Two Things That Can Tarnish Your Online Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article
 
There are two fundamental aspects of digital commerce that have the potential to tarnish the reputation of your success; the loading speed of your website and the credibility of your email account. Indeed, there are many essential ingredients every business needs but perhaps there are none more important in the sphere of online business than the load speed of your website and the amount of emails that get through to your list of subscribers.

First off, let’s take a look at your email account.

Email marketing is one of the most essential ways to communicate with customers today, indeed it is one of the most essential aspects of digital marketing, yet it can be notoriously difficult as often commercial emails end up in spam folders.

Today, there are over a hundred different SPAM blacklists in operation but with the use of certain tools and strategies such as using email list verification, this risk can be mitigated in order to ensure the majority of emails do get through to their intended recipients.

Now, let’s look at how the loading speed of your website.

It’s well known that there’s a direct correlation between the loading time of your website and bounce rate, that is to say the number of people that visit your site but leave straight away; just like in the offline retail world, where a customer walks into a shop then walks straight out.

In fact, to better explain the term ‘bounce rate’ it can help to picture a busy shopping centre – where people are walking around browsing or searching for a particular solution. In the shopping centre, signposts help point people in the right direction, whereas in the online world, Google is the authority.

In the offline retail world, people naturally browse a few different stores based on the attractiveness of their retail display amongst other factors such as brand awareness and perceived relevance to their needs.

Now, as the store owner once they come through the door, it’s your job to engage them with special offers, product demonstrations, engaging retail displays, and relevant ideas to solve a problem they face.

In essence, your job as a retailer is to engage consumers so they spend as much time in your retail environment as possible – for there’s a direct correlation between the amount of time spent in a store and the amount of money spent. This is why large retail brands invest so much in visual merchandising.

Now, in the digital world, if you have high traffic but low engagement this is known as having a high bounce rate.

The reason a high bounce rate will cripple your online business success is because it’s akin to people walking in your store, and then straight back out, without buying anything. Whilst a high bounce rate can be attributed to many factors such as a lack of engaging content, or a lack of perceived relevance, it has been found that 40% of potential customers will leave your website if the site takes more than 3 seconds to load.

This is particularly pertinent in our increasingly impatient digital world and therefore we’re going to take a brief look at three ways to optimise the loading speed of your website.

1. Hosting

Load speed can be somewhat contingent on your hosting provider, and therefore, it’s something you should seriously consider before committing to a provider. If you have a high volume of traffic to your website then you might want to consider upgrading to private hosting, as this can offer a much speedier service in terms of load speed.

2. Optimize Images

Many website owners use large image files and then scale them down automatically using CSS, to be displayed on the user’s device. This might not seem like a problem, but the challenge is the browser has to load the full size image, then scale it down, which is a very inefficient way to process photos – and this can seriously affect load speed.

3. Enable Browser Caching

When you regularly visit a website some of the elements of that web page are stored on your hard drive, in a temporary storage folder, known as a cache. As a website owner, if you enable browser caching it means you are able to temporarily store data on the user’s computer which means they will have a much faster loading experience.

Leadership Inspirations – What People Believe

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Quote“People don’t believe what you tell them. They rarely believe what you show them. They often believe what their friends tell them. They always believe what they tell themselves.”

Seth Godin
American Author, Entrepreneur, and Business Executive

How do You Drive Website Conversions?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship ArticleHaving plenty of fresh visitors to your website is all well and good, but if you’re not converting those site visits into sales then you’re not actually accomplishing what you need. Having low conversion rates is one of the key signs that there is something wrong with your website service, and sometimes it takes just one factor to convince a potential customer to abandon your site in favor of one that is easier to use. If your conversion rates are lackluster, then it’s time that you gave some thought to the proven strategies that will encourage more sales and reduce your rate of site abandonment.

Calls to Action

Asking your site visitors to do something specific is known as a call to action (CTA). What you’re asking them to do will depend on your current marketing strategy, but usually it entails things like signing up for a newsletter, registering for a special offer, or voting in a poll. These are critical, because the longer that a customer stays on your site, the more chance you have of making a sale. It really is that simple. You want to provide something in return for their time, so make sure that your CTA results in unique content or offers that can’t be accessed without the action being taken. Your landing pages will be critical here, and need to be the right blend of simple to understand and a gateway to other pages on your site.

Use Testimonials

When up to 64% of consumers read online reviews before committing to a purchase, your testimonials are clearly important. Businesses that fail to make use of positive reviews are missing out on a vital marketing tool. Testimonials are effective because of a few factors. They add credibility to your brand, and by doing so, they also promote the right level of trust that may be the deciding factor when a site visitor is hesitant about finishing the sales process. In 2018, reviews have started to change in terms of consumer trends, and video testimonials are becoming much more prolific. These are particularly useful if your business is relatively new, and by making use of professionals to review your product, you are giving your testimony content an incredibly fresh and exciting new format for customers to enjoy.

Quality Content

From product descriptions to blog posts and white papers, content is one of the most important tools when it comes to boosting your conversion rates. This is largely because the best content will have the effect of boosting your SEO rankings, making it far easier for consumers with a specific need to find you. If you struggle with content or SEO marketing, then make use of www.blackbeltcommerce.com, who can design a content and marketing strategy that will see your SEO rankings rise and your conversions see a vast improvement. Mix up the type of content that you post, and assess your analytics to check which types work best for you.

Your conversion rates are a good indication of the health of your business, so it’s vital that you keep working at them to keep them as high as possible. If you follow the above advice, you will stand a much better chance of encouraging customers to commit to that all-important final click.

Leadership Inspirations – Socially Responsible Leader Branding

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales Quote
 
“Transforming a brand into a socially responsible leader doesn’t happen overnight by simply writing new marketing and advertising strategies. It takes effort to identify a vision that your customers will find will find credible and aligned with their values.”

Simon Mainwaring
Social Media Expert and Advertising Creative Director for Mashable

How A Business Can Benefit From an Online Presence

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StrategyDriven Marketing and Sales ArticleThe internet allows companies of all sizes in all industries to reach new customers, connect with new suppliers, and increase recognition. So, even some more niche businesses could benefit greatly from online advertising.

It’s time for conventional companies to look beyond traditional marketing tactics, such as newspaper ads and flyers, and start focusing on online marketing campaigns. Here are three businesses that can benefit from moving online.

1. Recycling Company

Many businesses wanting to flourish and grow must start adopting modern technologies and marketing tactics. For example, there are new technologies on the market that are simplifying tasks, which can increase onsite productivity. This can apply to the recycling trade.

An online presence can, however, be beneficial to any business, as it allows them to reach a larger audience. It can also personalize a business, which can prove you provide a valuable service to the community. Professional blogs and web content can also add value to your produce, which will make people more likely to turn to your shipping business. Also, use the internet to improve your operations by researching into the most appropriate equipment, regardless of the goods you are recycling. For example, you could take your pick from reputable suppliers online, as you could buy high-quality, affordable cardboard baling wire from Baling Wire Direct.

2. Real Estate Agents

No longer are people looking through a real estate’s windows to find their dream property. Nowadays, house hunters or property sellers want to find or promote a listing online. This allows prospective buyers to easily browse through multiple properties, so they can make an informed decision and choose their new home at their own pace. If you want to compete with more forward-thinking real estate agents, you must develop a website and social media profiles, or you’ll be forced to watch potential customers turn to your competitors.

3. Retail

The rise of e-commerce has posed a serious threat to bricks and mortar stores. Unfortunately, even the most established stores are not safe without an online presence, as more and more people are choosing to shop online. If you’re a retailer without an online store, you may lose out on sales and can witness a drop in loyal custom, as consumers will choose to shop with a more flexible, helpful, and forward-thinking brand.

To survive in the modern marketplace, you could offer an e-commerce website with a fully-optimized checkout, and informative customer service and contact information. It will allow customers to shop at any time of the day, rather than being limited to opening hours at a physical store. So, an online presence could help you to generate money 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no reason why traditional businesses should avoid moving online. By launching a website, creating social media profiles, developing content marketing strategies, and utilizing pay per click advertising (PPC), you can connect with people not only within your local community, but across the globe. It could help you to become a leader in your industry and generate a great return on your investment.