5 Learnings from 2020 to Grow Your Business Online in 2021
2020… Twenty-Twenty!
What a year!
The year 2020 will go down in history for many reasons. From personal to professional lives — everything was challenged, and how!
If you were trying to grow your business online in 2020, you probably already know how everything was different — From the way we did business, to what your customers expect from you; from the brand messaging to social presence. But in the midst of all this (organized) chaos one thing was steady, firm and stood out — everyone was online.
Creating a strong online presence and an impactful digital footprint was probably every brand’s and business’ top-most priority. With lockdowns, curfews, restrictions and social distancing becoming the norm, businesses and customers had to very quickly move to continuing doing business online and maintaining digital relationships.
Phew! Thank god for the internet, right?
While a few industries had to face more challenges than the others, the struggle existed for everyone. Business plans had to be shuffled, goals flew out of the window and a need to re-think ways of doing business became a necessity.
2021 is here, and while we’ve sort of settled in and got a slight grip on how to continue doing business online, there’s still a grey area and a lot more needs to be done. Here’s hoping 2020 taught you to prepare for the worst and hope for the best, if not, here are some learnings from the past year that I plan to hold close when making plans for doing business online this year.
2021 Mantra: Continue To Grow Your Business Online
As we start the new year, let’s take a moment to reflect on the year gone by, learn from it, grow stronger and continue to expand our reach. Here are 5 critical learnings from 2020 that must be taken into 2021:
1. Create an Impactful Online Presence
The way we did business last year may have drastically changed but it’s digital presence that truly allowed us to continue doing what we do. Creating a strong online presence has become critical to the success and existence of a business in today’s highly digital world. Customers turn to the world wide web to find new brands, connect with the ones they know, seek recommendations and make important buying decisions. Build a professional website, create a buzz on relevant social media channels, use paid and free advertising to create an online presence for your brand. No matter what product or service you offer, your customers will expect you to be available digitally.
2. Boost Customer Support
While we may all rely on, and turn to the internet for all our needs today that doesn’t make us completely ‘independent’. Customers still seek and need support from businesses. This could be support in the form of an interactive and user-friendly website interface or the good old phone support. You now also have options to offer complete support via chat and email. Just make sure that it’s easy for your customers to know how you offer support.
3. Enhance Customer Engagement
While offering support is critical to influencing buying decisions, it’s also important to think about the best ways to foster customer relationships. Boost customer engagement to not just boost conversions, but also open avenues for open communication. This, in turn, allows your customers to see the human side of your business behind the screens. You can do this in many ways, send Season’s Greetings emails, feedback forms, discounts and promos, etc.
4. Create a Multi-Channel Marketing Approach
Being digital opens up multiple channels, platforms and avenues for your business to maximise reach. Use a multi-channel marketing strategy to reach a larger audience. You can use social media marketing, content marketing, search engine optimisation, paid ads, and many other channels to make it easier for your existing and potential customers to find you and do business with you.
5. Make Flexible Goals and Strategies
If 2020 taught us all one thing it was ‘Plans fail, but it’s okay’. While it’s important to make business goals and think of strategies to grow your business at the start of the year and every quarter, it’s equally important to leave room for flexibility. You never know when something changes — for your business, customers or across the globe! So plan as you might, but if you aren’t flexible and unable to adjust to changes around you, your plans will fail. What’s really needed is spontaneity, creativity and the ability to make quick changes to strategies to cater to current scenarios. Hey! None of us knew what hit us when Coronovirus locked us down, but we all did some quick thinking and inspired each other to make the best of that!
Grab 2021 By The Horns!
New Year, New Goals… let’s start ticking the right boxes!
Grow your business online with renewed energy and refreshed approach to creating a strong digital footprint for your business. Let the learnings of 2020 guide you and inspire you to offer the best version of yourself.
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All the best.
