Google has discovered that 97 of US consumers choose to search for products and services online, in 2012. However, only more than half of small businesses in the country do not have a website or even just an account online.
Can you imagine how much portion of the market these small businesses are ignoring?
Consumers are online. And if you want to get great returns on your investment, don’t let go of big opportunities. Whether you are operating locally, domestically or internationally, it’s high time to expand your horizons and start getting visible in the world wide web!
Now is the best time to decide. Are you ready for a big revamp in your business?
If you are, then you should read the following tips. These will help you introduce your brand to the other side of the world.
Start with a money-making idea.
Do you already have a million-dollar idea? Do you have sky-high dreams for your business?
At most instances, starting up a business is the most difficult part. Commodities and services in the market seem complete. It’s as if, people already have every product and service they might need.
Be that as it may, these strategies might help you generate your business idea:
– Start at home. Ask for their ideas, and when they have the resources, make them a partner in your business. Besides, family is also the best source of moral and mental motivation.
– Ask your friends. Sometimes, people who are in the same wavelength with you could contribute a lot. Their ideas might be impractical, blue-sky or impossible, but you can always start taking a risk. Ask, “What if…?”
– Enumerate the things that annoy you. Ironically, these little things might help you commence a big invention that can further improve the comfort and convenience of living. Think of what bugs you the most, can you sense a way to eliminate these nuisance? Try to formulate an idea how to correct this.
– List your interests. Are you aware that working on something you love would make you feel that you aren’t working at all? Your hobbies might be where you can find your business idea.
– Keep your eyes open. Be sensitive. Look at the world around you. What does it need? How can it be improved? Then , it’s on you to fill out the gaps.
Compile and focus on your target market.
Once you already have your business idea, you should then acknowledge the fact that you will be operating for your customers. Your customers will be the source of your income.
Mutualism would exist in your relationship. You would help alleviate their lifestyles, and they will help you succeed in the world of entrepreneurs.
Make a list of demographic characteristics of your chosen market, and list their:
- job title,
- age,
- education,
- location, and
- Industry
Focus on their needs and wants. If you can, create a need for them. That’s how you’d help them, to make them help you too.
Initiate familiarity of your brand online.
Now, here’s where you introduce your brand to the world wide web. This might be a little tricky- your customers will definitely be online but your competitors are, too.
You will have various options when you put your business in the internet. You can:
- create your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.),
- create your own website, or
- sell your services and products through other websites like eBay, Amazon, etc.
However, if your goal is to make it big online, the best path to take is creating your social media accounts and your business own website.
Don’t you have enough web-making skills?
You should never worry. A lot of expert and reliable web design services are available online. All you just need to do is to make an intelligent choice. Choose a provider which you can easily communicate with, and everything will run without hassles.
Once you have already chosen a web-design team, you can also ask help from them in creating your social media accounts. Most trusted custom web design services provider already includes social media visibility in their packages.
Optimize your visibility.
This is where a good amount of knowledge in I.T. will help. Have you heard of Search Engine Optimization?
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO is but one way to attract customers to visit your website, by getting traffic from the free, organic, editorial or natural search results on different search engines.
There are a lot of SEO strategies. If you really plan to make it big online, you should just leave them to your hired web design professionals. But these pieces of information will greatly help:
- Use various SEO tricks,
- Add social media buttons on your website,
- Include your website link in all your social media accounts,
- Keep the balance of your followers and whom you follow, and
- Always share interesting contents.
Capture more, more and more.
Every business owner who opts to start their business online should also learn how to group their website visitors into two: those who are converted into customers, and those who aren’t.
Although traffic is very valuable to you, every effort to get visible will still boil down to your goal- get sales.
Getting great returns requires time, patience and hardwork. It won’t happen overnight. At some points, you also need to invest in it.
First, you need to ask yourself: “Where does my target market hangout online?” Will they spend time in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest or what other media may will probably be?
Second, capture them. Make your chosen media useful. Engage them in conversations to keep them interested.
Third, convert them into a sale.
Research- make it a habit.
Most businesses go bankrupt because they were too afraid to take risks. They failed to adapt to their dynamic market.
Unfortunately, trends and customer preferences change time to time. And this is the primary reason why you should do constant research.
Make yourself updated. Use the world wide web to discover new things that could improve the products or services that you offer. But don’t limit yourself with just the internet. Here are other ways to discover a lot of new things for your business:
- Going to other places, where your customers might also go, would help you explore. It can open your eyes to different possibilities.
- Visit competitor websites. Check them out too! You should know who is eating up a considerable part of your market. What do they offer that you don’t? What can you give that they can’t?
- Ask your customers. Most websites reserve a page where customers can put their insights. Whether these testimonials are positive or not, it will help you. In fact, negative comments are more helpful: they will be your cue to remodel your business plan.
By reading all these tips, do you think you are not ready to get started? Don’t wait for more competitors to get ahead of you. Remember, the earlier you introduce your brand online, the more beneficial it will be for you!
Kevin Clyde Sumalinog
Digital Marketer at Proweaver, a web development company specializing in Custom Web Design which helps sole propreitors and small companies increase their sales and grow their business. I am responsible in Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing. You can find us on Twitter: @proweaver
