What makes your business truly tick? Many of today’s companies have seen their revenue streams temporarily interrupted by challenging financial times of late.
Some businesses will try to wait out that financial storm, thinking that brighter days may be on the horizon. Others, meantime, will try and bring new innovations to the table, looking to jumpstart stalled economic growth.
If you find yourself in this financial pickle, what do you plan to do about it moving forward?
Put the Web to Use for Your Brand
One of the best tools out there for businesses of all sizes is the Internet.
When properly used, the web can help your business grow in so many different ways.
That said it takes time and effort to bring your online efforts to bear, so don’t go looking for any overnight success.
With that in mind, stop and look to see if you have used the Internet to your advantage.
If you haven’t, that can change the remainder of this year and down the road, but you have to want it to change.
Such change comes from realizing the potential the Internet holds for your brand, notably selling it online.
So that you can take advantage of online sales, the first and foremost key is making sure your website is set up properly.
Nothing will frustrate consumers more than if you advertise selling online, yet they come to a site that is lacking on several fronts.
First, there may be broken links when they go to a certain product or service page. In such cases, they’re being denied potentially making a purchase or purchases.
Secondly, the information/images they desire may not adapt well to mobile devices.
As more and more consumers turn to mobile purchases, it is necessary for businesses to be ready to serve them at a moment’s notice. If they are delayed in doing so, consumers once again may opt to go elsewhere, never returning to your site.
Another potential issue is when consumers get to the checkout portion of the site.
Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Have you tried to buy goods or services online, only to be halted when you go to checkout?
While some consumers may opt to come back and make a second or third go of it, many others will quit and find the product or service they need elsewhere. Once again, your business could be missing out on potential revenue.
Organization Makes All the Difference
Whether you are tradebit or any number of companies, having a site that is well organized can make all the difference in the world.
Start by reviewing your online store to see if it flows naturally.
Does it allow consumers a short period of time to jump from page to page? If not, why is there such a delay in doing just that? Also look to see if all the pages are properly aligned and coordinated.
If you sell a variety of sports memorabilia from your online store, all baseball items should be in one section, all football in another, and so on down the chain. Mixing items up too much can cause confusion, leading to disappointed consumers.
When it comes to disappointed consumers, always keep in mind that one disappointed consumer is one too many.
He or she might end up telling family, friends, co-workers etc. about a bad experience they had with your online store. Worse yet, they might take to social media sites to discuss their disappointment. Before you know it, you have a potential mess on your hands.
Lastly, always leave appropriate contact information on your site, something that is especially helpful for consumers that may be having problems navigating your online store.
Solving a problem sooner rather than later is in your best interests as a business owner.
If consumers have to do cartwheels to go from the checkout page to the contact info when needing assistance, once again, you stand the chance of losing sales.
At the end of the day, stop to see if your online store experience truly is resonating with consumers.
If it is, your brand should be ringing up business.
About the Author: Dave Thomas writes about business topics on the web.
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