Just like in the “real world” of brick and mortar businesses, most online businesses selling goods and services have either failed already or are just struggling to keep up. There are many reasons for this, and just about all of them can be fixed with a little time and effort or the willingness to pay someone to help you.
Photo by Stuart Miles at freedigitalphotos.net
1. Nobody Knows You
The comparison to offline businesses is very relevant for this issue. If your business is tucked away down a dark alley, then you should put up lights and signs on the main street to direct foot traffic toward your door. The same strategy applies when marketing your website, because you can’t sell anything to people who don’t know you exist.
Consider putting up advertisements on relevant websites that will attract the audience you are looking for, try promoting your business through Twitter or other social networks, or go with Google which is also great at targeting particular segments of the population.
2. Your Site Design Is Not Appropriate
Do you think it’s true that “you can’t judge a book by its cover”? Well, your website is not a book, and people will absolutely judge it within seconds after arriving on your front page. You have very little time to capture the interest of each viewer, and if you fail to do that then you have wasted all of that time and money spent on marketing.
You could hire that kid on your street who seems to know a thing or two about computers, or you could hire a professional ecommerce design studio that knows what they’re doing. Which one of these two options do you think the major players and competitors in your industry are choosing?
3. Poor Social Media Presence
The ability to build a loyal following on social media could make or break your online business, depending on what it is that you’re selling. If done right, these people will basically start marketing your website to their friends, family, and fans to create a constant stream of new business.
Consider all of the social media platforms available today, and don’t disregard any of them as irrelevant to your business. Do you think Instagram is just for sharing pictures of puppies and breakfast? If so, you are missing out on potential customers and letting your competitors win.
4. Not Competitive
It is so easy to compare prices online now, and what can be a blessing for the consumer can be a curse for the provider. This doesn’t mean that you always have to lower your standards and prices to beat the cheap Chinese junk you may be competing with, but you have to be reasonable. Do your research on the people and businesses that are selling similar goods and services as you, and honestly ask yourself why a person would choose you over them.
This is just the start of what it takes to survive and thrive in an online marketplace that is becoming more saturated day by day. If you think you are doing poorly in any of these four aspects, then this is what you should be working on right now. Don’t try to do it alone if you don’t have the required skills and knowledge. It is usually cheaper to hire someone rather than spending the time to learn while you have more important things to worry about.
from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1R9LPAf via local search for landscapers
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