5 Practical Steps You can Take Right Now to Future-proof your Business

Your business is in the here and now but how do you set your business to be future-proof?

When we say future-proof, we are talking about how to set up your business to generate income in the relative future and it all starts now. In this digital age, everything must be accessible through our digital devices and that includes even businesses. Products and services that are readily available through the internet have an edge compared to competitors who do not have an online presence.

Here are 5 practical steps you can take right now to make sure your business is ready for the future.

• Create social media pages
• Create ads
• Create an e-commerce website
• Create a mobile app
• Have an email campaign

Create Social Media Pages

Having Social Media Pages is a no brainer nowadays as it represents one of the most important online presences. Your customers and potential ones will be looking for your online pages to know more about your products, services, location, and even reviews.

This is important to increase brand awareness, increase visibility, build trust and loyalty amongst your demographic. Without a social media page such as Facebook and Instagram accounts, your customers may even be deterred from trying out your products and services.

Study each social media platform and figure out what kind of content strategy you should do with each. Don’t make the beginner mistake of treating all social media platforms the same. What works for Facebook won’t necessarily work for Instagram, even if they’re under the same company.

Facebook gives you more flexibility, allowing for a variety of content types, so you can start there. Instagram is more for images and short videos, and you can’t add links anywhere else other than your profile bio. Twitter is for quick updates and conversations, while YouTube is for full video content.

You can try out newer platforms as well, such as TikTok, if you have the opportunity to show off your business on quick and snappy videos. You don’t have to be on all of them, but you get into whatever you can build an audience in. Learn to use features like hashtags and in-app messaging to do that.

The most important thing when you’re building a social media presence for your business is to interact with your audience. Let them know that there’s a human being behind the profile and let your customers know where to find you on social media.

Create Ads

If your page has not yet gained enough traction or followers, you may opt to try creating ads to increase brand awareness. This will help you reach a wider scope and make sure your brand doesn’t remain anonymous. Creating ads can also help you accomplish objectives such as driving traffic to your website or increasing inquiries for your services. When used right, ads are powerful in helping achieve success.

Different platforms handle ads in their own way and are visible to different types of audiences. For instance, Google search ads will show up for whoever searches keywords related to your business, while Facebook ads will target users who have shown interest in your niche. If you have a page on that social media platform, you may want to create ads on it.

Social media ads are great because they have features that let you show them to people who are more likely interested in your brand. You can choose the country, demographic, and other settings that make your ad more targeted, thus increasing their chances of bringing in new customers.

Create an e-commerce website

If social media pages ain’t doing the thing for you. then you may need to complement it with an e-commerce website. A website has many purposes aside from just being a selling platform. It can also increase trust and loyalty within your demographic. A website serves as your online address where they can go back and assess your available products and services. You can also use your website to gather data for your ads and to create promotions that will encourage your customers to make a purchase.

Once you’re able to run an online store and deliver products to customers, you extend your reach far beyond your physical location. You’re no longer just limited to your locale as you’re able to sell products to the whole country or even overseas. Once you’re able to get the hang of it, you should see a significant growth to both your revenue and customer base.

Create a mobile app

For those who already have the above tools, you can also consider having a mobile app dedicated to your business. An app is a solid tool that will stay on your customers’ phones. This will increase brand loyalty as well as keeping them as a warm audience by constantly reminding them to visit your page or site, or making a purchase because of your promos. The on-device notifications are very helpful in reminding your customers that they are interested in your products and services.

Of course, you have to give people a good reason to download the app in the first place. It must offer both convenience and features that your customers want. You can have it track their purchases from your businesses and loyalty points, so you can retain their attention and repeat business.

If you have the resources for it, you can have it be an extension of your e-commerce site, letting customers browse and order products from there. You can also offer special discounts or other promos for those who use the app to order, which can help persuade more users to download it.

Have an email campaign

Another way to remind your customers that you have exciting promos and discounts is through email campaigns. You can also use this to provide them with exclusive promo codes and vouchers that will make them feel exclusive and special. You can also announce new products and other promotions.

Building a mailing list is a practice as old as the Internet itself, but email marketing still works wonders in advertising your business to potential customers. The email inbox is one of the most personally intimate spaces online, so being able to send messages that show off your business to people is a powerful move.