search for you.

7. Great Tool for Finding New Employees

You can post job opportunities for available positions and applicants can investigate your company and apply online.

8. Your Own Internet Identity

Your own domain name (www.yourcompany.com) establishes a strong online brand identity. You can set-up a personalized email addresses for the company, yourself and your employees. If you set-up a system to accept emails on your site you can then email updates, notices, sales and holiday store hours to your customers.

10. Build Your Reputation

Become or remain the expert by demonstrating knowledge and expertise in your area of work. Write blog posts and articles on the site that educate visitors and help them understand your business and offerings.

11. Improve Customer Service

Information requests can be processed immediately via online forms and autoresponders automatically day or night.