All over the world, young and old entrepreneurs seek to generate additional income streams. This can be undertaken to boost earnings gained through traditional employment forms or by building a portfolio of small businesses that create persistent income. In recent years, creating a small online business has become increasingly popular.
As e-commerce grows, consumers are increasingly prepared to make online purchases. Online businesses also have access to a global marketplace, provided that they can operate internationally regarding order fulfillment. If you have created a small online business and successfully navigated the crucial first years of trading, you may be seeking growth.
Growth in your online business is more resilient to market changes and has greater revenue-generating potential. However, finding suitable strategies for growth can be challenging and not always obvious. This article will explore key growth strategies suitable for many small online businesses.
1. Delight Customers With Swift And Reliable Delivery
In recent years, online customers have come to expect swift and reliable delivery when they make online purchases. Ideally, they will want various delivery options, including express delivery. A 2021 survey highlighted that 65% of US shoppers are prepared to pay more for faster and more reliable delivery.
If your small online business can prioritize fast and dependable delivery channels, you will likely be able to meet and exceed your customers’ expectations. This will help to generate repeat orders that can cultivate meaningful growth in your firm. Suppose your business needs to ship bulky, large, or heavy goods that cannot be transported effectively by conventional mail services. In that case, you should build a strong relationship with dedicated shipping and courier firms.
Companies such as Shiply can be ideal for your delivery needs as they provide a cost-effective and swift delivery service suitable for shipping a vast range of products. Such firms have built a reputation for delivering to pre-stated timescales and can provide highly competitive quotes for bulk deliveries.
In short, partner up with a reliable shipping firm and build a reputation for delivering on time; that way, you will take a major step toward increasing your customer base and enjoying repeat orders.
2. Promote On Social Media
Social media channels are an excellent fit for promoting many small online businesses. Platforms such as Instagram have 500 million daily users. This makes the site the fourth biggest social media site globally. It focuses on visuals in pictures and videos, making it the ideal platform to share short promotional videos that highlight a specific product or a sale.
Ideally, you will want to create a short but memorable video that captures the attention of your target viewers. If you are focusing on promoting one specific product, ensure that you embed a hyperlink in the media that takes the viewer directly to the product page of your website.
This can be a key way to transform an interested viewer into a paying customer. Even if you have a small budget for creating social media video promotions, the technology required is now extremely affordable. High-performing 4K video cameras can now be purchased for less than $500 and can provide professional quality results that will captivate social media viewers.
3. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly
As a final key point, it is paramount to recognize smartphones’ role in e-commerce. Over 80% of the world’s population now own a smartphone, and it is estimated that 50.9% of these use their device to shop online at least once a week. The convenience of smartphones makes them the ideal device to shop online, especially on the go. As such, your online business website must be designed to function effectively when it is accessed via a smartphone.
Keep the design of each webpage uncluttered and ensure that it is easy to navigate on your smartphone. You may use scroll bars and embedded buttons to facilitate this. All text should be legible on smaller screens, ideally without needing to zoom in on each page constantly. Ensure your website design is highly responsive so your readers get the best user experience and will come back again.
In addition, removing popups from your web pages can be wise, as these can clutter smaller screens and make surfing the site frustrating. Take the time to navigate your business website on a smartphone, noting what works and where improvements are needed. A smoothly functioning mobile-friendly site will encourage visitors to stay on your site for longer, increasing the likelihood of a purchase being made to get growth in small online business.
