Running a business has drastically changed over the past 30 years. Heck, even the last 5 years has been an ongoing roller coaster ride. Business owners must now keep up with the constant change of consumer habits, technology and Google algorithms, along with everything else the digital world has to offer. All of these are important, but you also need to continue to focus on everything it actually takes to run your business. As a result, you may find yourself with little to no time to do everything required to ensure your success. 

Running a business used to be a little less complicated: Show up, offer good customer service, get listed in the phone books, and hope everything falls into place. Nowadays that just doesn’t cut it. The internet has forever taken stake in our lives and how we run businesses. That said, don’t lose hope.

Start Beating Your Competitors Today!

We’ve compiled a list of the three most important web-based solutions needed to improve your customer reach, and stay competitive in your local market. They’re listed in order of importance.

Business Listings

First off, let’s make sure your business is getting the most out of the internet by focusing on a foundational piece of the equation - your business listings. They’re a key component in how potential customers find you in search engines. 

What is a Business Listings?

A business listing is an internet profile which contains businesses’ NAPD Data (Name, Address, Phone number and Domain). Listings can also include other pertinent business info such as hours of operation, services, a business bio, and much more. There are well over 300 listing sites across the internet for businesses to use. Some sites are industry specific, others like Google, Facebook, Yelp (and many more) are available for any business to use.

Why are They Important?

Consistent business information across all sites validates you as a credible business. Without listings anyone looking for your products or services may be unable to find your information and become a patron to your business. If you want to be considered for Google's first page of a search, you’ll need accurate listings across as many sites as possible. Having incorrect NAPD Data across many sites and search engines may lead potential consumers to believe your listings are for separate businesses, which may negatively impact your rank against competitors in search engines.

Make sure your business has accurate business listings across as many sites as possible to ensure you’re on the right path to the top of the search engines. Without them you may slowly but surely lose out on potential client acquisition, which is far less than ideal.

Websites

Now that you have your business listings taken care of the next step to ensure you’re competitive in your local market is a high performing website. Websites act as virtual doorsteps to your business. They require upkeep, just like your physical brick and mortar locations. Having weeds, trash and a broken rundown sign in front of your storefront is similar to having a website without mobile phone capabilities and old photos and ads displayed on it. It’s not a winning proposition. 

A mediocre, old, low functioning website is vastly different than a good or great website; especially when you’re trying to compete within your local market. So, what does a good website look like you may ask? Well, it is easier if we explain what makes a bad website:

Lack of Mobile Capability

Over half of the population uses their mobile phones when browsing the internet. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly now, it needs to be. It may be hard to believe something so minuscule can have a huge impact on your bottom line, but a non-mobile site can cause potential customers to get frustrated, leave your site, and move right along to a competitor’s website.

Slow Speeds

Consumers expect information to be delivered quickly. A slow loading website can have the same effects as a non-mobile friendly website. The leading causes of slow websites are huge photos or tons of videos. The visuals are really nice to have, unless they drag down your load time and cause consumers to jump off your site to go elsewhere. 

It’s Just Plain UGLY!

As we said earlier, you wouldn't want trash and clutter along your storefront. The same goes for your website. Lime green and hot pink typically wouldn't be main color choices for your website. (Apologies if you do have a lime green and hot pink website!) Low quality photos, poor organization of information, and unreadable fonts may cause consumers to jump ship due to the negative experience. 

Never fear though! Even the worst websites can be improved by hiring a professional to assess needed improvements. Once they’re made it’s possible to have a fast, high performing, mobile-friendly website that’s as beautiful as the Mona Lisa herself!

Here's a great video diving deeper into Website Development

Reviews

Reviews are a huge part of businesses’ online presence and reputation. Thoughtful customer reviews provide honest feedback on items you are doing well, in addition to areas needing improvement. Too many bad reviews, and you’ll likely lose credibility amongst current or potential customers. On the other hand, a huge number of good reviews can lead to a growing base of happy customers.

In the past we used to hear business owners say, “We do fine with word of mouth. We don't care about our online reviews”. Here’s the thing: They fail to realize reviews are another form of word of mouth, only on a much broader scale. It pays to find ways to encourage clients to post reviews. If your company asks the right questions and compiles the data effectively, your management team can learn how to improve products and customer interactions.

Here's a great video diving deeper into Reviews

When you’re ready to take control over your online presence and stop getting crushed by your competitors, trust our professional team at Summit Media Solutions. We’re here to bring your vision to life. Contact us for a free consultation to learn how we can fix your online presence and get you more business today!