6 Simple Tips On Taking Your Business Online & Seeing Continued Success

Now more than ever before, virtual businesses are thriving. As a result of the current pandemic we are living through, and the inability of people to go where they want, whenever they want, an increasing number of businesses are opting to move their operations online. If you’re considering doing the same, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed and concerned about what it will take to say goodbye to the office or relaunch your business virtually. 

While there is a lot to think about and take into account when it comes to moving your business online, what is important to realise is that it doesn’t have to be a struggle. If you are smart about the approach, you can ensure your venture is as simple and stress-free as possible. With that being said, there’s still a lot you need to think about and consider, which is why we have put together this guide.  

The fact is, saying goodbye to the office and moving your business completely online is a huge step, but if by doing so you can significantly cut costs and survive the current economic situation, then it’s a step worth taking. To guide you through the process, this article highlights some useful tips and ideas to be aware of. 

1. Invest in your website 

When you move your business online, your website presence becomes the hub of your brand, and the key to your success. This is why it’s vital to have a smart, easy to use, and well-designed website in place. If your website is badly designed or poorly constructed, it will have an impact on user experience, which may in turn, affect how successful your business is. If you already have a website in place, however, you may need to upgrade or overhaul it in preparation for taking your business 100% online. 

If you fail to properly invest in your website, you may lose customers as a result. It’s important to think about all the things customers want to use your website for, such as shopping with you or placing service orders, searching for information, and communicating with you and your team. You need to think about how your website meets customers’ needs. For instance, to help make communication easier, you may want to look into adding a chatbot to your website - to learn more about chatbots, click here. 

If you want to make sure your website offers the services your customers need from you, it’s worthwhile investing in your site. Also, if you are going to give your site an overhaul, it’s best to work with a professional designer on this, to ensure your site looks and works as professionally as possible. 

2. Ensure you have adequate IT support

When it comes to running a business virtually, you need to take your IT needs seriously, because if the IT issue stops your business from running effectively, it can have a hugely detrimental impact on your success as a virtual business. The fact is that IT problems are fairly common and can be easily addressed with the right resources on board. When your business is virtual, however, you may not have the time to deal with them all by yourself. If an IT issue takes your website down, you need it fixed as soon as possible, otherwise you may lose money and customers, as a result. 

It’s for this reason that it’s crucial to invest in adequate IT support for your business. This could be by hiring a full-time IT support person or simply by outsourcing your support needs to an IT support company that is able to offer 24/7 support. 

3. Ensure your marketing is right 

While you may have already made a name for your business, this doesn’t mean you don’t need to take marketing seriously. In the first instance, you need to ensure you are actively letting all your customers know your business has moved online, and for this, consistent marketing is crucial. You also need to ensure that your customers are aware your brand has moved online, and that they know where and how to shop going forward. This is why it’s crucial to ensure you have a well thought-out marketing strategy in place. 

Don’t make the mistake of dealing with your marketing needs yourself. Hire a specialist marketing agency to outsource the work to. Alternatively, you may opt to bring a marketing professional onboard to join your team. The key to marketing success in a remote business is digital marketing - think social media, influencer outreach, email marketing, and content marketing. Also, when it comes to the digital world, there’s no arguing with the fact that content is king. You need to work with an agency that understands your rationale and objectives for purely focusing on digital – one that is able to create a strategy that perfectly meets those needs. 

4. Keep personal and business communications separate 

 Don’t make the mistake of having shared lines for both business and personal communication. Make sure you have dedicated business communication channels for customers to contact you on. If you are working from home, it’s a good idea to consider having a second phone line installed, for instance. You may also want to think about getting a virtual address where the correspondence related to your business can be sent to, instead of giving out your personal address. 

5. Continue to network

Despite running your business virtually, you still need to continue to cultivate business relationships on a local and national level. Continue attending local networking events, if they are currently running, of course - or opt to attend virtual networking events instead. You can find plenty of virtual networking events being hosted online on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, for instance. 

You may not want to pay for additional means of communication, but if you are serious about making a success of your venture when taking it online, it’s important to be willing to invest in your business. You need to think about keeping your business and personal communications separate, so that your business is as professional as possible, because the last thing you want is for customers to think you aren’t running your business professionally.  

You could also opt to set up custom networking events with a few business owners from your industry. Tools like Zoom and Teams have made hosting virtual networking events far easier than ever before. 

6. Understand what it takes to work remotely

If your business already has a team of employees behind it, you may be feeling a little overwhelmed by the idea of moving your entire team online. Admittedly, it’s a big step, however, just because it’s a big step doesn’t mean it’s not doable. Yes, moving your team online can be a huge task, but once you’ve organized it, then it’s done.  

When it comes to moving your team online, remember that the key to success is organisation. If you are going to see success from making your business virtual, then you need to make sure you have the right strategy in place to make having everyone working from home actually work. You also need to think about how you can monitor the work that is being done, how you assign tasks, and how you can ensure your team stay connected despite the distance. 

You may also want to think about investing in some team management and communication software like Slack, Teams, Asana or Monday. By being able to see what each team member has assigned to them, check where they are on a project, and instantly message them about it or start a video call if needed, your virtual business becomes a little easier and less stressful. 

It’s also important to make sure that despite the distance and remote working, that you organize regular team meetups - either virtually or in-person events - to help everyone stay connected. 

There you have it, the key aspects of taking your business online and transforming it into a virtual company. To make for a smoother transition, take note of the tips and advice shared in this article and use them to create a strategy that helps you, your business and your team seamlessly transition to becoming a virtual business.