Could Your Business Ever Survive Not Having A Website?

Could Your Business Ever Survive Not Having A Website?

by | Nov 1, 2016 | Business

When you launch a new business, one of the things that get drummed into you is to have a website. These days, new sites are quick and easy to set up; even if you have no prior technical knowledge! Web sites provide a way for any enterprise to trade 24 hours a day, seven days a week.The thing is, some critics of the Internet feel they don't "need" a website. If you share that same sentiment, could your business survive in today's digital age? Well, it could, but it would be quite difficult due to not having an online presence. Here's why not having a website in today's modern world can leave any business at a disadvantage:Most people own a smartphoneWalk down any populated area, and you'll notice something extraordinary. Almost everyone you encounter will be using a smartphone of some description! The beauty of smartphones is they make it easier for people to manage their lives. macbook-apple-imac-computer-39284One of the main selling points of any smartphone is the ability to go online and surf the web. Did you know that mobile browsing usage hasovertaken desktop surfing? And that's not a statistic that is likely to reverse!Often, people will search for a product or service online while they walk. Or they may do so while sat down in a public area, determined not to go home empty-handed! By not having a website, your business will miss out on a variety of sales opportunities.A website can help you attract local customersLet's say that your business has a retail outlet. You might think that sites are only useful for capturing online customers. But, the truth is they are crucial to attracting local ones too!Following on from the point about smartphones, mobile shoppers search online for local sellers. They tend to use Google Maps and similar apps on the mobile devices to locate vendors near to them.A website coupled with local SEO strategies is a brilliant way to direct more people to your store. Now you don't have to rely on newspaper ads and passing trade to buy from you!Screen shotYou won't stand much of a chance against other local competitorsFor some reason, anti-tech entrepreneurs follow the "build it, and they will come" philosophy. The trouble is, no-one will buy from you if they don't know you exist!Even if you did no online marketing, your website could still show up on Google local search listings. And it can also get displayed on map searches both on a?desktop and mobile devices.Web sites encourage viral marketingAs a business owner, you will know how important it is to market your enterprise. Arguably, the one thing you hate about marketing is how much it costs you; even for local campaigns!One of the advantages of having a website is that it can encourage viral marketing techniques. For example, if you run a competition on yours, social media users can share links to your site with others. And those people will do the same with their friends and followers. Meanwhile, you're paying nothing for these people to market your business for you!
What Makes or Breaks a Marketing Campaign?

What Makes or Breaks a Marketing Campaign?

by | Oct 26, 2016 | Business, Web Design

digital-marketing-1497211_960_720Marketing has always been an underestimated task when it comes to both importance and difficulty. Thankfully, the digital age has shown many newcomers to business just how much marketing affects success. We often think about types of marketing as things that can make or break a business. But it might be useful to look at what things can make or break a marketing campaign!Here are some of the biggest factors that you may not have considered thoroughly yet. Start taking notes! The design of your websiteThis seems like as good a place as any to begin! A lot of business owners definitely make mistakes when it comes to this side of things. responsive-web-design-conceptThey?re under the impression that the design of the website doesn?t matter that much when it comes to marketing. After all, isn?t marketing supposed to be aimed at people who haven?t seen the website yet? So what effect does the design actually have?It?s actually fairly simple. Any decent digital marketing strategy involves the heavy use of SEO. The success of an SEO campaign will depend, in a way, on how much Google ?likes? you. Search engine algorithms scan the front- and back-end of a website when rankings are being developed. This means that the design choices you make affect what Google can see during this process. Who you work withThere are businesses out there who do their marketing completely in-house. Some may immediately cry ?Fools!?. But this wouldn?t 28405228503_5972af2d31_bautomatically be true, would it? If a company has hired the right people and has the right resources, then they could see great success in marketing. But it?s true that a lot of businesses who try it this way don?t quite get it right. The world of marketing is a complex one. Trying to support a department dedicated to it is time-consuming and expensive. And the results can be a very mixed bag. This is why a lot of business owners prefer to work directly with a marketing agency. Of course, you need to ensure that you?re working with a reputable one. Make sure you check out their previous work, if possible. Get in touch with them and have a good talk about your business before signing any contracts. research-390297_960_720The composition of your current marketSo who exactly buys the sort of service or product you?re looking to sell? You probably already know something about demographics. If you?re not aware of the demographics of your market, then your marketing campaign could be the equivalent of yelling into a void. And it?s possible that you don?t quite understand how many factors have to be considered here. Sure, knowing the demographics will help you target people now. But they also have great implications for the future. The average salary and the average age of the consumers in your market will determine how long they?ll remain in that market. This sort of data will show you how much growth you can expect in your market at large. This is important information if you?re going to be making any changes to your marketing campaign.
Simple Strategies to Prepare Your Online Company For Growth

Simple Strategies to Prepare Your Online Company For Growth

by | Oct 25, 2016 | Business

girl-on-computerOnce you get started with running a successful online business, the chances are your mind will begin to settle on an even bigger prize. But running any business on your own is vastly different to growing into a larger operation. There are a lot of things to consider and many different tactics to plan before you start making the leap. But, the earlier you get started, the easier it will be to make the jump from solopreneur to CEO of a successful online company. In today?s guide, we?re going to go through some of the critical things you need to think about. Read on to find out what they are, and prepare your business so it can handle rapid growth with fewer problems. Let?s take a closer look. Focus on your ideal customerwhite-truckMany online businesses start selling a variety of products online. But, by the time you are ready to grow, you should know a lot of vital information about your ideal customers, what they like, and what persuades them to buy. It is critical to use this info and focus on an ideal client. It will help you create stronger messages, offers, and targeted services. It will also give you a few clues about where you might be able to move into different markets.Look at your logisticsOne of the biggest challenges for small ecommerce and online businesses is dealing with the increase in logistics issues. Let?s say you are selling products that you store in your home, for example. The second you start to grow your business and find more orders, you are going to need a lot more space. Not only that, but your postage and delivery costs could go through the roof. You might consider using a third party delivery service like ParcelABC?rather than the local Post Office. And don't forget about the increase in returns and faulty goods. Investing in
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Prepare for hiring employeesWhen you grow a business, it is only natural that you start hiring staff and contractors to help you get through your daily tasks. It?s just not possible to do everything by yourself anymore. However, hiring people comes with its own problems. So, it makes sense that you focus on developing a knowledge of HR to cover your bases. It will protect your business against everything from productivity issues to contract disputes. Look into investing in HR management software, or make an HR specialist your very first hire. You can also outsource to a third party human resources company. ?Learn to delegatepexels-photo-40120While you are running a business by yourself, you are in control of everything. It can be tricky, however, when it comes to handing over a lot of central responsibilities to others. Learning to delegate is crucial. You could find yourself micromanaging every little detail. This will have two negative impacts. Firstly, it will irritate your workers, and secondly, it will eat into your time. Hire team leaders you trust and start taking a top-down approach to running your business instead. It will give you a stronger platform to achieve success. Good luck!
Business Transactions: Tips To Keep Customer Data Secure

Business Transactions: Tips To Keep Customer Data Secure

by | Oct 10, 2016 | Business

Business Transactions: Tips To Keep Customer Data SecureWelcome to your new business! Before you get started selling any products or services, you?ll want to consider data security. From now on, every transaction that is made will need to be kept ultra-secure. If you can?t ensure this happens, the danger to both the customer and your business could be extensive. In fact, you might just find yourself out of business or sitting in court if you?re not careful!Don?t panic. It?s honestly not as difficult to get your head around as it might seem. Let?s take a brief look at what you need to know. The first thing to consider is what type of transactions you?re going to be making. I?m assuming you?ll be selling products and services over the internet, for example. So, how are you going to do this? Is eBay or Amazon your destination? This can be beneficial because they already implement their own security policies. The downside is that you?ll have to pay their requested fees and do as they say.So, let?s say that you?re going to do what many businesses do, and develop your own system. Now, you need to think about security more thoroughly. In the first instance, securing your website with SSL might be beneficial. Enlisting the help of an IT professional to check for any weaknesses in the system is yet another good idea.Business Transactions: Tips To Keep Customer Data SecureYou might think that in-person transactions aren?t as dangerous from a security perspective. You?d be wrong! Anything that requires a credit card has the potential to be intercepted. In fact, if you?ve got an out of date reader that doesn?t accept the new EMV chips, you could end up in big trouble. How do businesses get around this? Well, they?re being forced to comply with new rules surrounding EMV. They?ll be requested to buy a new credit card reader with this technology implemented at some point.Business Transactions: Tips To Keep Customer Data SecureAnd of course, online and offline payments provide you with access to sensitive data. Now, you?re being trusted to keep that data as safe as possible to prevent any breaches. Don?t go keeping information like credit card details if you don?t need it. Also, be sure to lock down your CRM software securely so that passwords are not easily guessed or hacked. It should go without saying that you?ll need an effective antivirus system in place on your systems too. This is where computer use becomes one of the most crucial elements of your business. You must be willing to invest in it because an outdated operating system with poor protection is a big danger. It doesn?t take much for a semi-skilled hacker to cause havoc. Don?t forget about the importance of informing your customers about how to protect their data, too. Dedicate a page on your website telling them of how to stay safe online, for example. As long as you don?t scare them away, you?ll find this to be an effective sales tool. They?ll feel more comfortable and informed as a result, making it more likely for them to make the transaction.
Online Shopping: Are These Barriers Stopping Your Customers From Buying?

Online Shopping: Are These Barriers Stopping Your Customers From Buying?

by | Oct 6, 2016 | Business

Woman On ComputerOnline shoppers are becoming increasingly picky about the businesses they buy from. This is primarily due to the extensive choice they have and their wariness of online scams. But if you?re continually driving traffic but failing to convert visitors to customers, skepticism may not be to blame. If your e-commerce site contains too many barriers or issues, this could be off-putting to potential clients. From difficult navigation to slow loading times, there are multiple reasons why they may be leaving your site empty handed. So to start getting the sales and results you desire, consider whether your site contains the following barriers.No information about shipping costsMany business owners think that not revealing shipping information will help them secure more sales. But in fact, this can be detrimental to your business. Customers will often want to know how much shipping fees are before committing to a purchase. Especially if they are overseas. So by not containing this information, you could be missing out the opportunity to sell your products.This also applies to making returns too. While you naturally want the customer to keep your products, there will be instances when a return is necessary. But without any information to refer to, this can also stop a sale from proceeding. So rather than keeping your customers in the dark, add a page to your site that includes this vital information.Lack of imagesOnline shoppers like to see as much of a product as they possibly can before making the decision to buy. So if you only have one image available for each of your products, this could be what is stopping them from making a purchase. Having numerous images from different angles, that can also be enlarged gives customers a better overview. This can help you stand apart from your competition, particularly if they are selling the same product. Product videos can also show your product being used. This can be valuable insight that encourages customers to add to their bag. ?Adding extra product photos and videos to your site might seem basic. But it can make a big impact on your sales.Not enough payment optionsFrom Paypal to credit card payments, there are more ways than ever for online shoppers to pay for their purchases. But if your website only offers one payment option, this can cause suspicion and restrict how many sales you generate. So rather than letting this continue, you need to start providing more options. Some business owners can find card processing services difficult to secure because of the products they sell. But some services will allow you to open a high-risk merchant account which allows you to offer further options. You should also look into offering email, online checks and debit card payments. This will not only boost the professionalism of your business but also allows more customers to buy with ease.Now you are aware of these issues, it might be time to reassess your site and work towards improving it. In a matter of weeks, we will be entering the busiest shopping period of the year- Christmas. So make sure your e-commerce experience is up to par sooner rather than later.