Businesses and organizations are evolving with time and technology. Starting and running a business online has many benefits over the conventional business models. The era of online business has already begun and companies know that. What about the start-ups and budding entrepreneurs who are planning to start online? Are you one of them? Do you know what you should do and what you should not do when you take your business online? Here’s a guide to what to do and what not to do when you plan to take your business online.
Have A Plan: For anything you wish to achieve or accomplish you need a plan. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of planning as they go. It may work for someone but that does not mean it will work for you as well. Having a plan is better before you take your business off the ground. Amendments may be needed from time to time.
Use Different Modes: Try to use all the modes of marketing. Plan and develop your business model so as to offer a user-enriched experience. Your prospective customers should be able to reach out to you whichever way they want to, be it your site, or your facebook page. Be available everywhere.
Know Your Audience: First you need to know your audience. Unless you don’t know your target audience, you cannot have a good marketing strategy. A sixty-year-old guy would probably not get a tattoo, and likewise, a six-year-old wouldn’t need a cane. So, the target audience should be very clear and loud if you wish to gain the maximum out of your efforts.
Do Not Bad Market Your Competitors: Many young entrepreneurs make this terrible mistake. Marketing bad about your competitors does not gain you anything rather puts you out of the league for misbehavior. Your customers look at you as insensitive. Recently Jeffrey Preszler from PreszlerLaw.com showed that social media posts are subject to Ontario’s laws against libel; if you defame someone online, you may have to pay for their damaged reputation. So defaming not only jeopardizes your position in the market but also poses a danger of you being sued.
Use Genuine SEO Techniques: There are two ways as identified by the popular Search Engines- White Hat SEO Techniques and Black Hat SEO Techniques. The former being the ones that are considered as organically improving SER rankings and the later one being that are not accepted by the Search Engines. Black hat SEO techniques may help you get immediate priority ratings but eventually, the bots will identify your technique and may list you as PBN or Spam. The situation could get worse by your domain being frozen.
Accept When Someone Criticizes You: You should know when somebody is criticizing you and you need to take it with a smile. Criticism is very useful. Many of your shortcomings are elaborately exposed when someone does it to you. There is a bleak line between constructive and destructive criticism. Take on the constructive one and ignore the slander.
Expect What’s Realistic: Pursue something that can be achieved in reality. Your goals should be tangible. Do not have unrealistic expectations or it may leave you in far more distress when you don’t get them. Plan your goals in sync with your potential and caliber. Do not expect a guardian angel to save you during hard times. There’s no guardian angel and there’s no help that you may get. You are on your own on this journey. So, be practical and realistic.
Don’t Cram: Putting up with more than you can is not the answer to anything. Take one task at a time. Finish it with full zest and then take the other one. Let everything else fade to black, and focus on what’s more important. Stop wasting your time over unnecessary tasks that will not get you anything in return. People waste a lot of time designing logos, for example, before they even have a business plan. Don’t do this to yourself. Do what’s more important right now.
Know Your SWOT: You would have probably heard of the SWOT analysis. But have you implemented it? If not, then you need to do it now. Know your strengths and weaknesses, and use them to grab any opportunity that comes your way or maneuver your way through threats.
An entrepreneurs journey is not easy. Success isn’t something that you achieve overnight. A lot of hard work and time is required to reach the top of the mountain. Hopefully, these simple ideas will help you through your journey.
