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We all know that most businesses and self-starters own their own domain name, whether that’s self-hosted or through a service provider. We all know that we personally visit these websites to conduct our shopping, check for deals and research new information about select products we most want. This is the business market in 2017. Whole industries have been built around the online world, and that doesn’t show any signs of stopping in the least. This is a wonderful thing, as not only is it easier to become more informed as a customer but as a business owner, the speed and ease at which we work and communicate is unprecedented.

However, revelling in the benefits of this new methodology of working is great, but there are still ways to execute your efforts here badly. While it’s easier to reach more people than ever before with your online strategy, consumers are smarter than ever before and are more than capable of weeding out the wheat from the chaff. Appealing to their better instinct is the challenge and goal here. If you manage to effectively do this, repeat business will overwhelming fly in your direction.

You need to take care of your online presence to even think about making the most of this. If you’re a new business or believe you need help in this department, you can be sure that the following tips are likely to help you out:

Awareness

While consumers look for businesses that provide a positive product or service experience, they also want to SEE your awareness online. What does that mean? Well, a customer is more likely to regard your firm as intelligent and in-the-know about what’s going on if you have support for multiple different online platforms. How can a customer feel comfortable doing business with you when you neglect to run anything more than your website?

At the very least, you will need Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn profiles to network effectively and conduct business. These platforms can serve as free marketing, so you’d be wrong to neglect opening them. Just make sure that they are manned by professionals, as a public blunder here can spell disaster for your image.

Compatibility

It’s very well being hosted on online platforms and as a result being seen, but what utility are you offering? Are you allowing your product lines to be hosted for direct purchase using links from your social media pages? Are you targeting your demographic directly with ads and potential ‘members clubs’ of those who use your platform? What can a customer even do when they visit your website? These questions are all important to ask, because these days it’s not enough to attract someone’s attention, you must also retain it.

At the very least you must stay online and keep your IT services relevant to take advantage of your growing platform, and services such as Prosyn can help you with this, leaving you more time to expand your zone of influence and less time worrying about your capacity to do so.

These two considerations are balanced in import, but like the Yin-Yang circle, one should not exist without the other. Make sure you balance them well for the best results, and you’ll be sure that your online dominance will grow at a steady pace.

When you are a company or entrepreneur starting out, it can be a minefield to know exactly what is right and what is wrong in how you deal with some of the key business aspects. Regulation is one of those things that differ depending on each industry, and when you are growing your business, you will find that you hit more and more issues, so it can feel much harder to protect your baby in this respect. So, the idea of protection encompasses so many different things, especially for your own company. So, what do you need in place?

Legal Protection

The first and most important thing you need to help navigate any dangerous waters is to hire an attorney. Make sure you hire one that is competent, not cheap. It can be quite an expense, but depending on where you are operating your business, you may be able to find a local attorney that is knowledgeable in the local laws and regulations, so this may mean you can negotiate a better fee, but also establish an effective working relationship. It’s also important to find an attorney with expertise in specific fields. Something like a tax attorney would benefit you more if you were anticipating financial issues.

Data Protection

This is a very complicated area in the modern business world. Looking after your information and the information of your customers or clients is something that needs addressing. Due to the influx of computer hackers and the various ways they can steal information; it’s not just about installing an anti-virus program anymore! It’s important to establish a good relationship with a managed IT company, and there are plenty, such as managed IT services by USWired that can offer various ways of protecting your information. Handling sensitive data is something that has been enforced in many businesses over the years, but it’s not just about hiring the right company to look after your data, it’s also about teaching effective working processes, and this means educating your employees on how they can minimize data theft.

Business Protection

By insuring yourself, especially if you have customers in your place of business, it’s going to stop you losing lots of money in case you get sued. There are various types of insurance, such as liability insurance, which will protect you if a customer was to fall and hurt themselves. There are also types of insurance cover such as errors and omissions coverage. This way of protecting your business is not just about purchasing the right insurance policy. It’s about putting this protection into the contracts. A good example is if an unforeseen circumstance makes it difficult, if not impossible, for you to fulfil a contractual obligation, you can find yourself in hot water. Insuring your company in its various states is no doubt something that has crossed your mind, that the importance of it cannot be underestimated.

Startups can, in effect, operate in many precarious ways. And some not have any methods of protection in place, so if this is you, it’s now time to start addressing these issues. And these three are the perfect place to begin.

Customers are the backbone of a business, when you really think about it. They can be lovely, they can be not so lovely, but at the end of the day, without them you wouldn’t even have a business. However, even when you have plenty filing into your store or through your service day by day, the sales don’t exactly add up to the number on the door.

So, you need to improve on your sales technique, and thus your customer service ability. But how can you do that? You’ve noticed there’s a bit of a downward trend, but you’re lost as to how to fix it. Here’s a few ideas.

Have Marketing Campaigns on Your Side

This is where the internet comes in. Don’t use big flashy titles and promises you can’t follow through with when it comes to placing ads on facebook pages, that’s how you lose customers in the long run.

If someone isn’t impressed, they’re going to let the people they know know about it, even if you don’t hear anything of their queries. Thus, you lose a lot of possible advertising as a result when you consider that fact that a person can have as many as 150 close friends at once! On social media that can be even worse, as friends list sometimes go on and on in the hundreds.

Listen to the Other Side of the Counter

You’ve trained your employees, and you trust them in their skills in the workplace; you know they can make a sale. However, to better make a sale, they may need to listen more than they talk to customers.

A lot of the time, customers won’t ask for help when they need it, so you always need to be on the lookout for someone with that questioning look on their face. Don’t jump on them as soon as they walk into the store, and give them time to browse. Only then ask.

Take a Quick Course

So you want to be able to prove your have a way with your customer specifications, but the only way to do that is to get a bona fide certificate in it? Well that’s actually as easy done as it is said when you consider the amount of marketing courses out there for you to take your pick from. Do some research, and sign up to one that’s tailored to your needs!

When it comes to it, taking a few days away from the usual line of business to improve upon your working techniques, and trimming the fat from the whole operation, isn’t too bad of a thing. With courses such as the Six Sigma green belt, you can declare your prowess in finding perfection in your business. With this kind of martial art discipline in mind, you can fully well complete it in your own time and at your own pace.

So there you have it, some surefire ways to keep company defects to a minimum in your customer service ability.