Let’s face it; the internet has completely changed all of our lives. It’s changed the way we shop, the way we learn, even the way we communicate. And it’s definitely changed just about everything in the way we do business. There aren’t many businesses around these days who don’t have some form of presence on the internet. Even the most traditional business owners have realized that getting online can only help their business. The issue is that, despite having become something of a general standard for many businesses, the internet simply isn’t being used properly. Sure businesses are using the internet but are they actually using is properly? There are certain things that simply don’t translate from one format to the other, and if you’re not dedicating energy to carefully crafting the internet specific elements of your business, then you’re doing them a real disservice. With that in mind, here are some places where you might not be getting the most out of your business’s online components.
E-commerce
Having a website that exists to promote your business is great. It means that you’re able to reach a far wider audience than you otherwise might. But what happens if someone finds your website, falls in love with your product, but is too far away to actually get to your physical space? Sure they could contact you by phone or email and arrange something that way, but the vast majority of customers aren’t going to bother to make that extra amount of effort, regardless of how great your product is. Instead, they’re just going to do elsewhere. These days, thanks to easy-to-use web templates, it’s never been able to set up an e-commerce store on your website. That way it goes from being a pure marketing tool to a virtual storefront that allows you to reach customers across the globe.
Marketing
Speaking of marketing, far too many businesses simply don’t’ realize how much of an incredible tool the internet is for marketing their business. While traditional marketing is far from dead, as many people would have you believe, internet marketing opens up far more avenues that would never have previously been available for your business. The important thing to remember is that you can’t simply transplant the same marketing techniques from one place to the other. You’ve got to adjust your marketing techniques to fit within the new format, creating engaging and interesting content rather than just using traditional advertising.
Customer service
Customer service has traditionally been a one-on-one phone conversation, often with a rather frustrated and irate customer. Thanks to the internet many people are able to contact customer service teams online rather than speaking to them directly. This often eliminates a great deal of the tension and allows customer service staff to communicate with each other to solve the problem without interrupting the conversation with the customer. It also means that, if you’re using social media outlets as an element of your customer service then people can clearly see that you are willing to help your customers in a clear and direct way.
