An online business is relatively easy to start as it requires few tools and a minimum amount of capital. However, it can be tricky to grow your online business and build it into a profitable enterprise. The good news is that there things that you can do to grow it from home without much personal sacrifice.
Stand Out From Your Competitors
No matter what your product is, if you appear to be the same as your competitors, you don’t really have a selling point. If your business sells physical goods, it is important to make your product as unique as possible, down to the packaging. Your packaging should incorporate your brand and other innovative elements that help you stand out. It also shouldn’t be too complicated or difficult to open. It may not seem like a big deal, but it is the little things that make or break the customer experience.
If you don’t sell physical products, you still need to differentiate yourself. One of the best ways to do this is by having excellent customer service. Customer service can be a huge selling point. You don’t have to spend hours on the phone, but make sure you respond to all inquiries within 24-48 hours. It may be helpful to state how long customers should expect to wait for a response
Resource: JansyPKG.com | Design, Packaging & Manufacturing
Get Active on Social Media
Getting active on social media can help to increase engagement with your audience and increase awareness of your brand. While you don’t need to be active on every social media site, it is important to have a sustained presence on at least one or two different networks. For instance, you could post links to articles on Twitter and hold group discussions on Facebook. Choose your platforms based on where your target demographic likes to spend time on the web.
Holding social media contests can also be an effective way to develop relationships between yourself and your audience. Contests could include asking people to take pictures wearing your products or writing a positive message online about how great your service is. Whatever type of contest that you decide to hold, make sure that the rules are clear and that the winner is chosen in a transparent manner.
Resource: WebsiteRocket.com | How To Grow Your Business With Social Media Contests – 6 Steps
Ask Your Customers to Talk Up Your Brand
While you could write articles about your products or create advertisements extolling the virtues of your services, that may not be as effective without a customer testimonial. When prospective customers see other customers saying positive things about your business, they are more likely to make a purchase. This is because they are reading an opinion from an unbiased source that has little or no reason to lie.
Encourage your customers to say positive things about your site in a variety of different places. For instance, they could post a Facebook message to their public page with a link to your site. They could also post positive reviews on your website or on other social media pages. If your customers have a blog, it can be helpful if they post links or otherwise encourage their readers to visit your site. Reach out to a blogger whose audience aligns with yours and offer them a guest post or a sponsored post. It may be worth your while.
Resource: Podium.com | Generating a Google Review Link for Your Business
Take Advantage of Meeting Spaces
When clients are curious about your product or service, they might want to meet up with you about it. This could become a bit of an issue, since you don’t really have an office to meet in.
While you won’t be able to be in your pajamas for this, you can find options in your city, such as meeting at cafes or restaurants. If you want to give the best impression to your client, or if you really need some space that has the equipment you need, like wifi and projectors, then it’s probably better to look into office spaces.
You can take advantage of virtual offices. These are temporary offices and suites designed for entrepreneurs or freelancers that need space. Don’t let go of client possibilities just because you don’t have the current means–there are plenty of options to pursue.
Resource: DavinciVirtual.com | Are Virtual Office Services Right For Your Small Business?
Thanks to social media and other tools, you can grow your business without having to spend hours closing sales each day. Instead, you can let other people or automated systems help spread the word about your business and convert more of your site visitors to customers. As you don’t need to spend much to obtain these customers, these additional sales are mostly extra profit for your company.