With the majority of Australians accessing the internet daily, it’s obvious that an effective business website is part of your essential online presence. But what happens when those websites aren’t given the proper attention? When user experience isn’t considered, when design is outdated, or when page content isn’t written with the ideal customer in mind? Your website fails to convert customers and drive revenue.

There are so many reasons why your website needs to be amazing. Your website is like…

• Your best employee

A great website works 24/7, never takes a sick day, works while you’re on holiday and produces consistent results. In other words, a great website is a keeper!

• Your brochure (without a printing limit)

A great website is ultimately a sales tool, converting visitors into leads into customers. In some ways, a website also functions as a brochure advertising your best services. Rather than printing and delivering countless brochures (which will cost you a pretty penny and could be thrown in the bin!), your website does the lot.

• A 24/7 customer service representative

Current and future customers will always have questions and concerns to raise. Thankfully a website, with informative content and a handy FAQ or blog page, can do much of the heavy lifting. It’s a big time saver for your whole team!

Start the conversation

If your website is outdated, hasn’t been refreshed in the past 2 years and isn’t driving revenue, then it’s time for a change. Start that conversation with your boss pronto.

But before you go knocking on your boss’ door, check out these practical responses to the most common concerns and doubts. You’ll thank yourself later for preparing the right facts, statistics and strategies for establishing why a new website really is the best decision for the business.

Standard boss rebuttals you may hear are…

“Our customers are offline, not online.”

There’s a reason why “Google it” has become the catchphrase for the digital age. Even if you’re hopping onto Bing or Yahoo, a search engine remains the first port of call for most curly questions. Furthermore, approximately 55% of B2B buyers start their search for a solution on social media.

When it comes to these assumptions, the best thing to do is find the facts. Hop onto Google Analytics and start investigating how many people in your area are searching for your kind of products and services. You’re likely to find that there’s a decent search volume for most things, whether that be local commercial painters or software solutions. This is invaluable data for demonstrating that your potential customers are online as well as offline — can it be obtained free of charge?

"Our customers don't find us online because they are part of the older generation"

This is a fair point, though not necessarily a reason for your business to skimp on building a great site. The fact is: “Baby Boomer’s represent 20% of all online traffic…and spend nearly 100 hours online” (July 2012 Neilson Australian Online Landscape Review). This figure has only increased in the years since, therefore making this assumption less and less true.

It’s also important to note that the majority of businesses are made up of different ages. Most of these people are statistically likely to be heavy internet users so your marketing efforts online won’t be in vain.

"We are B2B, not B2C so clients and customers find us through word of mouth and recommendations"

Word of mouth marketing is your business’ superpower, effective in both online and offline forms. Whether it’s a friend mentioning their favourite product over a cup of coffee or a brand advocate leaving a winning review on your Facebook page, word of mouth recommendations are a win all around.

With a website, your business can:

• Leverage those brand advocates online and offline by highlighting reviews and case studies
• Minimise negative reviews by establishing a helpful and authoritative presence

The internet is a crucial tool for most professionals. Leaving your online presence in the power of others is a dangerous game to play. Furthermore, if your B2B competitors are dominating the online landscape, then your business is at a major disadvantage. Invest time in researching how your competitors are leveraging their online presence for…?

"Design doesn't make people buy"

This is a fair point to make. A visually pleasing design on its own won’t lead to customers shelling out their cash.

But design isn’t just about how it looks. What about the part of design that is about how the site WORKS?

You know a website isn’t up to scratch when it:

• Provides a poor navigation experience
• Poorly communicates your business ethos
• Fails to provide all necessary information
• Doesn’t cater for consumers on every device

These factors will discourage, rather than encourage people to purchase. At the end of the day, design matters and so do first impressions. Failing to invest adequate resources to the functionality design of your website does a disservice to your business.

Experienced designers are able to manipulate colour, typography, imagery and responsive interfaces, in order to tap into your customer’s psychology. With the right collaboration between designers, copywriters, and other creatives, you can craft an entire website that convinces and converts visitors into customers.

"A new website is not in the budget until next year. We'll wait till then"

A good site should take a between 3-6 months to go from planning to live date. There are countless elements and people that come together to create something as beautiful, functional and polished as a great website - these things take time. A rushed job is just that - rushed. If you are looking to hit the ground running, you might as well lay some of the ground work now.

"We don't need a 'responsive' site"

Sure you don’t need a responsive site. Though, without one, you’re likely missing out on valuable customers who will become annoyed that your unresponsive site is difficult to navigate on a small screen. Recent data proves phones are fast becoming the device of choice for browsing the internet.

“Mobile digital media time… is now significantly higher at 51% compared to desktop (42%).” — Smart Insights

"We don't have the talent in-house"

Does the thought of searching for the right mix of designers, copywriters, developers and more give you a headache? For a lot of small businesses, lack of in-house talent is a real challenge. The #StruggleIsReal when it comes to new website logistics along with regular maintenance. However, it doesn’t have to be impossible.

Outsourcing is most often the best option for small to medium businesses. If you don’t have the time to manage a dispersed team of freelancers, consider hiring a digital agency for a more streamlined, stress free experience.

Where to now?

You’ve got your arsenal of comebacks on how to handle your boss’ doubts and concerns. Now it’s time for the data gathering. The right amount of evidence and forethought will provide the best chance for success.

The reality is implementing an effective website redesign will take months. Starting sooner, rather than later means, results can come quicker.

For a fully considered web build or redevelopment, it’s worth thinking about why you want people to come to your site and how they are going to get there. While you're here, dip your toes in the water with our free Inbound 101 guide… for any B2B Businesses looking to go digital!