Last Updated on June 25, 2019 by Ian Mikrut
It feels like we’re in the age of the entrepreneur. Between digital-only corporations, an endless array of social media influencers, and a rise in mom and pop businesses across the nation, there are simply more ways to get your foot in the door as a business owner. But there isn’t a one-stop-shop in how to grow your business into a successful enterprise.
Per Yahoo, about 543,000 new businesses are started each month. Most of them will fail. Your business doesn’t have to be one of them.
If you’re struggling to grow your business, your digital strategy (or lack thereof) could be a big part of the problem. For a closer examination, here are 10 web problems that may be holding you back.
1. You Don’t Have a Website
This seems pretty obvious, and maybe even a little silly to bring up. But if your business doesn’t have anything resembling a website, that’s a major problem.
Now we wouldn’t even address this as a “real” reason your business isn’t growing if there weren’t any statistics. Surprisingly in as recently as 2015 alone, 6 out of every 10 small businesses didn’t have a website for their business (via GoDaddy). That’s more than half of all small businesses; how is that possible?!
By not having a business website you’re relying purely on foot traffic, conventional advertising, and word of mouth. And in doing so you’re eliminating an infinite potential of connecting with new customers every single day.
If you’re among that 60%, stop reading this and get a website for your business. Then come on back here to make sure all your other web needs are covered!
2. You Have a Website, But It’s Not Very Good
Now then, simply having a website is not enough. Listen, we all make mistakes. But no matter your industry or market, having a functional, beautiful looking website can make all the difference in growing your business.
Consider that it only takes around 0.05 seconds for visitors to form an opinion about your website which will ultimately decide whether they stay or leave. And that a study found that design accounts for 94% of negative feedback for websites.
With that in mind, you should take your business website design and overall user experience very seriously. A few basic elements of good business websites include:
- Striking, memorable images and/or video
- Your business logo and branding (more on that later)
- Clear, easy site navigation (menus)
- A clear Call to Action (something 70% of small business websites lack!)
- Proper formatting (headings, subheadings, etc.)
- Clean, quality copy
- Contact information and social links
Granted, that’s a very basic overlay of a few basic elements that any functioning website should have. The real trick is to design it in such a way to create a cohesive, enjoyable user experience. One of the first places that starts is through consistent branding.
3. Your Business Lacks Consistent Online Branding
Establishing a clear brand identity should be one of the first things you do when starting your business. It allows you to start getting a foothold in exactly how customers will view your business, and helps set you on a path for longterm growth.
Otherwise, you’re leaving money on the table as studies from Lucidpress have shown that consistent branding across all platforms can increase revenue by up to 23 percent.
Branding elements include:
- A unique, versatile, memorable logo
- Consistent brand colors (2-3 are best!)
- Specific brand fonts and typography
- Other visual elements that bring your company mission and values to life
Consider that per Color Matters, a signature color can boost brand recognition by 80 percent. Now imagine that coupled with the right logo and stylistic tone to everything you do; from your website, across all social media channels, to any physical materials.
Your branding is the foundation for the rest of your marketing efforts. And if your business entails selling an original product, then effective branding is even more important.
4. Not Using Social Media to Your Advantage
Social media platforms are pretty unavoidable in today’s landscape. At times they can be confusing, frustrating, and downright exhausting. But if you’re not using each individual channel to your full advantage, there’s a big chance you’re missing out on a ton of potential growth.
It isn’t enough to just check the box of having accounts on the major social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube), you need to be updating them regularly with relevant, quality content.
Social media can be used to:
- See your customer landscape (demographic, location, etc.)
- Share big company news
- Generate organic customer engagement
- Connect and partner with other industry leaders in your market
- Draw back the curtain on the inner workings of your company
Still a little uneasy? Consider that Hootsuite has found that people are 31% more likely to recall what they saw on Twitter than another form of communication. Additionally, corporations that utilize LinkedIn posts find that using images and video generate are 2-5 times more likely to get comments and other engagement.
And that’s just scratching the surface. Utilizing social media in the right way helps you cast a wider net and increase your overall reach, helping your business grow along the way.
5. No Videos? BIG Problem
You may have read that video is currently dominating the digital content landscape. And the trend shows no signs of slowing down.
Here are a few quick-hitting statistics about utilizing video for your business:
- Wordstream showed that using videos on landing pages will increase overall conversions by 86%
- Per SMN, only 20% of people will read text on a given page, but a whopping 80% of people will watch a video
- Looking for an SEO push? Video content is 50 times more likely to drive organic search results than just plain text (per Omnicore)
Most social media platforms make it easier than ever to self-produce videos that will immediately upload to your channel. Aside from that, utilizing a few professionally-made videos on your business’ landing page and throughout your company website can help boost user engagement.
Simply put, if you’re not putting any time or resources into producing quality video content, you should be. You’re missing out on potential new business and growth opportunities.
6. Not Utilizing Online Reviews
Online reviews are a great way to build your credibility and help your business grow. Think about how you research a business. Whether it’s a new restaurant or retail store, where do you usually start?
Most likely you Google the business, or look for them on a review aggregate site like Yelp. And from there you probably look at the online reviews and overall star rating before making a judgment call. And you wouldn’t be alone.
Per Vendasta, 92% of consumers now read online reviews, and star rating is the number one factor used by consumers to judge a business.
KPMG found that 55% of people will search online for reviews and recommendations before making a purchase, with 47% visiting the company website, 26% checking out the physical store, and 23% of people talking with friends and family.
Online reviews can affect:
- Search Engine Optimization
- Online ranking and visibility
- Consumer purchasing decisions
- Build credibility and reputation
There are plenty of ways to manage your online reviews on your own, but an easy fix is utilizing something like our Online Review and Reputation Management Services.
7. Poor Website Performance
Have you ever visited a website that has slow load times, or such terrible lag that it wouldn’t even function? Most likely you won’t even waste your time waiting for it to load.
If there’s any chance your website performs below par, you’re cutting off a significant portion of potential customers. Google Developers found that sites loading within 5 seconds had 70% longer sessions, 35% lower bounce rates, and 25% higher ad viewability than sites taking nearly four times longer at 19 seconds.
And if you think your business doesn’t warrant that kind of high-end scrutiny, consider that Pinterest increased search engine traffic and sign-ups by 15% when they reduced perceived wait times by 40%.
If the biggest companies in the world are taking the time to properly investigate website performance and load times, it’s imperative you do the same. No matter what “level” you perceive your business to be, you’ll never grow if you don’t perform better than your competition.
8. You Lack Content Marketing
Marketers today often kick around the phrase “content is king.” And in more ways than one, it’s true. Content not only helps you build out your brand, company voice, and marketing efforts, but it can also drastically improve your lead generation. And in turn, your conversion rate.
Usually we tend to think of content marketing in terms of blog posts (which are definitely great and helpful), but great content can also come from:
- Newsletters
- Videos (demonstrations, behind the scenes, training, etc.)
- eBooks
- Podcasts (per Edison Research, the number one audio source by time of consumption among podcast listeners.
The Content Marketing Institute found that content marketing gets three times more leads than paid search advertising. That’s a significant amount of potential new business! If you’re not taking advantage of content marketing, you’re not taking advantage of real, tangible growth opportunities.
9. Your Website is Not Mobile Optimized
Nothing is more frustrating than visiting a website on a mobile device, only to find that it doesn’t function or lacks a great user experience. If your business website falls into that category, remember that 44.1% of people use laptops and desktops, 51.6% use mobile phones, and 4.2% use tablets (via WPForms).
That means that more than half of your visitors are coming from mobile devices. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile use, you’re once again isolating a significant portion of your potential customer base.
And that simply doesn’t make sense. With the right team building your website, your user experience should be smooth and engaging, no matter where your new customers are visiting from.
10. You’re Not Budgeting for Marketing
Per Clutch, 47% of small business owners handle marketing on their own. That’s all well and good. Nothing speaks more to the entrepreneurial spirit than taking care of all areas of your business on your own.
Especially when it comes to managing your company’s finances, bringing on a full time marketer or using the services of a marketing agency (like us!) simply might not be in the budget.
But consider that from the number that handles their own marketing, about half spend 2 hours or less on marketing per week. When we talk about budgeting for marketing, it’s not just money, but time as well.
2 hours simply isn’t enough time to devote to marketing in a given week to see significant results. Especially given that marketing is usually a full time job for most corporations.
Everything is Marketing
Almost everything on the above list has a foot in digital marketing in some way. It’s impossible to make serious headway without serious consideration to your digital marketing.
If you find yourself wondering how to grow your business effectively, consider your current digital efforts. You may find it’s time to seriously restructure or revamp your approach. If so, we’re here to help!
Get Started On Your New Digital Marketing Plan Today
At Multiverse Media Group, we build and maintain beautiful websites and implement powerful digital marketing strategies everyday that help our clients grow. We develop web experiences that only use modern strategies and techniques to better position our clients for the future.
So if you’re ready to take the next step in building your online presence, reach out to us at Multiverse Media Group today. Learn more about who we are and let’s grow together!
