subject: How Are You Making Your Business Website Successful? [print this page] Here are 5 ways to improve your business website to achieve the results you are looking for.
Electronic Payment - How is your payment system set up? Are you only accepting checks in the mail? If your business is online, you need to be able to accept payment online. Think of it like those coffee stands and businesses that only accept cash. Its all well and good, but we live in a world of debit and credit, those businesses are losing valuable customers everyday they are not accepting debit or credit. There are several online electronic payment merchant processing services that can help you start up an electronic payment plan with your online business.
E Commerce Shopping Cart If grocery stores didnt offer shopping carts, people wouldnt buy as much- they wouldnt be able to carry it all, they would have to buy several things another day or try and ask other people to follow them around holding their items, which would never happen. Yes, its a courtesy for a grocery store to offer grocery carts and convenient for shoppers, but it is also a way for grocery stores to make more money as- people will be able to pick up and carry more. This same way of thinking is similar to an online E commerce shopping cart. If you can offer a shopping cart your online buyers, you are giving them a place holder to store their items so they can continue to look around and buy other items without losing track of the items they already plan to purchase. Plus, regardless of whatever they decide to purchase, you will be able to see what customers put in their cart regardless of if they buy it- helping you out on what you decide to keep or get rid of in your store.
Marketing/Linking- How are you reaching out to new customers or keeping the one you have? A business website is just like a brick and mortar store in many regards. If you say that your business hours are from 9-5, than you need to have the lights on and the doors unlocked ready for business at that time. If your site isnt working properly, or if you dont ever check your email, its likely that you will find people turning away the moment they get there, or else never returning. When advertising your business online, you want to try and reach out to as many people as possible yet in a way that isnt intrusive or annoying like Spam. By adding links to your business website of businesses that you recommend and visa versa, you will slowly gain exposure that way. Make sure you communicate with review sites like Yelp and City Search to help create talk around your business.
Reviews- As stated before, getting your site onto review sites can help create buzz around your online business. Instead of the age of the business advertising for themselves, its more about people advertising for other businesses for free. People would rather hear from a friend whether or not a restaurant is good or not, or whether to buy a certain car or avoid it like the plague. The double edge sword with review sites is- if you have one bad review, it could cause a lot of grief for your business, but the same goes for a good review. You can suddenly have an explosion of business should you have a couple good reviews about your business or products.
Exceptional Customer Service-There may not be a better thing to focus your energy on once your business is up and running than quality of customer service. People recognize and remember good customer service, sometimes even better than the product or service you are offering. Oftentimes a restaurant or caf wont have the best food in town, but if their customer service is top notch, people will tolerate the food and come for the service. Responding to emails, updating your site, getting customers quality products fast or at least on a timely manner really make a huge impact on what people think of your business and what they will say to other people.
If you are hoping to make this year the best year for your website business, look to a few key pointers in customer service, marketing and payment policies on your website. Your customers will have a hard time helping you succeed if you dont give them the tools and service they need.
by: Jason Ausmus
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