If you’re a budding entrepreneur, there’s a few things you’re going to need to do to keep your consumer happy. All can be done with the power of technology. It is so advanced at the moment, there really is a tonne of things you can do to keep your business innovative and ahead of others. But first you need to know what they want in order to keep them happy. A lot want reliability, consistency, and good service. To confirm this, a little market research will show you exactly what they’re looking for. Take this information and apply it to the systems you use. Your website and app (if you have one) should be the main thing you’re focusing on, as this is the main platform people are going to be using. If you’re struggling for advice on how to better your systems, then take a read of this article.
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Market Research
As mentioned beforehand, you need to be doing some market research in order to know what’s going to be best for your consumers. There are a few different ways you’re going to be able to do this. The first being look at what your competitors are doing before you even think about contacting customers. More established businesses will know what they’re doing, and you’ll be able to take hints and tips and apply them to your own. The first thing to look at is their website. Go through each page and take notes about the ease of use, design, and order process. All of these things are going to be what your customers are looking for in a business. A rubbish website isn’t going to do any good for your business. Then you need to speak to the people to truly find out what they want. Ask customers to complete a short survey that’ll fill you with the information you need. Make sure the questions are short and simple. Tick box questions work the best as more customers are likely to fill them out. Not a lot of people have the time to fill out questionnaires where the questions require written answers. Make sure the questions are simple and easy to answer, and will give you all the information you need to make them happy.
Budget
If you want things done right, you need to have a decent budget to get you through each stage if you’re wanting to improve a few things. Bigger companies will obviously have bigger budgets. So if you’re struggling to scrape the pennies together, then take it one project at a time. Prioritise what you’d like to be done first, and either begin saving for that one, or start that one and begin saving for future ones. Try not to take out loans where possible as things can get a little messy.
Website
This, for a lot of people, will either make or break your business. It is the main selling point, or should be, for everything you do. Everyone knows that in this day and age that everything is done through the internet, especially shopping. Your website needs to be the absolute best it can be in order to make your customers stay. If from the moment they open your website it is slow, hard to use, and looks old and outdated, they’re most likely going to close the top and search for your competitors. Your website needs to hook the user more than you realise. The first thing you need to think of is the design. You don’t want it too tacky, with bright colours and not enough information. The best website designs are those that are sophisticated and simple in a way. Use your home page to display your best products and any deals you may have. Designing a website is just an impossible task unless you have experience of doing so. So having one made by a professional is something you really need to be considering. Website development companies will design you the perfect website for your needs, and will be able to take all areas that you need into account and apply them to your design in a professional way. Once you’ve had your website designed, roll it out to your customers and try and get some feedback. The main points of your website should be ease of use, quality, and appeal. Make sure you test it fully yourself first to discover any bugs. Then once you get some customer feedback you can make any edits needed to make your website the best it can be,
Apps
Having a good app is nearly as important as having a good website nowadays. Due to the rise in the number of people having smartphones, companies all over the world are having to adapt and give the people what they want. Some people however do prefer the old way of having a website, but due to children growing up with smartphones in their hand from a young age, the new generation is one that’s being brought up with apps. They are a lot easier to access, but they do have their issues. Apps are more likely to have bugs that need fixing more often compared to websites. You’d also need to make sure that it is accessible from all of the app stores, for example, the apple store and the play store. Then there’s the hurdle to cross of making sure the app is compatible for all phones. The last thing you want is a blackberry user to be having issues just because you focused on it being compatible for Apple and Android. This will only annoy users and potentially damage your reputation. Just like with designing a website, apps are incredibly hard to make on your own. You’re best off contacting a professional to make sure the job is done right. Pitch to them your ideas, and try to make it as similar to the theme of your website. Consistency is key when it comes to running a successful business.
