Brick-and-mortar stores are defined as storefronts where the owner of the store displays and showcases their range of products as demonstrations. If a person is interested in buying a specific product, they place an order with the brick-and-mortar store – choosing between different options that are available for that specific product.
In South Africa, we have a wide variety of brick-and-mortar stores. This raises the question, should brick-and-mortar stores have a website? If you are the owner of a brick-and-mortar store and do not have a website, we highly recommend that you get a website of your own!
Why is a Website Important for My Brick-and-Mortar Store?
Over the past decade, people in South Africa have grown used to using their smartphones and computers to browse the internet and find what they are looking for by using Google and social media. If they are interested in a product that is displayed in your brick-and-mortar store, they tend to go online to seek more information about that specific product.
Let’s use a car dealership as an example. On the showroom floor, brand-new cars are showcased to the public and potential customers. Although the salesperson on the showroom floor will probably tell a customer all about a specific model, the customer wants to go home, get online, find out more about that car, and compare it with others. The customer can only do that when that specific car dealership has a website.
Legitimise Your Business with a Website
One of the first questions that customers ask business owners, is “do you have a website?”. People love to peruse a business’s website to get all the necessary details on their available products or services, and if they can, place their orders directly on the website for product delivery. If your brick-and-mortar store has a properly functional website, people will get the impression that you run a professional and successful business and are more likely to choose you over a business without any website.
What About Social Media Pages/Accounts?
Social media pages and accounts for your business only serve as a useful communication tool between your followers and your business. There is no source of information on your products or services, and not every person has a personal social media account to access your business’s page or account. At best, your business’s social media page will feature links that allow users to click through to your website, which emphasises the importance of having a website as a brick-and-mortar store.
Gain More Customers with a Proper Website
There are several modern tools and software to expand the functionality of your website. For example, hardware stores (brick-and-mortar) can utilise an image of your room and manipulate that image to display new paint colours against the wall, furniture placements, flooring options, and much more. As a result, if you have a website that exceeds the expectations of visitors, they are more likely to buy from your brick-and-mortar store as opposed to buy from a store without such an impressive website.
As an added extra, you can add eCommerce to your website and allow customers to buy directly from your website, from the comfort of their own home. This will give your customers a complete experience of your brick-and-mortar store and what you have on offer for them, without the need for them to physically visit your storefront.
If your brick-and-mortar store needs a website, you can rely on Laetus Life Consulting to satisfy all your needs! We also offer a comprehensive list of online marketing and advertising solutions for your business.