How To Avoid the #epicfail most businesses make when it comes to traffic and sales online.

After studying for my A levels, I got a summer job selling camera equipment at a high street electrical store.

At 18 years old, I thought It was great and absolutely loved it.

This was the 1980's, before the internet.

People couldn't go online and browse around and find information about the product they were interested in. They had to read magazines and/or visit someone like me in store to tell them about the latest model and get my opinion.

This was in a time before smartphones too, so summer was a bumper time for cameras as people were going on holiday and they wanted the latest gadgets for their holiday snaps.

As I was planning on studying photography later that year, I found nothing more exciting than to read up on all the products and then demonstrate them with the customers who would come in to the store and ask about my opinion.

Thing is, people trusted what I said, I knew my stuff and I was considered an expert by the people who came to the store, and as a result, I sold a lot of equipment and made quite a bit of commission for an 18year old during that summer.

It's different nowadays, isn't it?

With the internet, the way you communicate with clients has changed, but the process remains largely unchanged.

People still want to know about a product and they want a trusted source to rely on so they can make an informed decision.

With the increased availability of information online, people are able to educate themselves about products like never before. They demand quicker and more convenient solutions than ever before in response.

So how can you do that nowadays and have the same effect as someone standing behind the counter demonstrating products and providing their expertise about products?

Looking at many websites as I do, it still amazes me that many businesses don't think about what their website says to a potential client, it's all about them, not about the customer. This is a glaring oversight and one which works against what a website is supposed to do which to get traffic and convert it into customers.

Give Your audience what they want

Online businesses must adopt a customer-centred philosophy instead. A simple yet effective way to do this is to use inbound marketing. It's a really simple yet powerful strategy and is the first thing we do when we create content for clients.

Consumers want to believe they are making the right choice and speaking to an expert like you. This can be done by creating your own customer journey that nurtures your target audience providing detailed answers to all the questions they want to know about your product.

This simple yet powerful strategy and is as easy as it gets. if done correctly it has the effect of positioning you as the expert (which as a business owner, you are), and the client will naturally be inclined to trust your opinion and to go one to make their purchase through you.

This is the basis of creating valuable content that answers questions, solves problems and positions you as the authority in your market

I Get That it's simple, I just haven't got the time!

Most small business owners are just too busy to focus on sales and marketing. They end up getting stuck with clients that don’t pay well or aren’t a good fit for their company.

The best way to grow your business is by focusing on sales and marketing, but it can be hard to find the time or know where to start. If you want more clients without having to spend all of your time on prospecting, there is a way to help you make sense of everything there is about sales and marketing so that you can get back in control of your own destiny!

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