The coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses to shutter, including some restaurants, bars, and gyms. But the lucky ones were able to reimagine their offerings and pivot to an online business model. With home business wifi service, Consolidated Communications makes it easy to run an online business from an office space or from home.
While the steps to pivot to an online business vary by industry, here are some tips that any small business owner can use to establish a profitable base online.
Decide How Your Offerings Will Change When You Pivot to an Online Business.
The first step in pivoting to an online business is determining your offerings.
Restaurants may partner with a food delivery service to offer delivery and curbside pickup, promoting their offerings through their website and social media platforms. Gyms and other fitness facilities such as yoga or dance studios can offer online classes for a one-time fee or with a subscription. Clothing retailers can launch an e-commerce site that can supplement the brick-and-mortar store — or even potentially replace it for greater profits with less overhead.
Whatever your industry, reimagining your business starts with your products and services.
Update, Revamp, or Launch Your Website
Chances are you already have a company website that you use for some level of online marketing. However, if you’re ready to transform your website into a virtual storefront, some changes may be in order. Speak to tech professionals about ensuring your website is secure, has an up-to-date SSL certificate, and uses the latest encryption technology for financial transactions.
You’ll also want to make sure the site is easy to navigate so visitors can move smoothly from shopping to a sale. If it wasn’t there before, you may need to install an e-commerce shopping cart functionality so people can make purchases from your online business.
If you've operated entirely off-line in the past, it's time to build a web presence to promote your new endeavor.
Establish Electronic Payment Methods
If you haven’t been using your website to process sales in the past, pivoting to an online business model requires you to set up electronic payments. Various providers, including Square, Stripe Payments, and PayPal, make it easy to accept credit cards and other electronic payments. If you set up an e-commerce platform with a service like Shopify, there is an integrated payment system.
Devise and Execute a Marketing Strategy for Your Online Business
Once you have a website set up or updated and a way to accept payments from customers, it’s time to devise an online marketing strategy. Your marketing campaign can have many facets including:
- Social media campaigns
- Organic search (driving people to your website using search engine optimization)
- Paid search (such as Google AdWords or social media ads)
- Email campaigns
- Mobile display ads
- SMS (text-based marketing)
If your brick-and-mortar business already has an app, consider how it might increase online sales.
Ensure Your Business Broadband is Up to the Task
Whether you’re running your online business through your home small business internet or through a business internet service provider at an office, you’ll want to ensure you have the business broadband you need to run an online business. Downtime is not an option, because every minute you’re offline is a minute that you could be losing sales. Talk to your business ISP about upgrading to faster service, which may include fiber optic cable rather than copper lines.
Maintain business continuity with backups and a reliable business internet service provider. Consolidated Communications provides business solutions for companies of all sizes. With business phone deals, business wifi service, and even managed services, we can help you make the transition from brick-and-mortar sales to an online business easier.