Thursday 11 February 2016

5 Factors That Prevent the Growth of Your Online Business

When you started your online business, you didn’t intend to keep tapping in one place. You probably started small, but you planned to work towards indefinite progress. At some point, when you took a look at the quarterly report, you realized that the growth wasn’t happening. Can you define the reasons for such state?

The online world gives you immense opportunities for business growth. Billions of people are online at this moment. That means you have a great chance to attract your target audience, but you also face huge competition that won’t let you succeed that easily. When it comes to turning leads into customers, you have to try something different than everyone else. Maybe uniqueness is where you fail?

There are five possible factors that may prevent the growth of your online business. Many guides and tips promise you to make a difference, but you won’t notice any progress if you don’t analyze your mistakes first. Go through the following list and think about your actions. When you become aware of your flaws, it will be easy for you to fix them.
You Are Dependent Upon Your Social Media Presence



It’s nice to use social media for the sake of business growth. You communicate with your audience, you get comments and constructive criticism, and you present your new products and services in front of potential customers. Establishing strong social media presence is a business strategy that always work, but you cannot base your entire marketing efforts on it.

If you’ve been neglecting the necessary website improvements before you get all you need through social media, then you’re making a big mistake. There is only one proper way for an online business to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms: as media that attract potential buyers and direct them towards the main website. That’s where the magic happens – your website. Do not focus too much on social media. If you invest too much time on maintaining these platforms, you’ll forget about the main purpose of your online business.

Read: The 30 minute Social media workout for Every marketers.
You’re Getting Too Inspired By Industry Leaders



The reason for analyzing industry leaders is to learn from their strategies and implement them in a unique way that’s appropriate for your own online business. You should not copy them! No customer would like to do business with someone who copies an established brand; they wouldn’t choose you over the leaders if you don’t offer something new.

The only way to attract potential customers is to gain their trust. When you analyze the leaders in your industry, use that data as a guiding point, but do not turn your own business into a clone.
You’re Trying Too Hard to Look Like an Expert



If you’re following the example of real industry experts, you might think it would be wise to leave an impression as an arrogant, unavailable person. Yes, such reputation works for well-established industry leaders who don’t have time to build connections with regular customers. Don’t play that game! If the customers don’t feel like they can communicate with you, they won’t like your business. Don’t place yourself on a pedestal; that’s a certain way of repelling your potential clients.

Your priority should be building a proper connection with your audience.

Let’s say you’re looking at TripAdvisor reviews for Cuban hotels. You’re considering two options: both of them have many reviews, but the manager of one of those hotels responded to the comments and promised to take the remarks into consideration. You would surely choose the hotel with more accessible management, wouldn’t you?

You can be an expert everyone feels close to! Expose yourself to public opinion and be as accessible as possible. Respond to online comments and do everything to make your customers happy! That’s the type of leader everyone wants to do business with.
You’re Not Doing Enough to Boost Your Website’s Traffic

You own an online business. Its success depends upon the traffic you attract at your website. You can build perfectly organized pages with the right color scheme and tons of information your customers need. That won’t do you any good if you don’t have a traffic-building strategy.

Everyone loves podcasts these days. Try to get interviewed by a popular host, and you’ll attract many visits the same day of its publication. Publish press releases and gain authority by maintaining an awesome blog. Build strong connections with influential bloggers and get your links featured in their posts. Offer free products/services to people willing to share their reviews with the online community. Do everything to attract more audience at your website!

Your Strategies Are Outdated



Technology evolves at a fast pace. If you can’t keep up with the new trends, your online business will definitely suffer the consequences. The strategies that worked for ages may not be effective in the current online setting. E-mail marketing is a classic, but maybe you’re sending old-fashioned lines that no longer work? Maybe you are publishing lengthy articles that used to be a synonym of expertise, but are not attractive for today’s readers with short attention span?

Remember: old-fashioned strategies won’t lead your business towards growth. You need to base your online presence upon contemporary techniques that today’s Internet users appreciate. Most of all, you need to focus on direct and casual, but professional communication with your audience. Bring something new to the table; the most important thing is to be unique!
If Your Online Business Is Not Growing, You Need to Make a Change!

The moment you become aware of the slow or nonexistent online business growth, you need to focus on making changes that will push it forward. Everyone makes mistakes. Some business owners are successful because they recognize them on time and they know how to fix them.

There are tons of opportunities in the online space, but the business environment is not as welcoming as it once was. You need to do your part of the work. Make the necessary changes, and your business will start growing.

How’s your online business doing? Are you growing or stagnant? Let us know in the comment section below. And if you enjoyed this article, do share it in your network.

This post is contributed by Shoutmeloud. 

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