What Do Consumers Want From Your Local Business Website?

Community Ties 

If you're like most local businesses, you have some sort of community involvement, whether it’s sponsoring a little league team, taking part in the local chamber of commerce, or hosting a holiday food drive. 

Participating in community events is, of course, a great way to interact with potential customers in person. Likewise, including content on your website about your community involvement forms a connection with consumers in your local area. 

When consumers see photos of community landmarks and content about local events on your website, it builds an instant rapport and gives your company a "real-life" feel. 

Clear Branding

A strong brand message works to demonstrate your company’s values and attract your ideal customer. This is true for small local businesses, huge international chains, and every business in between. While large businesses have the branding thing mastered, many local businesses still seem to struggle. 

Here's the reality: If your website doesn’t strongly exhibit your brand message, then your site is little more than a digital business card. 

Establishing a consistent brand that’s associated with your local business will set you apart from your competitors. Your branding will not only make your business instantly recognizable to consumers, it gives your potential customers a sense of familiarity. 

Mobile-First Design 

At this point, everyone knows a website should perform well across all devices. After all, more than half of all internet traffic originates from a mobile device.  

Still, here at Locallogy we occasionally encounter local businesses with websites that are completely lacking in mobile friendly design.

Understand that consumers in your area are using their phones and tablets to search for local businesses. If your site isn’t optimized for mobile devices, if it’s clunky, slow loading, or hard to navigate, you’re losing potential customers. Today’s consumer just won’t spend time on a site that doesn’t offer a good user experience.  

Communication Options 

Your potential customers are looking for easy ways to get in contact with your company. And let’s face it—if you have target customers under the age of 45 or so, they don’t want to call you on the phone unless it’s absolutely necessary. A little younger than that, and they don’t want to email you, either. 

Making use of new and innovative communication channels isn’t reserved for large companies. Your local businesses will benefit from giving customers flexibility with how and when they contact you. Just because you’re a local business and your customer may only be a few miles away, you still need a variety of contact options available. 

Take a look at what works best for your business—texting, social media messaging, online chat, etc.—and make those options clear on your website. Remember, the easier it is to reach your company, the more likely a customer will make contact. 

Is your website optimized to attract local customers? Need a little help to figure it all out? The friendly team at Locallogy is standing by! Get in touch.