As any small business owner knows, marketing a small business is essential to its success. But all too often, the operators of those businesses don’t have any particular expertise in marketing. That can lead to significant problems down the road.
One common issue among small firms is the quality of their website. Visitors expect your site to work well the first time. But all too often, the websites of small businesses look like something out of the 1990s. It’s just not good enough.
That’s why I’ve put together a list of common problems with small business websites and what you can do to fix it.
Poor Navigation
All too often it’s hard for your clients to navigate your site. This leaves them feeling frustrated and annoyed. What’s more, if you’re running an online retail outfit, hard to navigate menus can derail sales and harm performance.
Of course, there’s no need for difficult-to-navigate menus in today’s marketplace. There are a host of solutions out there, from paying a web designer to resolve the problem, to using a better web builder.
Generic Website Feel
Many small businesses and startups have websites that have a generic feel. And that’s a problem. Their websites do practically nothing to convey the company brand or message.
But there are ways to address this. Let’s say that you’re a certified public accountant running a freelance business. At the moment, your website is a generic site that communicates very little about the character of your enterprise. There’s nothing that stops customers from moving on to the next site in search of a better offer.
Custom-designed CPA websites change all that. Here, our hypothetical certified accountant gets a website which is both unique and says a little bit about them too. In other words, their site is designed to engage rather than bore customers.
Lack Of High-Quality Content
There are still a lot of small businesses who haven’t jumped on the content bandwagon. But by producing high-quality content, you can drive traffic to your website and get higher ranking on search engines.
Content is just as much a part of marketing as talking about the services that you offer and engaging in SEO. If you don’t feel confident in writing your own copy, or you don’t have time, there are a whole host of freelancers out there more than willing to do it for you.
Lack Of Opportunity For Feedback
All businesses will tell you how important it is to listen to customer feedback. And this is no less the case when you’re running your own small business.
But often small businesses have no system through which they can address the concerns of clients. And this is a problem. Great companies have a way to address client concerns and turn this around to their advantage. Consider installing a message box on your site asking for feedback. Or send out surveys to customers directly asking them for their feedback on your website. Was it easy to use? Did they find what they were looking for the first time around?
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Beatrice McGraw
Aarif Habeeb
Kristel Kinne
Regina Deemer