Learning About Creating A Business Plan

Posted on: 1 March 2018

Do you have an online business that just isn't performing the way you thought it would? It's tough to be competitive in today's global marketplace, and even the best products and services can languish unnoticed and unsold. Before you give up, however, consider implementing specific strategies designed to get your business noticed in a good way and boost your bottom line. Following are five ways that you can revive a lackluster online business. 

Develop a Distinct Brand

Developing a distinct brand means making your products and services instantly recognizable to those in the market for what you're selling. One of the best historical examples of an excellent branding strategy is the golden arches created over half a century ago by McDonald's. This visual attribute acts as a beacon for those looking for somewhere to grab a quick bite. Although it may not be possible for your product to gain worldwide recognition on the same scale as the fast food megacorporation, you can nonetheless develop a brand with a high recognition profile. 

For instance, a professionally designed logo significantly increases any company's recognizability, but only if it's consistently used. It's important to find one that works for you and resist the urge to change it every year or so. 

Develop a Personable and Professional Social Media Presence

Developing and maintaining a personable and professional social media presence is one of the simplest ways to increase your visibility of the global marketplace. However, it's also one of the most likely strategies to be overlooked by busy entrepreneurs—and some just don't have the natural ability necessary to cultivating an engaging online business persona. If either conundrum is a part of the picture in your situation, you should consider hiring a professional social media manager. Skilled social media managers provide an invaluable service because they keep your pages current, relevant, and visible to potential consumers. 

Use an Amazon Analytic Service

Many small business owners consider data analytics to be something that's only beneficial to large corporations, but that's not the case. Amazon, for instance, has many sellers that are operating as small online businesses, all of whom can access Amazon analytics to identify a variety of consumer trends, which allows them to customize marketing strategies in order to better reach specific target audiences. Other ways that analytics can improve your business include optimizing order fulfillment capabilities, identifying more effective product management and advertising strategies, and helping keep production costs down by identifying seasonal buying trends. 

Data analytics can be time-consuming to figure out if you're not an expert, so consider using a professional Amazon analytics service to get the most from the available data. 

Optimize Your Site for All Screens

If your website isn't optimized for all screens, you're missing out on a big part of the marketplace—mobile users. Mobile devices are now used to make a significant number of online purchases. For instance, Amazon's mobile app has a reach of 40-percent among those using smartphones, and that number is estimated to continue to rise. Furthermore, Google started including mobile optimization as a ranking signal in 2015—in other words, if your website isn't mobile-friendly, you could end up somewhere other than on Google's coveted first page. 

Don't Sell Advertising on Your Website

Although it may be tempting to offer advertising to businesses that aren't in direct competition with yours, this often means that your site is cluttered up with videos—and few things make potential customers click off faster than an annoying video that has nothing to do with why they found your site in the first place. Just don't do it. Any financial gains will be more than offset by lost sales.