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3 ways to boost your online business

In a world with thousands of online businesses jostling to make themselves known, it can be tough to get a break when you are running your own online business.

Fortunately, the internet is a big place and there are thousands of potential customers out there who could find you at any given moment, at the touch of a button. We would say that there are several things to prioritise when you are in this industry, as we share with you 3 ways to boost your online business. 

Make your website customer friendly

Take a look at your website, how easy is it to navigate? Can potential customers easily find the information that they are searching for? If people have managed to find your business or have accidentally stumbled upon it, you really want them to stick around so you need to address a few things. Look to get a website designer on board to ensure that you are doing all that you can here. You will find that they can also support you in your SEO efforts, so it will be a worthy investment. 

There needs to be an inviting homepage conveying what you do and showcasing your best products. Menus and search bars should stand out so that people move around your site with ease and can enjoy the shopping experience. Add testimonials if appropriate to give people that extra confidence to buy. 

You will then want to make buying from you a simple process. Along with card checkout systems, would ongoing payments suit your product offering? This would ensure a regular number of payments coming through to you each month helping you to manage your cash flow. If this could work for you, look into options such as direct debit services for small businesses so that your customers can make payments with ease. 

Get social

Whilst you are working on getting your website moving up those Google rankings and gaining more exposure, there is another place where you can be spending some time online, social media. 

Social media has really changed the game where online businesses are concerned. If you have a strong social media strategy you could find that most of your sales come this way, rather than having to rely on people finding your website through searches. We are not suggesting that you put all of your eggs into one basket, as you would not want to run a business that is reliant on platforms that you cannot control, but social media can give your sales a huge boost.

Before jumping in, we would recommend that you select just two to three social media channels to work on, as you will need to create regular content for them and interact with people consistently. 

Deliver exceptional customer service

We all know that no matter how much marketing you do and how much money you throw at it, no advertising and promoting can ever compete with word of mouth and recommendations.

People trust other people, so you want your customers to shout about you. In order to do this, you need to deliver an excellent product and deliver it on time whilst meeting and exceeding expectations. All customer contact with you must make a good impression. It is then worth asking for and encouraging recommendations and feedback every time.