Are you a beauty business looking to increase visibility and reputation online? Prem Jinadasa, online business consultant and owner of Redefining Beauty shares his top 10 tips.
1. Google Adwords
Using Google’s Adword Advertising is an essential part of any online business, especially if you’re selling products online.
More and more of the first page of a Google search result (especially above the fold – what you see without scrolling down) is being filled with ads, and that’s where you want to be. With Adwords, you only pay when someone clicks on your add and actually visits your site! My recommendation is to hire a media agency to run an Adword campaign for you. Before signing up with any agency, insure that you will have full access to your Adwords account and don’t lock into a long contract!
2. Social Media
Here’s a word of caution for anyone thinking of starting a Facebook, or other social media account. There is something worse than not having a Facebook page, and it is to have one that isn’t monitored daily, the same goes for other social platforms. The flipside of having your business exposed on social media is having a place for unsatisfied customers to share their dissatisfaction with the world.
Unmonitored social accounts are too common these days. Social media accounts should be treated like your voicemail, if a potential customer left a message, and you respond a week later, or worse yet don’t respond at all, what are they going to think about your business?
Social media can be used effectively and is important, but you must be prepared to spend the time to monitor and respond to questions or problems posted on them.
3. Blogging
As with social media, blogging isn’t all about advertising the sales and specials you run. Most people read blogs to learn, not to buy, so keep them informative and something that your customers would actually find useful.
4. Adding Value to the Customer
Sales/discounts is often not the best way to add value to your products or services. It is common and overused – think about the last time you went shopping without seeing a sale sign in every second shop?
Thinking of different ways to meet your customer’s needs other than holding a sale can help you stand out from your competitors. Unique specials can create much more buzz than a sale, obviously they need to be something the customer would actually want.
5. Website
Below are some key points when optimizing a website that are often overlooked:
• Keep your website tidy! There’s nothing worse than a messy website! Your website should be easy to navigate.
• Set up Google Analytics, this shows you stats that are vital to understanding what is and isn’t working on your site.
• You must check your website speed, most visitors will leave if your site takes longer than 3-4 seconds to load.
6. Quality Control
I’ve found this to be one of the most important parts of a successful online business, not only does it reduce cost, it is often responsible for most of the problem customers.
Example: you might think that having five incorrect products sent out of 300 is pretty reasonable, but now you have to pay for the incorrect orders/items returned. Not only that, you then have to spend time on dealing with these unhappy customers, answering emails or phone calls etc.
Remember – one disgruntled customer takes up to 20 or more happy customers to balance out.
7. Customer Service
Quick responses portray your brand as professional and reliable, and as funny as it may sound, it helps to be in a good mood when writing the responses. Just as smiling on the phone is felt by the receiver, there is a tone in emails, and while two emails can convey the same message, they can have opposite reactions.
8. Enjoyment
Everyone works better and get better results when they enjoy their work, sure you’ll have good and bad days, but happy employees equal happy customers!
9. Innovation
One thing that stood out to me about Sigma Beauty (one of the brands I distribute) was it’s unique approach to advertising. They effectively use affiliate marketing and word of mouth to spread their products. They are also constantly innovating and adding new products.
I know what your thinking, there’s only so many products you can create, but this is about thinking outside the box for ways to expand your business and there’s always a way if you look hard enough.
10. Accounting
This is the part most people hate, the tedious, repetitive and boring job of balancing the books, but the devil is in the detail!
It’s easy to think that more sales equals more profit, but very often businesses find that their costs grow faster than the increase of sales. Having a basic understanding of accounting and what warning signs to look out for is extremely important.
I’m not for cutting corners to try and lower expenses, but in today’s fast paced world, there are often cheaper and better alternatives that can actually lower your costs and increase the value you deliver to customers. E.g. reviewing suppliers, where you buy your office supplies, which bank you use, internet/phone plan provider, upgrading or changing your software, and very importantly reviewing your day to day tasks and procedures can help you save and streamline your business.
For more information visit www.redefiningbeauty.com.au or email admin@redefiningbeauty.com.au