Five Ways to Make it Easier for Customers to Purchase from your Small Business

Five Ways to Make it Easier for Customers to Purchase from your Small Business

If you’re struggling to make your small business becoming a large, booming business, you have to start at the basics. It can be easy to get caught up in the minute details without seeing the forest for the trees. Yes, all those details matter, but what matters most is turning potential customers into paying ones. Let’s go over five of the top ways to make sure that your business is set up to be a successful one with these next tips. 

​Five ways to make it easier for customers to purchase from your small business

1. ​Have an online payment option that is obvious

Even if your business is predominantly a physical store-front, there’s no reason to not make purchasing easy. Make your payment option simple and easy. One option is to have an online option; with options like Payanywhere, there’s no reason to not accept virtual payments. This way, your customers can browse at their leisure, and you can accept credit card payments right from your computer. If a customer calls you up after they’ve left your store intent on buying something they saw earlier, the last thing you want to say is, can you come back in to pay for it? By that point, you’ve lost the customer, so make payments simple.

2. Maintain your website

If you offer a physical product or service, ensure that your website is up-to-date with contact information. Have an online presence that covers the basics of your storefront or service, including commonly asked questions so that customers spend less time trying to figure out exactly what you do. At the very least have a phone number, hours of business, and, if you offer a more seasonal service, the average lead time. 

3. Remind the customer of your expertise

If you operate solely with an online presence, make sure that your website is detailed and thorough. The last thing you want is a potential customer wavering between purchasing your service and not; by giving them all the information up-front, you’re reassuring them that you are an expert in your field. 

4. Provide good customer service

This may seem obvious but check your voicemails. This seems silly, but many businesses get so caught up with everything they need to do each morning that they forget one of the obvious things - to follow up with customers reaching out to you. Whether that’s via an online portal, email, or voicemail, make sure you give those customers a bit of time each day so that you’re turning potential clients into payments.

5. Offer subscription services

A customer who needs something repeatedly is unlikely to stray and try another store or website if they can rest assured that what they’re needing is going to show up at their door front each month. If you run a software-as-a-service, you likely know the importance of repeat customers, and the easiest way to turn one-time customers into recurring ones is by offering a subscription. This is true for physical goods as well; if you run a business that has customers returning to your website or storefront every couple of months, offer them the option of having something delivered each month to them. 

There you have it: Five simple ways to make customer purchases easier for your small business.  Put these five tips to use and notice as your conversions increase over the next several months.  

How To Market On Facebook As A Small Business

You have definitely heard about Facebook and the number of people who spend their time there every single day. Well, it means that it is a perfect place to get your marketing done.

However, things are not that simple.

As you have probably expected, even something like social media requires a lot of understanding, especially once you start to put some money into it. Of course, the more time you spend on it and learn, it becomes clearer. And since everybody has to start from somewhere, this article is a perfect place to begin your journey.

Start with the Profile

Every Facebook page needs to have an optimized profile. This becomes even more important when you are running a business. Everyone usually starts with a profile picture and the cover.

After that, be sure to fill in all the blank information on the business page, such as the website, location, working hours, and so on. The more effort you put into it, the more professional everything looks.

Content with Intent

When you start posting, make sure that it is not some random text that makes no sense or serves no purpose. Every single message that you share with your followers needs to have a meaning behind it.

Moreover, there will come a time when you will have to boost these posts with money to reach more people. The sooner you become accustomed to such content, the better.

Recommended read: Facebook Business Manager Guide for Beginners

Insights

Understanding the demographics and whether your fans are truly the ones that would be interested in the business is important.

Luckily, Facebook has its own version of insights, and it provides all the information that the page owner would like.

Taking notes every day is probably overdoing it, but you should at least keep up with what is happening at least every week or so.

Schedule the Posts

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Depending on what time you post, you can expect more or less engagement. These things take time to test.

Do not expect to make a conclusion in a week’s time since the difference between posting on weekdays and weekends is also there.

Automation tools are perfect if you want to try a timeframe that would be impossible to check otherwise.

Facebook Stories

Facebook has recently introduced a new feature of stories. It serves as a way to diversify the content and share more trivial things with your followers. Of course, it serves more if you are trying to run a marketing campaign.

It is worth checking out the Facebook Stories: The Complete Guide for Businesses in 2019 on Oberlo’s website. It has all the information every business owner needs.

Encourage Your Audience to Join

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This serves two purposes. One is to get a stronger relationship with your followers, and the second one is having a different type of content to post.

The whole thing is pretty simple. Announce that you will share a picture that they take, an article that they will write, a video that they will make, and so on. Such incentives do wonders if you want to stand out from the competition and look more appealing.

Giveaways

No post will have as much engagement and reach as the one which offers something for free. You have probably seen plenty of contests on Facebook where the page asks to share, like, comment, tag, etc.

Some individuals like to exploit it and run fake giveaways, not giving the prize to the winner after the whole thing is over. However, these things tend to reach daylight, and you can forget about having any positive reputation afterward.

Facebook Groups

Another method to diversify your business and expect user-generated content is by creating a Facebook group. It is a place where everyone can share the information, invite others to join, and so on.

The biggest advantage of a group is that organizing a discussion is much easier. Similarly, you should consider creating a subreddit. Reddit is one of the most popular websites on the internet, and while it is not considered social media, it is still a good place to advertise yourself.

Continue to Learn

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Just like any other thing on the internet, Facebook will continue to evolve and change. In order to not fall behind the competition, you need to be at the top of the game. Therefore, make sure that you are up to date with any changes or new features that get implemented.

As things stand right now, Facebook is without a doubt one of the best websites on the internet when it comes to running a marketing campaign. Even if a page might not seem like a direct business technique to regular users, you, who is behind it, should understand the pros and cons of it.

And following these tips makes everything much easier!

Dealing With The Stress Of Running A Small Business

Running any kind of business can be stressful, but stress can especially take its vicious toll on the small business owner.

Why?

With limited resources at their disposal, it can be harder for a small business owner to make a profit, especially when first starting out in business.

With the threat of other businesses, both big and small, the thought of business failure is never too far from the small business owner's mind.

And because many small business owners work alone, especially when operating online, there is the risk of both social isolation and overwork.

These aren't the only reasons why small business owners experience stress, but they are common factors.

While some stress should always be expected - it would be a lie to suggest we can eliminate it from our lives permanently - we should still take steps to manage the problem before it takes its toll.

You see, if you do let stress overwhelm you, not only will you suffer as your health takes a downward spiral, but your business will suffer too, as you won't have the capacity to perform satisfactorily. In the worst-case scenario, your business might have to close down, as if you become too ill with exhaustion and entrepreneurial burnout, you won't be able to run it anymore.

This sucks, we know, but as this article suggests, burnout has become a reality for many.

So, what can you do about the problem? How can you manage the stress of running your small business? We don't have all of the answers. There will be issues relevant to your situation that we aren't aware of, and that might be specific to you, and not commonly associated with other small business owners.

Still, we can provide some general guidance, with advice that should be adhered to by anybody currently in charge of running a small business. These tips should be helpful to you, so while you will have to take responsibility for your personal stressors, you might still make life easier for yourself if you consider the following.

#1: Find ways to work less during the day

Work Less During The Day

This might seem like an impossibility, especially if you have a busy schedule to deal with, but if you do too much, you are only going to add to your stress levels. Therefore, find ways to reduce your workload.

One way might be to say 'no' more often when you're offered work. Now, while you might not want to let your clients down, you don't want to produce work that is lacking in quality because you haven't had the time to complete it to a sufficient level. By taking on less work, you will be able to spend more time on the projects you need to complete, and this will stand you in good stead with the client who should be pleased with the work you have put in.

You might also get the opportunity to finish work at a decent hour without having to commit to overtime. This is better than ruining your reputation by giving your client something substandard, either because you haven't had time to put the effort in, or because you're so tired with stress that you made some blunderous errors. 

Another way to do less is to create a to-do list for your working day. There will invariably be things you need to do as a priority, so put them at the top of your list, and if anything else can be left until another day, then put them at the bottom or put them on a to-do list for another day.

There are loads of task-management apps on the market, so download something onto your phone, or go the old-fashioned route and order your to-do list with pen and paper. By having something in front of you, with each priority task neatly laid out, you will be less prone to distracting yourself with something else that might only eat into your time during the day.

Finally, and perhaps the obvious solution, you can do less by delegating your work to others. If you have the finances to hire people in your business, then do so.

By bringing other people on board, you will a) have people around to ease feelings of social isolation, and b) have people at hand to take on those tasks that you don't have time for, or aren't able to complete in a satisfactory way. 

With this in mind, check out these hiring tips for small business owners. Alternatively, consider outsourcing. For those tasks that you struggle with, or for any task that doesn't have to be completed by yourself, look for another firm to manage them for you.

This might be on an occasional basis when you're feeling particularly pressured at work, or it might be on a regular basis if you need help, but you don't want to hire others to work alongside you.

While there will be an expense in both hiring and outsourcing, you might still feel the financial benefits if you are able to improve your business and gain more custom as a direct result of either option.

#2: Use technology to streamline your day

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We have already advocated the use of task-management apps, but there are loads of other apps and software tools available to make your life easier. It's worth doing your own research, as there may be certain products that are specific to you, and there are too many examples to note here.

Still, some are particularly noteworthy, such as Sling scheduling, a piece of scheduling software which is especially useful if you do have employees working for you, and HubSpot Marketing, which is a useful marketing solution that helps you increase traffic to your website and improve your ROI.

By doing your research, you will also get a handle on the various pieces of accounting software available to help you, useful for both invoicing and managing your finances, customer support apps to help you improve your customer relations, and as we highlighted recently, sales funnel software, an automated process that is designed to help you create more sales within your business.

Do a Google search today, look for any app or software tool that is appropriate for your needs, and then try before you buy if they offer a free trial or demo to help you ascertain the worthiness of the product.

#3: Take better care of yourself

Taking Care

You need to consider your overall wellbeing, so take steps to improve both your mental and physical health.

This begins by scheduling time out for yourself. If you have followed the other suggestions within this article, this shouldn't be difficult, as hopefully, you will have more time to play with each day. Take a break in the morning and afternoon, and when possible, schedule a day off occasionally to give you time to relax and unwind.

We appreciate a day off might have a knock-on effect to your profits, but as we said earlier, this is better than losing money because you are later too unwell to work. 

You should also exercise regularly, as physical activity is a proven factor in reducing stress. Go for a walk during the day, perhaps before and during work hours, and spend time in hobbies that you enjoy outside of work.

You need to eat well too, so eat those foods guaranteed to lower your stress level and up your energy levels during the day. This means avoiding those foods that are only going to make you feel tired and lethargic, such as fatty and sugary foods.

And finally, make sure you get the appropriate amount of sleep. The right amount varies for each individual, but as a rule, 8 hours is usually the norm for decreasing stress levels and ensuring you feel refreshed upon waking.

Finally

You will never completely escape stress, but you can relieve the stress you feel if you heed our suggestions in this article. Let us know what you think, and if you have any other ideas that we haven't mentioned, be sure to share your wisdom with us.

Take care, and thanks for reading.