Growing Your Online Presence, Growing Your Online Orders

E-commerce is the new business frontier. More and more consumers are opting to do business online as opposed to conducting in-person transactions at places of business. And it makes sense: the convenience and variety provided by online shopping and business offers consumers more options, chances to save money, and find the product or service they are really looking for. As you make plans to expand and grow your business, it’s imperative that you adapt and innovate your business model to include strategies for reaching an online client base. Doing so could exponentially increase your business volume and garner an entirely un-tapped clientele you wouldn’t have been able to reach otherwise.

As you may know, the first step to establishing your business for e-commerce is developing a website that effectively represents your product or service to potential customers. And chances are you may already have a website set up for your business, but if it’s been a while since you’ve made any changes or updates you may want to consider making some modifications or completely redesigning for a fresh new look. Remember, the chief reason for creating a website, apart from growing online transactions, is to establish a clear and unique brand.

Since e-commerce works through remote transactions with electronic payment options, it’s likely that the first impression customers will get about your business will be through your web presence. You want to communicate clearly and strongly what makes your product or service valuable. And, design plays a big role this impression. You may consider consulting a web designer/developer to create a logo, organize the site’s content, and give your site that professional touch that could mean the difference between winning and losing business.

After you’ve established your website, it’s time to get the word out. Over the last decade or so, social media has become an indispensible tool for online businesses, completely transforming online marketing and revolutionizing how businesses advertise to potential customers. Given the important role social media plays in many people’s day-to-day lives, it has become an important marketing avenue employed by successful online business ventures.

Don’t underestimate the marketing potential of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Developing an online presence, in addition to your website, is about engaging customers through these platforms. Build a social media strategy that’s particular to your target customer demographic and be sure to remain an active user/poster to gain traction with and attention from potential customers.

All of your social media efforts should rally around one aim: directing traffic to your website. Once potential customers visit your site, they should be able to quickly and easily peruse the content in order to get a clear idea of the product or service your business offers. You may even consider using social media to advertise discounts or deals. This could be an excellent strategy for securing new customers and processing online orders. In the end, the more traffic you can direct to your website, the more opportunities you have to process online orders.