Developments in technology allowed businesses to use innovative strategies to reach their customers. And when the pandemic started, businesses that were already implementing digital and online marketing strategies had the upper hand and found it easy to shift to the online marketplace.
On the other hand, businesses that focused on their physical stores before the pandemic started found it challenging to adjust to the new normal way of doing business. Despite this, they can still grow their business online so they can connect with their customers and reach new markets.
Even though the situation has improved more than a year after the pandemic started, people continue to shop online. With this, entrepreneurs may want to focus on expanding their businesses online to reach their market. Here are the things that entrepreneurs should take into account when expanding their business online.
Enhance the Website
The entrepreneur should make sure the website is user-friendly and pleasing to the eyes. Businesses should make sure their website has a premium look and feel to make it appealing in the market. The design should be simple and functional rather than complicated, which may put off visitors to the website.
User-friendliness is also important to allow customers to easily make their way around the website. Businesses should work on the design layout, site speed, and checkout process when they enhance the website. They should remove obstacles in the checkout process to reduce frustration among customers who want to buy something.
Make the Website Mobile-Friendly
With around 85 per cent of American adults owning smartphones, entrepreneurs should ensure the website of their businesses is mobile-friendly. Making the website accessible using the phone can increase the reach of the business.
Many businesses focus on making their websites accessible to desktops and laptops. But overlooking the mobile-friendliness of the website can affect its reach in the market. Many people use their smartphones to browse the internet, which makes it a huge market that businesses can tap.
To ensure the website is mobile-friendly, businesses should enhance the quality of images, the functionality of the website, and make it easy to navigate using a mobile device.
Build a Network
The pandemic highlighted the need for businesses to work with each other to stay afloat. With this, entrepreneurs should build a network that they can rely on in case the need arises. They should connect with different suppliers so they’ll have a steady supply of products that they can offer through their business.
Entrepreneurs should also join online communities and participate in discussions within these communities. This allows them to build a reputation among their colleagues in the industry. It also allows them to access people who can help them build their business. They may even establish partnerships with complementary businesses.
Building a network also allows the entrepreneur to enhance his credibility in the business community. With better credibility, the entrepreneur will have a good chance of improving his credit score. Maintaining a good score gives the entrepreneur access to more credit that he can use to expand a business.
Increase Social Media Presence
With over 230 million social media users in the United States, increasing social media presence is essential for the growth of the business. Businesses should create an account on major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. They should also be active and engage their visitors.
Engaging their visitors allows businesses to encourage them to visit their website and buy their products. Posting relevant content can also stimulate interest in the products and services that the business offers.
The content can include images, videos, and articles about the business’s products and services. The business should also make sure to be consistent in posting content. They may even repost positive reviews of their products and services on their social media accounts.
Additionally, the social media manager should also be witty when answering comments by visitors on the social media accounts of the business.
Create a Blog
A good way of bringing traffic to a website is by creating a blog. Websites with blogs have higher internet traffic compared to websites without them. Bluehost makes setting up a WordPress blog easy and is great value for money.
The content in the blogs should focus on topics relevant to the niche of the business. For instance, if the business sells retail apparel, the topics can include clothing materials and fashion.
The content can come in the form of articles or videos. While the business can share videos created by other people, they should make sure to avoid copyright and licensing issues. To avoid this, the entrepreneur can hire someone to create original videos that he can post on the website.
Expanding online is a good way for a business to grow while waiting for the pandemic to end.
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