Weighs in On Building an Online Business: 7 Steps to Success

Published on: 09 January 2019 Last Updated on: 24 February 2020
Online Business

Building an online business is always challenging, particularly if it’s your first business venture. Competition for customers is high in almost every marketplace, so you need to find ways to stay ahead of your competitors. Planning and preparation are crucial for long-term success

When it comes to online entrepreneurship, the CEO of SMEJapan.com, Joel Devidal enjoys sharing his passion and knowledge for his career with others. He serves as an advisor and board member to companies, helping them create bright futures through decisions around strategy, marketing, and development. His intuition and experience help these organizations eliminate excessive operational costs while still delivering quality to the end users.

Here are seven steps detailed by Mr. Devidal for building a successful online business.

Find a Gap in the Market:

Look for a niche or gap in the market that has not already been filled. This may be as simple as finding an area where your competitors are falling short of customer expectations, or it could mean finding a way to provide extra value or novel additions to your products.

For example, if you want to start a business selling residential smoke alarms, it would be difficult to compete with more well-established companies. However, you could create your niche by making your products from recycled materials and working with a designer to create unique and attractive designs.

Do Your Research:

Proper research forms the foundation for any business, but its importance is often overlooked. Researching your competitors is crucial for planning, starting and growing your business.

Customer research enables you to define and target a specific type of customer, making it easier to market your products and reduce advertising costs.

Create a Platform:

Your website is the storefront of your business; it should contain all the information potential customers will want to know, including your contact details, mission statement, FAQs (frequently asked questions) and any legal notices you need to include.

The design of your website should complement the type of business you’re running. Consider hiring a professional web designer to make your platform attractive and easy to navigate.

Build Your Reputation:

Posting regular content on your website or blog is a simple way to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Create well-researched content that is useful to your customers. Stay informed about developments and important issues in your area. Writing content for trade magazines and other appropriate websites will also help to build your reputation.

Drive Traffic to Your Website:

It takes time to achieve high search engine rankings, but there are other ways to drive traffic to your website.

Social media is one of the cheapest and most effective tools for increasing website traffic, but monitoring several social media accounts can be time-consuming. Focus on maintaining a presence on one main social media platform rather than trying to spread your time across multiple platforms. Alternatively, if your budget allows, you could hire a social media manager.

Paid advertising campaigns can also be highly effective at driving traffic to your website, but you will need to consider whether the results will be worth the cost of running the campaign.

Convert Site Visitors to Customers:

Once visitors arrive at your website, it’s your job to convince them to buy your products. Showcasing your products and services with targeted landing pages will increase your chances of immediate sales. However, visitors often need time and extra information before making buying decisions.

Therefore, the main aim should be to capture the email addresses of your site’s visitors. Once you have their email address, you can work on building a long-term relationship through regular email communication.

Keep Customers Coming Back:

Providing an excellent customer experience is the key to keeping your customers satisfied and ensuring future sales. “Happy customers are more likely to recommend your products to family and friends,” stated Mr. Devidal. Keep in touch with customers by sending regular email updates, exclusive offers, and discounts.

Building an online business is a difficult task, but proper preparation will increase your chances of success. Taking the time to do your research and plan your strategy will make all the difference when setting up a new business.

Read Also:

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

View all posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related

Corporate Hierarchy

How to Work your way from the Bottom to the top Corporate Hierarchy

For many young people joining the corporate world, it is a daunting place to be. Growing up you were probably a big fish in a small pond, and in many ways, it was a pond that saw you rise to the top based on age more than anything else. A senior at high school or a post-grad at university are the top of the food chain, but when you enter the real world of corporates and career ladders, advancement is suddenly dependent on a whole lot more factors. And if you are coming in at the bottom of the pyramid do you really have the fight for the mail room to board room type rags-to-riches story. If you do, here are some tips to help you make the upwards move. How to Work your way from the Bottom to the top of the Corporate Hierarchy: Keep learning: Don’t think for a minute that you can leave school or university and stop learning. If that is your attitude, then you will never go anywhere. Whatever qualifications you have, you can always get more. If, for example, you have a basic engineering qualification then build on it. Enroll part-time to do your certificate 4 in engineering or look to complete a diploma that plays to your strength or fill a place where you have a knowledge gap. And when it comes to learning don’t think narrowly, think broadly. You might be an engineer but that doesn’t mean you cannot do a course or degree in law or finance or flower arranging for that matter. Work hard: Always aim to get to work before your boss and, wherever possible, try to leave once he or she has gone. And don’t just fill time at the office doing nothing, always be productive. Look for work. If all your assigned tasks are done find something else to do. Ask colleagues if you can help. Tidy your work space. Hustle for sales leads. Whatever it is, be productive and work hard. It will get noticed. Be patient: It is great to be driven by ambition and the desire to make it to the top but recognizes that it is a marathon and not a sprint. If you tackle it like a sprint you will cut corners and do things that you regret in later years. You want to make it to the top by being honorable and doing it the right way. With the marathon perspective, it is easier to adopt the hungry but steady philosophy. People will respect that. Get involved: Nobody likes a loner so work hard to be a team player and to get involved in all areas of the company. Be part of the pub quiz team, play on the netball team, attend events, participate in group discussions. If you are interested and engaged, you will be noticed and appreciated. It is a far cry from sucking up to management, you don’t need to do that, it is simply an opportunity to build relationships at all levels and to showcase your skills, talents, and personality. Read Also: How To Stand Out In The Competitive Corporate World Important Things To Know Before Starting A Home Improvement Project

READ MOREDetails
supervisor

Are you cut out to be a supervisor?

In order to be a successful supervisor, you have to be able to display certain character traits. While there are some supervisory skills you can learn, there are other things you’re just born with. You might know the job like the back of your hand, but do you know how to be a good leader or manager? You probably already know if you have what it takes to make the step up to a supervisor, but in case you’re questioning the change, here are some of the most important characteristics of a good supervisor. You’re empathetic : Good supervisors know how to maintain their authoritative figure but can be empathic to their employees. Odds are before you became a supervisor you were in the place that your employees are currently in. If that’s the case, you know how hard it can be to manage work and family. Ways to maintain empathy for your employees is to be flexible, kind, understanding, fair, consistent, and respectful. Even though you’re the boss, your co-workers are your equals outside of work and they should be treated that way. You should set the example : If you want the workers underneath you to perform well and be consistent in their performance, you need to do the same. If you expect your workers to be on time to work, you should be there before they even step foot in the door. The workers are only going to work as hard as their supervisor and so you need to be one of the hardest working men or women in the department. Make sure that you encourage an environment that’s productive, engaging, and worthwhile for co-workers. You’re humble : There’s a difference in the mindset that you’re the boss and everyone has to do exactly as you say, and you’re the boss so people should respect your requests, but the respect goes both ways. Being humble about your position won’t only make people like you, but it will also lead to more cooperative co-workers. Instead of ordering people around, you should make kind requests and expect them to get it done because they enjoy their job and respect you. You communicate well : Communication is key to an organized workplace. Communication isn’t only remembering to tell your employees what their tasks are for the week, but it’s also how you approach it. When communicating with co-workers, you need to be consistent. This could mean having a weekly meeting to cover all of the week's goals and objectives, or sending out an email at the beginning of every day that outlines what needs to get done. You might find that people are more apt to listen to when you’re looking at them face to face. Make sure you give clear and concise instructions to your workers and understand their needs. Be sure to eliminate any confusion before the task begins. You look to help others grow : Just because you’re the boss doesn’t mean that others can’t get to positions of authority too. If workers are willing to go above and beyond, let them. You don’t want to keep people at a standstill so that they feel like they can’t grow their capabilities and learn new things. You should feel comfortable delegating responsibilities to people under you so that they can learn new skills and become more productive workers. A supervisor not willing to lead their workers down a path of success is not a very good supervisor. You can problem-solve : Things are bound to go wrong no matter what industry or department you work in. When that happens, people are going to look to you for a solution. You should be able to analyze a situation and separate yourself from what’s happening in order to be able to make good decisions. This isn’t always going to be easy, but you definitely can’t panic under stress. The ability to find solutions is a key role in being a supervisor.  

READ MOREDetails
Crowded Niche

5 Ways to Stand Out In A Crowded Niche: Insights from an Expert

There are a lot of businesses out there. In fact, according to recent data, there are over 28 million businesses in the United States alone. So how do you make sure that your business stands out from a crowded niche? It can be challenging, but it's not impossible. Today, we'll discuss five ways to set yourself apart from the competition and attract more customers to your business using cloud marketplace solutions. Top 5 Worthy Expert Guide To Stand Out In a Crowded Niche 1. Identify the needs of your target audience Any business owner knows that one of the keys to success is understanding the needs and wants of their target audience. After all, if you don't know what your customers are looking for, how can you hope to provide it? Fortunately, there are several ways to get feedback from potential customers. Surveys are a great way to collect data from many people, and social media can be used to reach out to potential customers and gauge their opinion of your products or services. In addition, many companies also use focus groups to get more in-depth feedback from potential customers. No matter what method you use, gathering feedback from your target audience is essential to ensure that your business meets their needs. Related: Which Targeting Option is Best for Influencing Consideration? 2. Research your competition and find a way to differentiate yourself Any successful business owner knows that it's essential to understand who your competition is. After all, if you don't know who you're up against, it's hard to develop strategies for winning over customers. However, simply knowing your competition is not enough. In today's competitive marketplace, businesses need to find ways to stand out in a crowded niche. What makes your business unique? Why should potential customers choose you over your competitors? If you can answer these questions, you'll be well on your way to attracting new customers. By understanding both your competition and what sets your business apart, you'll be in a solid position to succeed. Related: 6 Tips to Help Your Business Stay Ahead of the Competition 3. Create valuable content that is worth sharing In today's digital world, content is king. By creating high-quality, valuable content, you can attract attention to your business and build trust with potential custom bIf your content is shareable, you could see a significant boost in website traffic and social media engagement. Creating great content isn't always easy, but it's worth the effort. When your product is truly useful or interesting to your target audience, you'll be rewarded with their attention and loyalty. If you're not sure where to start, try brainstorming a list of topics that would be helpful or informative to your customers or clients. Once you have a few ideas, you can start writing or recording your content. Remember to keep your audience in mind throughout the process and aim to provide informative and engaging content. With a little effort, you can turn content into a powerful tool for growing your business. Related: How to Get Into Content Marketing 4. Use social media to reach out to the new audience Social media is a powerful tool that can reach out to new audiences and promote your business. To stand out in the crowded niche, you can quickly attract new leads and customers by posting engaging content, participating in relevant conversations, and running target meters. However, it's essential to use social media wisely, as over-exposure can lead to fatigue and alienation. To maximize the impact of your social media campaigns, focus on quality over quantity, genuinely interact with your audience, and be sure to measure your results so that you can continue to improve your efforts. With some planning and effort, you can use social media to effectively reach new markets with cloud marketplace solutions and grow your business. Related: Social Media Usage: Pros And Cons 5. Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and changes in your industry Industries are constantly changing and evolving, so businesses need to stay on top of the latest trends to remain competitive. Customers' needs and wants are continually shifting, so it's crucial to be able to adapt your products or services to meet their changing demands. Plus, keeping up with the latest industry news shows that you're a leader in your field, which can attract more customers by standing out in the crowded niche of your business. There are several ways to stay up-to-date with the latest industry news, such as subscribing to industry publications, attending conferences and trade shows, or following influencers on social media. By taking advantage of these resources, you can ensure that your business is always ahead of the curve. Related: Explore Some Interesting Marketing Trends for Your Business Final Thoughts As any business owner knows, standing out in a crowded marketplace can be challenging. With so many businesses vying for attention, it can be challenging to hear your voice above the noise. However, by following the tips above, you can set yourself apart from the competition and attract more customers to your business. Additionals:Event Management: 5 Tips for Organizing Major Esports EventsThe Lifecycle Of Creative Branding Agency: How To Build A Brand?Looking To Build A Photography Website: Here Is How You Can Build One

READ MOREDetails