The advent of the Internet has revolutionized the way in which businesses market their products and services. No longer are companies forced to rely on outdated promotional techniques that offer minimal gains on their investment. Thanks to the Internet, companies can place their products and services in front of millions of people, many of whom are eager to make a purchase.
Mobile Compatibility
We’ve talked about this before on the ContentFirst.Marketing blog, but it’s worth mentioning again that more people now access the Internet on their smartphones and tablets than desktops and laptops. This revelation was made last year by IBM, attesting to the need for greater mobile compatibility. Websites that fail to adapt for mobile compatibility will get left in the dust by their competitors. Consider using a Responsive Web Design (RWD) so visitors will have the same, positive, experience regardless of the device on which they are accessing your site.
If you are curious to see whether or not your website is compatible on mobile devices, run the URL through Google’s testing tool at https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/.
Monitor Customer Interaction
One of the great things about maintaining an active presence on the web is the ability to monitor what customers say about your business. Good or bad, customer comments will affect your sales. In fact, a recent study found that 90% of consumers are impacted by positive online reviews, and 86% are impacted by negative online reviews. This is why it’s critical businesses monitor their social media pages, responding to customer comments and concerns quickly. If a customer posts a negative review, contact him or her directly to see if you can resolve it.
Usability Comes First
When designing and building your website, you should focus on creating a positive experience for the end user. Businesses that try to make their websites all “flashy” by using animations will suffer from lower traffic. Visitors have become increasingly impatient with Flash-riddled websites, often choosing to click the back button in their web browsers rather than waiting for them to load. For this reason, it’s recommended that you place an emphasis on usability to ensure a positive experience for your site’s visitors.
Think Outside the Box
What does it mean to “think outside the box” with your online marketing strategy? Basically, you should come up with your own unique approach/angle rather than trying to follow in the footsteps of other brands. There’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from other websites and brands, but you’ll need to create a web presence that’s entirely your own to really generate a strong following. Perhaps you can focus on an untapped niche, or maybe you can provide expert commentary. The bottom line is that you need to differentiate yourself from the countless number of other websites out there in order to succeed.
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Image attribution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/richardofengland/
