In this blog we would learn what are the right questions to ask when starting a business online or getting an offline business online.
Whether you own a business or working for someone, there could be a point when a decision needs to be made.. Is this the time we take our business online ? Are we ready for the commitment needed ?
In a small business, there are unique considerations. How does one manage the additional tasks generated ? What kind of changes should I expect and if the changes are worth it ? Should I hire an agency ? Should I do it on my own ? How much online is enough ? What are the questions you should really be asking before committing resources ?
Let’s look at this checklist.
How are my customers searching for solutions to their problems ?
Any business big or small should know what their buyers are upto. How do they search for their solutions ? More specifically, how do they search for their solutions in the domain where you operate ?
If they are looking for answers online for most of their questions then your business should be online as soon as possible.
87% shoppers begin product searches online (Retaildive.com) and an overwhelming majority of B2B researchers (89%) do online searches, conducting at least 12 searches before engaging with a particular company’s website. These numbers would vary with demography, buyer persona, geographical location.
What are the trends in the behaviour of my target audience ?
Watch out for trends to check if they are changing their habits.
Broadly speaking, the traditional marketing funnel is disrupted now. Consumers are getting increasingly impatient. For example, mobile searches for “______ near me now” have grown by 150%, searches for “_____ open now” have grown by 300 % from 2015 to 2017. They search throughout the decision making process and keep checking even for nuances and ideas.
(source – Thinkwithgoogle.com). This means you should be there, be useful, updated and as automated as possible.
What is your competition doing ?
Industry trends are a big indicator. If your competitors are doing it, you definitely should. If the local businesses in an allied sector are going online, then it’s high time you should.
In an unforeseen emergency situation like the one we are facing right now (COVID) is your business prepared to service consumers ?
You should always try to keep an avenue open in case of any emergency, local or global where your consumers can access your products and services. This can help fight a lot of uncertainty for you as well as your patrons. It can even become the only option of interaction with consumers in an extreme situation.
Are you not sure where to start from and what kind of inputs are required ?
If you are at this stage then you might just need a little guidance be it an agency or DIY courses can get you there. Though the common advice would be to start with a website or e-commerce site, the solutions could be different for different scenarios, maybe for you the starting point is a blog. One can go the hands on DIY route with the help of these online tools.
What are the marketing metrics you are using and how are you tracking effectiveness of your inputs ?
Digital marketing is where it’s simple to track how your marketing efforts are performing and most of them.. Real time. Cost efficient, highly measurable and flexible, you can track the entire journey of a customer and make necessary changes quicker than in an offline setting. Monitor effectiveness of changes real time and can decide, or even check options.
We do some social media, that’s online right ?
At least you are somewhere there. But how effective it is depends on multiple factors like optimisation, whether all social media platforms are seamlessly integrated, if marketing goals are being met and how it is being measured. Also consider shifting trends in social media to find out which social media platform your buyers really would be in near future. Social media is just one of the tools for promoting a business but to make the most of social media, you should have a website as a home base and all your promotional efforts will drive traffic to this home base.
Take the next step to create your website. Integrate social media platforms with the website and use SEM strategies to ensure maximum optimisation.
What are the priorities in my business right now ?
Finally it is your business, every business has to get work done and has a set of deadlines to be met, resources are dedicated as per those priorities. If none of the considerations apply to your particular case then maybe it’s not time yet, and set it aside for re-evaluation.