Popular Marketing Posts
Some Reasons Why Your Online Business Maybe Stalling or Slowing
.jpg)
You probably already know by now that the vast majority of new businesses fail within the first couple of years. Nevertheless, you’re probably also adamant that you won’t be another unfortunate statistic on the list. Combine approximately 3.4 billion web users with annual online retail sales of $2.2 trillion and you have yourself the most spectacular opportunity to build and operate a successful online business. Nevertheless, standing out from the crowd with around 966 million websites up and running worldwide is never going to be easy.
Accepting the reality that your business is anything but thriving isn’t pleasant. But at the same time, it’s also the first step towards turning things around. As every business is unique, there are literally thousands of reasons why your brand may not be performing nearly as strongly as you’d like.
Nevertheless, the vast majority of struggling early-days enterprises can typically attribute their struggles to one of the following three causes:
1. You are not investing in online visibility.
Incredible products, unbeatable value for money, spectacular service and a world-class website. Everything needed to succeed as an online business owner, right? Wrong…you also need to make the required investment in visibility. As mentioned above, you’re in for the fight of your life to stand out among the hundreds of millions of other websites congesting the global web. You cannot and will not be found by your target audience, unless you make it impossible for them to overlook you. Exactly how you go about promoting yourself and improving your visibility is up to you. Nevertheless, it goes without saying that you cannot and will not succeed in the absence of an ongoing digital marketing strategy.
2. You don’t understand your audience as well as you think.
Ultimately, your target audience will determine if and to what extent you succeed. Target the wrong audience in the first place and it’s game over. Likewise, fail to understand your audience inside-out and you cannot expect to appeal to its needs, preferences and expectations. If you’re struggling to capture the attention, imagination and trust of your target audience, perhaps it isn’t the target audience or your business. Or maybe your USP is misaligned with their expectations.
3. You’re not sticking with what works.
Last but not least, far too many small business owners attempt to branch out and diversify too quickly. The key to success in the early stages of any business lies in focusing exclusively on what works. There’s a time and place for experimentation and taking chances – this typically comes further down the line. Use every resource at your disposal to collect and analyse data, studying the performance of your business, the behaviour of your audience and the way your competitors get the job done. Focus on your strengths, eliminate anything that isn’t working and establish realistic goals. And if you still struggle to make any real headway, seek the input of an established digital agency with the experience and expertise to point you and your business in the right direction.