If you want to give your small business the greatest chance of success right now, you really do need to be online. Not only have consumers naturally been moving towards online shopping in the recent past, but the coronavirus pandemic has pushed us all even further in that direction in 2020.
If your small business still operates solely online, it may be time to change that and get yourself on the web. Here are a few things that will help you with that:
Invest in a really great website
If you want to do business online, you need a website and that website needs to be as appealing as possible because it will act as your “face on the internet.” That’s why, ideally, you should hire a web designer to create a site that is unique to your company rather than using an out of the box option, although is budget is an issue, it’s not a dealbreaker to go with a less bespoke solution.
You’re also going to want to ensure that your website is as easy to use as possible. This article will help you to choose the best payment processing options for you and your customers, but you’ll also need to think about layout and accessibility issues so that all of your potential online customers can actually make a purchase.
Set up on social media
Once you have a great website that looks good and is optimized for all devices, gets on all of the big social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram and set up profiles for your business. Make sure that you post interesting content as regularly as you can manage to engage readers and build up a following.
Spread the word
Posting on social media is a good way to spread the word about your online business, but you shouldn’t rely on it alone. As well as maintaining your own website and socials, you should also think about posting guest blogs on other websites within your niche, advertising with Google Adwords and similar services and maybe even handing out leaflets in your local community to get your existing customers on board with the online arm of your business. Local reviews and directories are also good for this.
Focus on customer service
Getting and keeping customers online can be tough, but one thing that can really help is offering amazing customer service. When your business is online, you don’t have a chance to wow your customers face-to-face, but they do still expect you to treat them well, which is why you should focus on offering decent email, telephone and live chat support. Your customers’ queries should be answered quickly and their issues resolved fairly. If you can manage that, they will not only be more satisfied, and thus more likely to be repeat customers, but they’ll give you great reviews and spread the word about your business too.
Moving your business online can take time and you’re likely to experience teething problems, but if you focus on the core issues above, you’ll get off to a decent start.
