1) You assume that your customers think just like you.
If you’re the kind of entrepreneur who is able to pull brilliant ideas out of thin air and that your customers will “get it” despite risking ambiguity, hats off to you. But most entrepreneurs can’t afford to think or act like that. Ignoring what your customers have to say about your product and settling with what you think they’ll like can put your business in jeopardy. Avoid this by soliciting feedback from your customers on a regular basis. What they have to say about your product can help you decide which areas you should put less of a focus on and the ones that you need to strengthen.
2) You don’t promote yourself enough.
No item can sell itself without even a hint of advertising. If you believe that your product is as awesome as you think it is, you need to promote it adequately. Your product exists because there are people who need or want it. If they don’t know it’s available in the market, it will be extremely difficult for your business to sell the item and be successful.
3) Your online activity is sporadic.
Having a website is a must but it’s equally important that you keep up an active social presence too. Keep your product catalog and contact information updated and blog on a regular basis with relevant content.
4) You ignore SEO.
If you have an online store and you’re not optimizing it for the search engines to find, you’ll have a lot of trouble connecting to your target audience. Enhancing your website with SEO tools can help it achieve higher search engine rankings on Google and become much more visible in search results.
5) You have poor customer service.
Your relationship with your customers doesn’t end after checking out! Great customer service doesn’t rest and the best kind of service is available after sales and after store hours. When your clients see that you look after them post transaction, they won’t hesitate to recommend you to their friends.
6) You’re encouraged to criticize the competition.
It’s all right to have your game face on, but sometimes an outcome for your business can be so good that it can get to your head and convince you that your competitors are beneath you. Criticizing your rivals in the business can turn your customers off and easily drive them to switch brands.
Every effort you put into your business can turn into a marketing strategy, but any form of negligence can also be detrimental to what you do. When it comes to business, ignorance isn’t always bliss. Now that you know what is possibly damaging to your business, you have no excuse not to straighten these strategies out.
About the author: Morrys Sarmiento is a business writer. Among his interests outside the profession are football (hardcore Andrea Pirlo and Arsenal F.C fan here), theories of personality, philosophy, gaming, and creepy stories. Follow him on twitter @morrysxi
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As a business man, i think that besides some tips to follow when you go online, you also need some "attitude", "inspiration". I used quotes, because the real sense is not exactly like we see it in our real life. For example if we stop for one moment and think at the transition of time, on internet, things are different. You need to wait, not to rush when you work it out. Inspired, yes, but differently. You need to find out the reason why you are different, why your business is different. There are so many business out there but few manage to make the real money. Yes, they figure it out, the real Inspiration. It's in vain if you have a website, but no = ROI. Probably this is the question, and fight that everybody lead online. To build a success business.
I personally think that it needs time, and dedication. Nothing is done without investment and being good, or at least motivated to become good.