Five Critical Steps to Keeping Your Business Open in a Bad Economy

No matter which industry you’re in you are probably feeling the effects of the current economic downturn.  If the experts are correct then the worse is yet to come and not all business will survive.  If you want to protect your online business, here are five critical areas to address as quickly as possible.

1. Prioritize Your Blog
Once seen as an activity with little business impact, blogging has since proved its worth as a valuable business tool.     Having a blog is no longer an option.  The fresh, relevant content makes a blog a powerful tool for increasing search engine rankings and ultimately, increasing traffic.  Blogs are becoming increasingly popular on the Internet.  A quality blog can attract a large loyal audience with the potential of becoming customers.  They can also build your reputation as an industry leader. 

2. Reevaluate Your Marketing Plan
Marketing may be important but an ineffective plan will produce little results and can quickly consume your budget.  Don’t just invest in marketing avenues and hope for results.  You must diligently track each campaign to completion, monitoring the impact in detail.  Be prepared to cut campaigns that do not perform up to expectations, especially if those campaigns are costly.  Don’t just assume you get what you pay for in marketing.  You may find a low cost option that produces great returns.  Either way, you won’t know unless you pay careful attention.

3. Provide Excellent Customer Service
With consumers spending less it will be more difficult to attract and retain customers.  Not only will competitive practices increase but consumers will want to get more with their shrinking budgets.  Excellent customer service is a great way to stand out from your competition.  Customers who have a positive experience are likely to return again and again.  They are also likely to share their experience with friends and family, further increasing your sales.  With cost effective options such as Live Chat Support it is possible to offer advanced support options on smaller budgets.

4. Streamline Your Website
Take a critical evaluation of your website.  Ensure your message is clear and easy to understand.  Whether it’s make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter, or provide lead information, your visitors should understand what you want them to do and how to do it.  Optimise wordy content, improve navigation, and review the usability of your checkout process.  These updates do not need to be costly.  Concentrate on small changes that will bring the biggest impact.

5. Participate in Social Networks
There are numerous social networking sites that provide services free of charge.  By participating in these networks you will increase your visibility as well as build your reputation as an industry expert.  Social networking sites can also help build targeted relationships with users that are likely to have an interest in your business.  In addition to new customers, you can also form beneficial business relationships.  At the very least, consider participating in the most popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.