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CUSTOMER SURVEY

Why your business in Zambia needs a website

We recently asked Zambians professionals what they thought about business websites in Zambia. 150 people were gracious enough to respond. We’re extremely appreciative of their time as their answers were incredibly valuable and informative.

Market research and analysis

The first few questions of our questionnaire were designed to give an idea of who our respondents were. Based on their answers we know that the majority are between 31–50, run a business and part of their responsibilities include sales and/or marketing.

Age range

1. 22% were below 30
2. 51% were between 31–50
3. 25% were 51+
4. 2% preferred not to say

Do you run a business that is currently trading?

1. Yes — 81%
2. No — 19%

Do you work in a sales and marketing role?

1. Yes — 72%
2. No — 28%

1. How important is it for a business in Zambia to have a website?

Key takeaways

Zambian business people consider a business website extremely important

As a primarily online company, we know websites are essential but were surprised to see such a clear majority of respondents answer with a “5 — Extremely important”.

There is a general sentiment in Zambia that perhaps websites are not that important anymore and you can make do with something like a Facebook business page. Judging by these answers however, when it comes down to it, business people in Zambia think having a website is not optional and an extremely important marketing and sales tool.

We think websites are important because they are a businesses home on the web. Something they own and control. Online marketing fads come and go, social media platforms rise and fall, algorithms change, but a business website has been going strong since the dawn of the internet.

Own your audience

By all means, diversify your online marketing, but always point back to your website as the primary front of house for your online presence. It is not wise to put all your online marketing eggs in one or two social media baskets, leaving you at the mercy of someone else’s business. Whenever you build an audience on another platform you leave yourself vulnerable to any changes that platform makes.

A prime example of this is Facebook. As Facebook exploded on the web in the late ‘naughties’, business flocked to the platform and started building an audience. As it is today, people could show they were interested in a businesses content by subscribing (liking their page) to the business. The difference being liking a page guaranteed you would see every post shared by that business. Businesses loved it. Likes soared and every time a business shared a post it went to every single person who had liked them. As Facebook grew however, it was not sustainable for people to see every post by every business they liked. So Facebook introduced an algorithm based home feed that controlled how many people in your audience saw your posts.

Conveniently for them, around the same time, they introduced paid advertising! A business could pay Facebook to guarantee that people saw their post. Facebook were now charging businesses to reach an audience they supposedly owned.

Since then, it has become increasingly harder for a business to reach the people who have expressed an interest in their content. Almost every year Facebook announce changes to its algorithms to that effect. When Facebook business pages began, your content was seen by 100% of people who had liked your page. Now you’d be lucky for a post to reach more than 5%. Business who have primarily built an audience on Facebook are now struggling to reach the audience they thought they owned and were in control of.

This is a repeating cycle, as a platform becomes increasingly popular, it has to limit how much content users see otherwise they get overwhelmed. Case in point is Instagram, who recently also transitioned to an algorithm based home feed.

What this means for your business

It would be ludicrous to advise against using Facebook or other social media platforms. They are essential to amplify your message. Just always remember to point back to your website, a platform where you own the audience. Subscribers of an email newsletter you own are much more valuable than subscribers on a third party social network that could change its algorithms at any time.

If you have a website, maintain and continue to invest in it, it’s reassuring to know Zambian professionals think websites are extremely important for business.

2. Where do you go to look for information about a business in Zambia?

Key takeaways

It’s not surprising that the majority of business people begin their search with a search engine. Google is by far the best tool to get a quick overview of all online information about a particular query. At the start of your search journey, you want a tool that will give you the broadest results that you can quickly narrow down to find exactly what you’re looking for.

It’s important to rank well on Google

If people are searching for information about services you provide and you don’t feature prominently in the results, people will either not find you and give up, or worse, find and choose your competition.

Google needs to lead to somewhere that your business owns

While the majority might begin the process of looking for information about a business with Google, Google in-and-of-itself does not actually have any information. It ranks, sorts and points to information that is hosted elsewhere. Be it the businesses website, social media networks like Facebook or other platforms such as thebestofzambia.com, you need some form of web presence or you lose the ability to capture any of the people searching for services you provide.

List on multiple platforms

People are different and use different methods to look for information. Just like you would advertise on multiple billboards, when you list your business on multiple platforms you expose your it to the unique audience of each destination. And of course, there is power in multiple touch points.

People start research with the lowest friction tools

Notice that the majority of people start their search online. Out of the three, online, phone or physical visit, online is a way to find information with the least friction. You cannot rely on people coming to your business premises to find out basic information from you. This takes too much effort for them. There is also a resource cost to manning phones and face to face queries. It’s a win/win for you and your potential customers if they can answer basic questions about your business by themselves with as little friction as possible.

What this means for your business

Many people begin their search for business information online. People are searching for things your business offers or more information about you. Without a high ranking presence online you are failing to capture a valuable audience who have already expressed an interest in you and what you offer.

3. How do you prefer to communicate with a business in Zambia?

Key takeaways

Facebook?

Given the prevalence of Zambian businesses who have a Facebook page as the be-and-end-all of their online marketing, we found it surprising so few respondents actually prefer to communicate via Facebook. Contrary to the popular sentiment, when it comes to communicating with another company, business people prefer the more traditional email or phone.

People still call

Phone calls are not the flashiest contact method but its not going anywhere, a high percentage of people still prefer to call. Make sure the contact numbers you have advertised are up to date and the person manning your phone lines is professional and equipped to answer the queries that might come via a call.

WhatsApp is a rising star in customer communication Surprisingly WhatsApp eclipsed even Facebook! Make sure you’ve got a WhatsApp account setup for your business as we see it becoming increasingly popular. They recently released a new phone app that’s focused on business needs: https://www.whatsapp.com/business/.

Email is still number one

It’s hardly surprising that email is the preferred method of communicating with a business. New fads come and go but email is still king. Unfortunately, as a business who sends out thousands of emails a month, it has been our experience that a staggering amount of business emails do not consistently work. The most common errors being an email not being delivered because an inbox is full (out of space), the email service provider is temporarily down or the email account has expired and has not been renewed.

The problems Zambian businesses have with email:

• Full inboxes
  An email provider who’s package is so small that their customers inbox regularly fills up is seriously taking advantage of their customers. In 2018, there is no excuse for such limited packages as the prices of cloud storage have significantly dropped. A customer should not have to worry about their inbox getting full until they start to cross 10’s of thousands of emails. If you’re email inbox is always getting full, you’re missing emails. Find another provider.
• Unstable providers
  Email and domain providers offer a vital service to their clients. Unfortunately, it has been our experience that Zambian and African email/domain providers are one of the biggest culprits. As much as we want to recommend local providers, if they cannot ensure a service that works consistently, you should host something as vital as email elsewhere.
• Expired accounts
  We understand that sometimes budget is an issue. But an email account is a vital aspect of your marketing and sales efforts. Allowing your email account subscription to expire is like disconnecting your phone or moving offices without letting your customers know. People trying to contact you have already expressed an interest in your business and its important to ensure they are able to reach you so you can convert the sale.
• Unopened emails
  We’ve found that a surprising amount of professional Zambian businesses do not open or reply to their emails and miss opportunities. If you don’t reply to your emails you’ve lost a potential sale. Customers move on to your competition with a sour taste in their mouth about your customer service. You might have lost a customer for good.

What this means for your business

Get a email system that works. Choose an affordable and stable email provider who offer a generous inbox space allowance. We recommend a premium G Suite account (formerly Google Apps) by Google. It comes at a cost, but your email communication is business critical. G Suite uses Gmail which is one of the best email clients out there.

If you can’t afford G Suite, we’d suggest the free Gmail version (e.g. yourbusiness@gmail.com) over custom account (e.g info@yourbusiness.com) supplied by a provider who doesn’t meet the above criteria. It looks less professional, but at least you will be guaranteed to receive all your emails.

Make sure you respond to incoming emails in a reasonable time and all your online content links to an up-to-date and active email account. Consider setting up WhatsApp for your business and training staff who man phones.

4. What do you think stops a business in Zambia from getting a website?

Key takeaways

Lack of domain specific knowledge

Respondents considered “Lack of technical, design and marketing knowledge” as the most common reason businesses in Zambia have for not getting a website.

• Lack of technical knowledge
  Businesses are good at what they do but that does not necessarily include technical expertise. Lack of knowledge in an area outside of their experience might be enough to dissuade a business from getting a website. They might fear their inability to distinguish the good from the bad suppliers, or not being able to manage the website themselves after its complete.
• Lack of marketing knowledge
  Without a strong marketing advocate in a company, a business might feel a website is not an essential tool for them. We hope the results of Question 1 and 2 are enough to start those businesses thinking. Business people in Zambia think a website is “extremely important for a business” and when it comes to looking for information they prefer to start their search journey with Google; which typically leads to a business website.

The cost of websites

The second most common answer was related to cost of websites. There are a number of reasons websites might be considered expensive.

1. Lack of competition for suppliers in Zambia could drive prices up
2. Poor quality websites in the past might have driven down expectations of the Return On Investment of websites
3. Businesses do not perceive a website as an asset that would add value

Whether genuine or perceived, respondents believe the cost of websites is a significant reason why businesses do not get websites.

What this means for your business

The right partner should consider your needs and be able to provide the right website solution for you even if you lack technical or marketing knowledge.

You have to decide which is the better option for you. Creating and maintaining a website yourself which would be cheaper, but require more expertise, or paying someone to do it for you, requiring less expertise, but probably costing more.

5. What problems do you typically find with Zambian websites?

Key takeaways

Out of date information is a major problem

100% of respondents asked answered that “Out of date information or contact details” was a problem they typically found with Zambian websites. That’s an astounding percentage that indicates this is a major issue across Zambian websites.

We hope the number of people selecting this as an issue will challenge Zambian businesses to reconsider it a priority to maintain their website and the information on it. And, if updating a website is too complicated or takes too long we challenge them to use another system or find another supplier. The fact that people consider out-of-date contact details a problem means they have had experiences where they have tried to contact a business but didn’t get through; businesses are throwing away the very opportunities they wanted to get when they originally invested in a website.

Too little information

Zambian businesses have to do a better job researching their customer needs. A website needs to anticipate any questions a customer might have. A website should consider a businesses goals but should be primarily designed for a customers needs. If you are getting the same question asked in email enquiries, on the phone and in person, it could be an indication that some information is missing from your website.

Poor quality of Zambian websites

A high percentage of respondents selected multiple issues seeming to indicate a general frustration with the general poor quality of Zambian business websites. A website in and of itself is not enough. People want a high quality website that looks good, works well and has relevant up-to-date information.

What this means for your business

Regularly check that all the pages, links and images of your website are still working. Sign up to a free service like uptimerobot.com that notifies you if your website goes down.

If you change any contact details make sure to update every place your details are listed — websites, social media profiles, business stationery etc.

6. How much do you think a business should pay for a new website?

What this means for your business

We think the evidence from the questionnaire is conclusive. Websites are important and an essential tool in your marketing efforts. Once again, budget will dictate choice. As a business you have to find the right balance between cost and quality. Companies who charge more tend to offer a better service with more lasting results. The cheaper you go, the more likely you will have to make some compromises on quality and results.

CONCLUSION

Does your business in Zambia need a website?