Upstream: How to Nip Problems in the Bud [Book Review]

Many businesses underestimate the power of a website. A surprising 29% of Small Medium Businesses (SMBs) don’t even have a website.

Indeed, not having a website or failing to take full advantage of one is a big mistake.

Photo by Canva Studio

As the digital landscape continues to develop, your website is increasingly important. It is a tool that combines sales, marketing, and communication.

In many ways, it’s your most visible storefront in the global marketplace. As such, it’s worth taking the time to get it right.

Anyone can sell a product or a service online. However, that doesn’t mean conducting business online is easy. Though you can reach thousands of customers on the internet, there are numerous pain points that digital enterprises face each year.

The good news? You certainly aren’t the first business owner to experience them.

Many entrepreneurs, business owners, and leaders have gone through the exact pain points which you’ve already encountered. You are not alone! Therefore, you can always find a solution to solve the most common pain points today.

Let’s get started on some ways to manage these.

1. Building Strong Customer Relationships

One of the biggest challenges that digital businesses face is building customer relationships and loyalty. Trust is difficult to earn in general. However, it doesn’t get any easier when you’re running a business online.

According to Edelman, only 34% of consumers trust brands — and 81% say brand trust is a huge deciding factor when considering purchasing.

To build strong customer relationships, consider establishing a presence on various platforms. When you show up in different places, you have more chances to engage with customers and communicate positive messages.

Another way to build strong relationships is by exceeding their expectations with your products or services. For example, Apple has a great reputation and relationship with its customers because it continues to deliver high-quality products to its customers.

Always under-promise but over-deliver so you can impress customers and keep them coming back.

2. Creating an Inbound Marketing Strategy

Many digital businesses don’t have a website that converts leads into paying customers. The primary reason for this is they don’t have the resources or time to invest in building one on their own.

In addition, they’re not sure where to start or don’t have the time to study inbound marketing methodologies. One simple solution is to outsource this work to an inbound marketing agency at a price that fits your budget.

Hiring a professional can help you build a website that they turn into a lead-generating machine. Another option would be to focus on implementing search engine optimization (SEO) tactics.

Consider creating regular blog articles to generate traffic and guide your visitors through the next steps of their journey.

3. Refunds, Exchanges and Returns

Another challenge digital businesses face is refunds, exchanges and returns. How you manage them is an even greater concern. While packaging and shipping products are the simple part, what should you do if a customer needs to return the product?

If a customer isn’t satisfied with their purchase and you’re caught off guard, you can easily lose their trust.

However, you can avoid this by ensuring you have return policies. Post your policies on your website where the customer can easily view them. They should also have a copy of the policy after they finalize their purchase.

Remember, you can always have a no-return policy in place. Still, you might have a few instances of angry customers.

4. Setting Measurable KPIs

KPIs (key performance indicators) are a measuring system that you can use to tell how close you are to achieving your business objectives. It’s a proven method to measure success and monitor your campaign’s ROI.

However, many digital businesses find this part too technical and difficult to evaluate. The solution would be to get a clear understanding of each KPI and which ones you need to measure the success of your campaigns.

5. Standing Out Online

Many online businesses struggle with standing out from the competition. When thousands of other companies are like yours, it can be challenging to attract customers. One way to stand out online is by branding your business.

Many businesses start by creating branding guidelines to implement brand consistency. However, one report found that only 31% of companies enforce brand guidelines. Nevertheless, branding is essential to building customer appeal.

The first step to branding is thinking of yours as a person. If you were to promote yourself, think of the characteristics, beliefs and values you embody. Branding is a step-by-step process. You have to continually use it to refine your messaging and build trust with customers.

One thing to keep in mind with branding is that the look of yours should be unique. Then you must ensure it’s cohesive throughout every interaction you make with your audience.

Smooth the Wrinkles Out In Your Business

There are various challenges that you may face each year. Whether they’re problems you’ve encountered in the past — or a new obstacle has presented itself — you can always find a solution to fix it.

However, these are the most common pain points that digital businesses face today. So ensure you implement these tips to rectify the problem.

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She was the creative director at a digital marketing agency before becoming a full-time freelance designer. Eleanor lives in Philly with her husband and pup, Bear.