January means new opportunities to do new things. If increased business success is at the top of your 2020 bucket list, take these five steps to make that wish come true. They will amp-up business to create a more prosperous New Year.
1. Create a website
If you’re part of the third of small businesses that still don’t have a website, make this the year you add one. Your customers expect it. They need to be able to find you. Thirty percent of consumers won’t even consider a business without a website. With a website, you’re reaching people even when you’re asleep and selling products all the time — not simply between your brick and mortar hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Without a website, the chances of showing up on the search engine results are zero. But if you have a site, you can optimize it for search engines and increase your chances of appearing at the top of Google’s results. Why is that important? A vast majority of customers use their smartphones and tablets to decide where to go and what to buy. If you don’t have a visible website, customers simply go elsewhere.
2. Be Social
Have you been putting off getting your business on social media? With more than three billion people using social media, you can’t afford not to be social any longer. Make 2020 the year you join the crowd. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube are perfect digital spaces to showcase your business, products and promotions. Plugging into social media gives you new ways to connect with your customers, hear what they want you to offer more of, and promote your website.
3. Get Mobile-Friendly
Is your website mobile friendly? Most visitors to your web page are reaching it through a smartphone or tablet these days. Make it part of your e-commerce strategy this year to optimize your website for small screens. Afterall, no one wants to squint to read a website or scroll ten times to find your phone number.
4. Find Your Marketing Voice
If you’re using the same marketing strategy year over year and getting mixed results, it’s time to change things up. Your business can’t be everything for everyone. Instead of casting a wide net, use sales records from your in-store POS, mobile app and online store to define exactly who your target customers are. Once you’ve zeroed in, make sure to use email marketing to reach out to customers about upcoming promotions. Seventy-two percent of consumers say email is their favorite method of communication with companies they do business with, and 61 percent like to receive promotional emails every week from businesses.
5. Fine Tune Your Customer Service
Every year, you should be looking at all of your customer touch points – from the counter to curb to doorstep and online – to ensure you’re providing gold-star customer service experiences.
Seven out of ten consumers spend more with companies that provide excellent customer service. And if that isn’t reason enough, consider that it’s five times more expensive to acquire new customers than to retain existing ones.
Adopt these five resolutions and you’ll get your business off on the right foot by helping more customers discover you throughout the New Year.
About Heartland
Heartland provides entrepreneurs with software-driven technology to manage and grow their business. The company serves more than 400,000 merchants nationwide, delivering trusted solutions for payment, payroll and human resources, point of sale, customer engagement and lending. Heartland is a leading industry advocate of transparency, merchant rights and security. Heartland is a Global Payments Company (NYSE: GPN), a Fortune 500 Company. Learn more at heartland.us.
