Expand Your Small Business With Design & Marketing Tips

A survey revealed that only 49% of small businesses have a growth plan in place. While things rarely go according to plan, the problem arises during adverse situations – such as the one everyone is facing right now. The current pandemic is creating havoc globally, and small business is not untouched by it.

However, two vital factors that you can focus on right now to keep your small business afloat are – website design and email marketing. Focusing on these two aspects will provide a facelift for your small business, strengthen your brand, and help enhance customer relationships.

Read on to know about the importance of web design and email marketing and learn some tips to help your small business grow by implementing these two important aspects of digital marketing.

Importance of a website

Besides being an online identity, a website can serve a variety of purposes. However, before you start building, you need to cater to one of the most important aspects of your online identity–your domain name.

Businesses often get so caught up in the design of the website that they don’t pay enough attention to the identity they are creating. A domain name can play a significant role in your branding and marketing efforts and can help carve a special place for your business online.

The way to do this is through new domain extensions such as .SITE, .ONLINE, SPACE, .TECH, .STORE, .UNO, and more. These specialised domains allow you to have a more contextual and meaningful online presence. For example, if you’re a boutique digital marketing agency, then your domain name could be www.speakdigital.online or www.speakdigital.site.

(Also, enjoy the added 96% savings on .ONLINE domains – for a limited time only.)

Having a user-oriented website and domain name is crucial because it helps you deal with the following activities.

1. To better market yourself

The use of the internet has been increasing exponentially. People are going online not just for entertainment but also for important information and to do business. Therefore, you have a huge market to appeal to and impress.

Potential customers want to know everything about your business before they consider engaging with you. Your business’s website can give people all the information that they need and if you provide a seamless user experience chances are that a potential visitor may end up becoming a customer.

2. To have different avenues for sales

If you only have an offline presence, then there’s a good chance that your business is severely affected right now. Having an online presence in the form of a website and social media profiles can not only open you up to a larger market but also help you sustain some part of your business in the current crisis.

3. To better communicate with customers

How can customers get in touch with you? Do they need to phone you during business hours? You need more communication channels for your business so that a dialogue is not a problem.

Having a website opens your business to email, and live chat, letting customers learn more about your business through these communication channels. You can set up automated responses or hire a dedicated customer service representative who will communicate via online channels.

Small business web designing tips

Now that you know that getting a website is critical for your business’ success, what should your small business’ website look like? Have a look at crucial small business web designing tips to develop a spectacular website.

1. Keep it simple

It’s tempting to want to make your website look flashy. This, however, can result in poor user experience. Less is more when designing a website.

A minimalist design that’s free of clutter and uses minimum elements looks more professional and lets users navigate your site with greater ease. This decreases the bounce rate and improves website SEO.

2. Optimise it for search engines

One of the crucial goals of web designing is to improve your site’s SEO. This makes you rank further up in Google’s search result pages (SERPs) and gets you more website traffic and more business.

Your site needs to be optimised for mobile, too. Google now treats pages’ mobile performance as more important than desktop performance. If your mobile experience is driving customers away, then it’ll badly affect your business’s reputation.

3. Focus on branding

Your website should be distinctively yours. Branding and voice need to be consistent, with your logo featured prominently on the site, reinforcing it in customers’ minds. Put testimonials and reviews upfront for new visitors to see. This will help them build a positive first impression of your business.

4. Show off your products and services well

Your products and services should be easy to find on your site. Don’t crowd a page with too much clutter, nor should you have a page with too few items. Find a balance that looks professional.

Also, navigation should be easy and organised. The customer should not get lost while navigating your website. Descriptions and photos are indispensable. Illustrate precisely how your product and service can solve a customer’s problem.

5. Make it snappy

Your site needs to load fast. A slow website can drive customers away before they’ve even looked at it or engaged with it. Reduce the number of scripts that run on your site, compress images, and choose a hosting solution that gives you enough bandwidth.

Email marketing tips

Once you have a good website in place, you can start taking advantage of email marketing. This is a low-cost marketing solution that can generate an impressive ROI. Here are a few tips to make your email marketing campaign a success.

1. Run promotions

When people shop from your website or when they subscribe to your newsletter, they share their email addresses. You can use these email addresses to run campaigns to promote your content and your product/service. You can expect higher conversions because these people shared their contact details willingly with you.

2. Run competitions to gather emails

To build your email list, you could run competitions on your website and social media accounts to collect email addresses. It’s a fantastic way of communicating with prospects who are interested in your business. This is an excellent strategy for increasing sales conversions.

3. Send out newsletters regularly

Sending out newsletters is a perfect strategy to build customer relationships. Instead of promoting your products or services in newsletters, focus on sharing informative content that adds value to people’s life. Further, ensure newsletter content is empathetic, friendly, and engaging.

4. Gather important customer data

Sending out polls and surveys is a great way to find out what customers think about your business, your website, and your level of customer service. This data is critical if you hope to improve your business, removing any guesswork from the equation.

Customers like to participate in surveys because they believe their opinion matters. When you ask them to voice their opinion, the trust becomes stronger.

In conclusion

The demand for your products and services may have decreased, but that shouldn’t stop you from working and communicating with your customers. It’s time to look at your business from a different perspective. Consider revamping your website design to make it more user-friendly and conversion oriented. Connect with your customers via email marketing, keep them engaged, and nurture your bonds.