The Three Most Important Areas of Online Business Apr 16th
While many principles of business can translate regardless of where or what type of business you’re running, online businesses are a slightly different kind of beast. Traditional brick and mortar business never used to have to worry about their followers or bounce rate or how well their visitors were converting. But now, if you don’t know and understand how each one of those things can and will affect your business, you could be seriously missing out on business that otherwise would help your company grow. So to help businesses just starting out online or business owners still trying to figure out this arena, here are three of the most important areas for online businesses to focus on in order to find the most success.
Marketing
Marketing is important for any business, regardless of how big or small you are. However, marketing online often takes a while for someone to really get a handle on. From managing your own website to setting up social profiles and working on search engine optimization, there’s a lot that goes into online marketing.
According to Brittney Helmrich, a contributor to Business News Daily, one key component of online marketing is branding. Because there are so many different areas and platforms in which you can market yourself online, having a solid plan for your online branding will make your marketing efforts that much more effective. Helmrich states that this is especially important for smaller businesses so that your visitors and customers can have an easier time recognizing you across the various online platforms in which you’re marketed.
Not only will online marketing help your business become more noticed, but it’s also one of the best ways you can invest in your company. Especially with online marketing, it’s very easy to see exactly where your marketing dollars are going and which streams are bringing in more traffic than others. This takes out a lot of the guess work that plagued traditional marketing strategies that didn’t have data and analytics built into the system.
Data Protection
Especially for ecommerce business, protecting both yours and your customers’ data is going to be of the utmost importance. So many people have a fear that their personal or financial information will get leaked to unwanted parties by conducting business online—and rightfully so. You only have to watch the news for a short time to see another company that’s had a breach in their online security systems which has made all their information vulnerable. So to combat against this, it’s crucial that you know and use best practices for online information security.
According to StaySafeOnline.org, businesses can help protect their customers’ information that’s processed over the Internet through always having up-to-date software, using a firewall and spam filters, and keeping all your business machines clean to guard against viruses and malware. It’s also a good idea to showcase your dedication to online security throughout your website, especially during the purchasing process. This will help your customers feel more comfortable about doing business with you and feel secure that their information won’t be used in a malicious way.
Supply Chain
Because online businesses generally don’t have a physical location in which customers can visit to purchase product, having a solid way to ship orders to customers is vital. When people order something online, there is a certain element of trust the customer has with the seller that their item will get to them in prime condition and within a timely manner. But if you’re having issues with shipping and returns, this could severely set back your business.
To best streamline this process and avoid an untold amount of issues, Mihai Dragan, a contributor to Netonomy.net, recommends for online businesses to work exclusively with shipping providers that handle sending packages. This will not only help to ensure that you have a reliable way to get your products from point A to point B, but you can also usually save money on shipping costs this way by striking a deal with shipping companies. It’s also important that you have a safe, fast and reliable way to handle any returns your customers may have, so seek to set up a streamlined system for this process as well.
Running an online business doesn’t have to be as complicated as you might be making it. By prioritizing and finding simple and effective solutions, you too can have a successful online business. Use the tips mentioned above to help you get to this point today.
Apr 16th
While many principles of business can translate regardless of where or what type of business you’re running, online businesses are a slightly different kind of beast. Traditional brick and mortar business never used to have to worry about their followers or bounce rate or how well their visitors were converting. But now, if you don’t know and understand how each one of those things can and will affect your business, you could be seriously missing out on business that otherwise would help your company grow. So to help businesses just starting out online or business owners still trying to figure out this arena, here are three of the most important areas for online businesses to focus on in order to find the most success.
Marketing
Marketing is important for any business, regardless of how big or small you are. However, marketing online often takes a while for someone to really get a handle on. From managing your own website to setting up social profiles and working on search engine optimization, there’s a lot that goes into online marketing.
According to Brittney Helmrich, a contributor to Business News Daily, one key component of online marketing is branding. Because there are so many different areas and platforms in which you can market yourself online, having a solid plan for your online branding will make your marketing efforts that much more effective. Helmrich states that this is especially important for smaller businesses so that your visitors and customers can have an easier time recognizing you across the various online platforms in which you’re marketed.
Not only will online marketing help your business become more noticed, but it’s also one of the best ways you can invest in your company. Especially with online marketing, it’s very easy to see exactly where your marketing dollars are going and which streams are bringing in more traffic than others. This takes out a lot of the guess work that plagued traditional marketing strategies that didn’t have data and analytics built into the system.
Data Protection
Especially for ecommerce business, protecting both yours and your customers’ data is going to be of the utmost importance. So many people have a fear that their personal or financial information will get leaked to unwanted parties by conducting business online—and rightfully so. You only have to watch the news for a short time to see another company that’s had a breach in their online security systems which has made all their information vulnerable. So to combat against this, it’s crucial that you know and use best practices for online information security.
According to StaySafeOnline.org, businesses can help protect their customers’ information that’s processed over the Internet through always having up-to-date software, using a firewall and spam filters, and keeping all your business machines clean to guard against viruses and malware. It’s also a good idea to showcase your dedication to online security throughout your website, especially during the purchasing process. This will help your customers feel more comfortable about doing business with you and feel secure that their information won’t be used in a malicious way.
Supply Chain
Because online businesses generally don’t have a physical location in which customers can visit to purchase product, having a solid way to ship orders to customers is vital. When people order something online, there is a certain element of trust the customer has with the seller that their item will get to them in prime condition and within a timely manner. But if you’re having issues with shipping and returns, this could severely set back your business.
To best streamline this process and avoid an untold amount of issues, Mihai Dragan, a contributor to Netonomy.net, recommends for online businesses to work exclusively with shipping providers that handle sending packages. This will not only help to ensure that you have a reliable way to get your products from point A to point B, but you can also usually save money on shipping costs this way by striking a deal with shipping companies. It’s also important that you have a safe, fast and reliable way to handle any returns your customers may have, so seek to set up a streamlined system for this process as well.
Running an online business doesn’t have to be as complicated as you might be making it. By prioritizing and finding simple and effective solutions, you too can have a successful online business. Use the tips mentioned above to help you get to this point today.
Join us on Facebook
