Why You Need an Online Marketing Plan and How to Make One
Creating an online marketing plan will help you determine features that make your company unique. Having a website designer in Sabah can help you boost your exposure.
We use different digital channels to communicate this message to your target audience.
An in-depth approach to planning will help you uncover new openings and broaden your reach.
In this article, I show you why your business needs an online marketing plan and how to come up with one.
Why You Need an Online Marketing Plan and How to Make One
Not long, advertising on television, radio, newspapers, and magazines used to be the extent of marketing campaigns.
However, as the world progresses toward a digital economy, we now embrace digital marketing methods to broaden our reach and interact with audiences.
In essence, online marketing is the use of the internet to promote and create brand awareness.
Its entire premise is; develop, publish and amplify content, then repeat.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t mean that traditional marketing strategies are obsolete.
You can optimize and maximize your campaign outcomes by combining online marketing approaches with conventional marketing strategies.
Why You Need an Online Marketing Plan
Plans Provide Direction and Goals
You gain direction and goals by developing a solid strategy for running a digital marketing campaign.
Companies lacking a defined plan will have no idea what they intend to do online or how to handle some of the most critical parts.
In general, if you lack precise goals, you’ll never know what your online campaign should entail.
Writing a well-defined marketing plan can assist you in addressing critical issues, such as knowing how to sell, defining your target demographic, developing an effective digital program, and running a successful online campaign.
Marketing Plan will assist you in comprehending your market share
It makes no difference if you have a degree in digital marketing. You could easily overstate the demand for your digital services if you lack a defined approach.
Furthermore, you will not be able to fully comprehend the online marketplace’s characteristics, such as client habits, rivals, and customer profiles.
Marketing Plan aids in the creation of a compelling value proposition
The digital market is quite competitive.
To be successful, you must set yourself apart.
This is something that only a well-thought-out digital marketing plan can do.
You’ll gain a better understanding of your clients
Analytics isn’t enough to understand your online customers.
To identify and repair your weak points, you’ll need to use various website feedback tools, just as Google Analytics and Hotjars.
You’ll avoid wasting money and effort through duplication
To achieve comparable marketing objectives, different segments of a marketing subdivision may purchase various tools or hire other agencies.
With an efficient digital marketing approach, you can avoid such pricey duplication.
You’ll avoid disintegration-related risks
Marketing done in silos, with the digital marketer reporting to the IT department, is a tragedy in the making.
When digital marketing is combined with traditional media and response channels, it is most effective.
How to Make an Online Marketing Plan
1. Understand Your Target Consumers
Knowing who your target consumer is like any other digital marketing, and especially internet marketing, is critical.
There’s a lot of noise online, so you’ll have to figure out how to cut through and reach out to the appropriate people.
And you can only do it if you know who they are.
So, how do you do that?
Create a buyer persona.
This includes your potential clients’ attributes, demographics, goals and challenges, values and fears, elevator pitch, and marketing message.
Ask yourself questions such as:
where do my potential clients stay? What are their average salaries, fears, and values?
Then create your buyer persona.
Having this knowledge in mind will help you tailor your marketing strategy to their needs.
For instance, you’ll know how to communicate directly with them.
This will make your campaigns more engaging, which will eventually deliver a positive return on investment.
2. Select Only One Marketing Channel
When you’re just getting started with your business’s online marketing, it’s vital to keep things modest at first to avoid spreading yourself too thin.
Generally, it is advisable to focus on just one social media for the time being.
Remember that this is a short-term arrangement.
As such, you shouldn’t rely on a single marketing channel in the long run because it could hurt your business.
This is because when that online marketing channel suspends your account or changes its policies, your business could suddenly vanish.
If you start seeing results, try working on another channel to further your marketing objects as quickly as possible.
Here’s an excellent way to start:
- Invest on either Facebook, YouTube, Google SEO campaign, or Instagram and set what you expect as returns
- After you get these returns, shift to another marketing channel. So if you selected Facebook, you could move on to YouTube
- If these two channels deliver the expected return, use the money to invest in Google AdWords (Pay Per Click)
- Scale-up if necessary, by including other channels or fully utilizing current ones
Note: Whichever channel you select at first, ensure that it matches your current strengths and capabilities.
You should also feel comfortable with it. So when planning, focus on your specific strengths and attributes.
Sometimes you may need to combine channels.
For instance, if you discover that your products sell well with email marketing, merge email with social media advertising to get individuals onto your mailing list.
3. Study Your Competitors to Know How to Use Your Marketing Channels
When coming up with a plan, you don’t need to establish everything from scratch.
At Bingo Digital Marketing, we usually start by studying your competitor’s actions to know what strategies are effective in your industry and which advertising channels to use.
Take advantage of apps and software that analyze businesses marketing strategies. We use Ahrefs and SEMrush.
Some websites can show what valuable content is, attaining lots of shares on social media.
Others can show both high and low competition keywords.
Using these keywords, you can generate your blog post ideas, plan your editorial calendar, and develop compelling content.
You can also choose to subscribe to your competitor’s YouTube channels directly or any other social media channel to learn from them.
Be sure to watch their videos’ qualities, content, and what people are saying.
4. Decide How Your Marketing Will Make Money
After you’ve decided on your marketing goals, you’ll need to figure out how you’ll make money.
How are you going to turn online individuals (cold traffic) into your customer (hot traffic) and ultimately your brand’s proponent? (conversion)
Conversion funnel
The best way of doing so is by bringing all aspects together and making a conversion funnel.
marketing funnel
This starts with making people aware of your existence, building authority and trust, and eventually offering.
In a nutshell
Build authority and trust by creating content and responding through emails or phone calls.
Then sell. It’s as simple as that.
FAQ
1. Would my company benefit from online marketing?
Yes, it will. Although most businesses are still skeptical, avoiding the online marketplace denies them access to the growing pool of consumers
2. How often should I post a blog or post on social media?
- Facebook—one post a day or at least three times every week
- Instagram—once a day
- Twitter—at most 30 tweets a day
- Website—at least one blog every week
3. Can I still use email marketing?
Although social media marketing has grown tremendously, email marketing still wins.
There are more active email accounts than social media accounts across the globe.
Because email marketing is more reserved, it often feels more personal to most consumers.
We are using ActiveCampaign for our own email marketing here at Bingo Digital Marketing.
4. Can I purchase an email list?
Don’t buy email lists because you’ll SPAM people.
Grow yours organically via calls-to-action or subscription requests.
In this way, you’ll protect your brand’s reputation.
7 Online Marketing Strategies For Small Businesses
Digital Marketing has completely changed the way companies compete for the audience’s attention in the last few years. With the pandemic happening, the stakes are even higher because everyone is now online.
US eCommerce sales grew by 20% in 2020, and digital ad spend for 2021 will reach $389B. This is why investing in online marketing will bring a lot of benefits for small business owners. Yes, it is affordable than traditional marketing, but the important part is it helps you build a relationship with customers and boost conversions.
Using digital marketing to promote your business will give you a much better chance of success, but what strategies should you consider? What is cost-effective, and what works? We’ve listed down seven online marketing strategies you can apply for your small business.
Strengthen Your Small Business Brand Identity
Often, small business owners focus on selling and marketing but usually forget that their company is a business and a brand. Foregoing branding means that the messages sent out can produce undesired outcomes, getting more questions than conversions.
We may be competing with big brands that have enormous resources and loyal customers, which is why we must figure out how to stand out. Brand identity expands beyond a creative logo; it combines how the brand looks, feels, and speaks to audiences. It influences how customers view the business.
So, where do we start? Research. We can’t create a unique identity if we don’t understand ourselves, our story, audience, and how we want to be portrayed. This requires time and deep thinking, so take a deep breath and be patient.
Know Who You’re Selling To
When in the process of identifying who you are as a brand, you’ll go through the process of defining a target persona. If I asked you to visualize your ideal customer? What would your answer be?
These are some of the questions you might want to ask yourselves when defining your target persona:
- What type of person is going to buy my service or product?
- Where are they located?
- How do they communicate?
- What are their interests?
- What are the problems I am solving through my service or product?
Knowing these things will help us, business owners, develop a more targeted and effective marketing strategy.
Build A Strong Presence On Social Media
How much time do we spend on social media?
We know that more and more individuals spend lots of time on their phones, just like us. That is why social media is the best platform to directly connect with the audience and build brand awareness and loyalty.
For small businesses, social media is an effective platform because it is free and because it is a great strategy to use for lead generation. Once you give content and resources that provide value to prospects and customers, they will be more likely to interact with the business.
Every successful strategy starts with a good plan, so before diving right in, set goals and objectives that follow the SMART framework. Instead of increasing page or post likes, aim to gain customers and increase conversion rate. You must be strategic and ensure that you are sharing the right content with the right people. LinkedIn won’t be my platform if I am looking for a clothing boutique online, just saying.
Utilize Search Engine Optimization
SEO has so many branches, and this might seem like a big task that only businesses with extensive resources can do, but there are areas that small business owners can utilize.
Local SEO is a must, especially for businesses with a physical address, whether a notary public office, retail store or dental clinic. There is only one goal: to get our companies on top of searches related to our business location. So, if I have a “dental clinic in South Hamptons” when users search for this term, we want our business to be listed on the top.
If keywords are integral to our SEO strategy, then on-page optimization is necessary. You can have the right keywords, but it won’t deliver results without optimizing your web pages. So, what are the basics of on-page SEO?
- Title Tags
- Meta Descriptions
- URL Optimization
- Image optimization
- Page Load Speed
- Keyword Density
Create High-Quality Content For Your Audience
How do we get our keywords across the website? Content!
Every website now has a blog section containing resources related to the business’s products and services. But it’s not just content for the sake of it. All the information you’ll have to provide should be unique, helpful, and relevant.
For example, a dental clinic can write valuable content such as “Effective Solutions To Keep Bacteria Away From Your Teeth”. W.” would this qualify as valuable? That’s because it directly addresses the dilemma of a person with tooth problems.
But remember, content doesn’t only mean articles. It can range from infographics, eBooeBooksdeo tutorials, and more.
Reach Customers Wherever They Are
Now that we have produced high-quality content, how can we promote it to reach the right audience?
Most businesses opt to advertise on Google because they want to reach the widest audience possible. But, if your key demographic uses Facebook often, you can choose it to promote your content, services, or product. As I mentioned earlier, I won’t be looking for clothes on LinkedIn, so if you’re running ads on the wrong channel, you wouldn’t be getting a return on your investment.
Google and Facebook provide valuable data to improve our ad’s performance and accurately target prospects or leads for future campaigns. We can view the date and time our ads get the most response or the device the users use the most when they interact with our ad.
These automatically-generated reports will help small business owners make a more insightful business decision, especially if we don’t have the budget to hire experts who can dedicate a lot of time monitoring and gathering data and metrics for us.
Connect With Customers Through Email Marketing
Thanks to emails, we can do business from anywhere in the world. According to HubSpot’s Email Marketing stats for 2021, 64% of small businesses utilize email marketing to reach their customers. So, who is to say it doesn’t work?
With 306 billion emails received and delivered every day, we can say that email marketing provides businesses with immense opportunities to engage with new and current audiences. If utilized correctly, email can play an essential role in building long-term and profitable relationships with customers.
Email also helps us understand our audience more because it is the closest thing we can get to communicate with our customers directly. It can also generate a lot of return for minimal investment and helps us retain customers.
Why Is Online Marketing Important For Small Businesses?
The group of potential customers we can find online is much larger than the group we can attract using traditional marketing or locally. There are various areas of Digital Marketing we could explore even when the budget is tight.
We can reach a global marketplace and interact with prospects while learning what they are looking for, their pain points, and what solutions we can offer them? In this way, we can build a relationship with our customers and become their trusted partners.
Is Online/Digital Marketing The Future?
Yes, we could say that it is the future. Online Marketing is no longer an option; it’s a necessity that sits on top of every business’ strategy. The data, ease-of-access, etc., all contributed to the success of this industry, and the future for Digital Marketing is definitely bright.
Leveraging various online marketing strategies we have mentioned above can help small businesses compete even with large corporations, bringing their brands in front of the right people.
Sources
https://www.fundera.com/blog/online-marketing-for-small-business
https://mailchimp.com/resources/email-marketing-101/
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/email-marketing-stats
https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-tips-for-small-business-owners/
Small Business SEO: Ranking Your Business on First Page Google
Are you a small business owner who’s looking to increase your revenue?
Although there is a myriad of ways to do so, the digital age has introduced a rather hands-off technique in the form of SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
In this article, we will talk about SEO, its recent trends, and how it can help increase business revenue.
This post is bought to you by Web Design Kota Kinabalu
What is SEO and How Does it Work?
SEO is the process of improving your website’s visibility on search engines such as Google. Improving the visibility of your website will help attract more traffic and with that, the possibility of more prospects.
Google uses bots that go from site to site to collect information. This data is stored in an index which is sort of Google’s library. Google’s algorithm will then analyze the index for ranking factors and data to determine the order in a page should appear.
For example, if data from your webpage is compatible with Google’s algorithm, your page will be ranked higher. It is important to invest in a legitimate SEO expert to get the best results.
SEO for local businesses is usually less complex than larger ones. This is due to the small geographical area of most local businesses.
Let us take a look at the various implications of SEO and its importance to your local business.
Why is SEO Important for Your Business?
As mentioned above, the geographical area of local businesses is usually small. Interaction with the local marketplace is essential and a lack of visibility may be the deterring factor to your sales.
Our search engine results are dominated by “near me” intended questions and Google will direct these searches towards the nearest business available.
SEO strategies are tailor-made to help bring your website on top of these searches.
Here are some implications of SEO to help you better understand how it works.
Know Your Audience
Familiarizing yourself with your audience and what they want should be of utmost importance.
It gives you a better idea of what content to publish on your page. Keep in mind that Google ranks your website based on its data compatibility and that includes having the right content.
Having your webpage optimized will also help potential customers navigate through your website more efficiently.
Understanding your audience also includes getting to know their “lingo” or keywords and with that, let us move onto the next point.
Keywords
Keywords are phrases or terms that people enter into search bars. Searching for the right keyword will direct customers to their designated webpage.
As a business owner, you’d want to capitalize on the possible keywords related to your business. This is where keyword research comes in.
Keyword research is an SEO strategy that helps determine what potential customers are searching for.
It begins by noting down all the possible keywords related to your business. SEO experts will then use keyword research tools to narrow down the right keywords for your website.
Understand the Google Algorithm
At the end of the day, Google controls all, and it’s best to acquaint yourself with its complex behavior.
The Google Algorithm is constantly changing and most of them aren’t publicly announced. It keeps us users on the guessing end to maintain order within the system.
Google’s main mission “to organize the world’s most useful information” is more like a subtle gesture to ensure users maintain their integrity. Adhere to their guidelines and you will be rewarded.
This mainly applies to business owners who look to optimize their webpage. Understanding the algorithm will teach you about the dos and don’ts of SEO.
Content
“Content is king” as Bill Gates once said but what does it actually mean?
He used the phrase to describe the future as a marketplace for content and he was not wrong.
The SEO market is driven by content, making it the most influential factor on search engine rankings. Do note that great content is often the difference between good and bad visibility.
Your website’s content should be constructed around the wants and needs of your customers. Along with the use of keywords, your content also helps Google understand the nature of your business and your level of expertise.
Benefits of SEO
Now that you’ve got a better understanding of SEO and the way it works, let’s take a look at the benefits SEO can provide your business. As mentioned earlier on, bear in mind that to achieve the best results, is to invest in a legitimate SEO expert.
Builds Brand Awareness
First and foremost, having your page ranked higher on Google will give your business more recognition. This is due to the large number of traffic that roams around the first few pages.
Having a strong web presence will also help the credibility of your website. Potential customers are more likely to trust your business when they come across your website on the first page.
Turns Your Business Into a Worthy Competitor
It is important to bypass the competition within your market.
SEO strategies can equip your business with the necessities to give you the edge. There’s a possibility that other companies within your local market have already capitalized on SEO.
If your competitors have already obtained the “holy grail” then it’s about time for you to do the same!
Helps Generate More Customers
The main purpose of your website is to help your business stand out. An SEO-regulated website can help bring in more customers twice as fast.
Efficient and effective, SEO will help narrow down your target audience to customers who are actively seeking your product. It does so by directing traffic to your website.
User Friendly Websites
SEO is implemented to help improve user experience too. Nowadays, SEO tactics can help business owners refine the structure of their websites.
A well-structured, smooth-running website is the epitome of having a good user experience.
Customers want to browse through your website efficiently and effectively. It follows the simple equation of satisfying Google by providing high-quality information to your customers.
FAQ
Q1. Is SEO Important for Your Business?
SEO is important as it helps your business rank higher on Google. The higher you rank in Google, the more potential customers you will generate. SEO also improves user experience by improving the structure of your website.
Q2. How Does SEO Work?
SEO is based on a number of strategies that can help improve the visibility of your website.
Q3. How Long Does SEO Take To Work on Google?
SEO will take as long as it takes due to the ever changing nature of Google’s algorithm. This could be weeks or even months. This is also based on the strategies you have implemented and the credibility of your SEO expert.
Q4. Is SEO affordable?
SEO isn’t always cheap especially if you’re looking to invest in a legitimate one. To get the best results possible, it is important to acquire the best services when it comes to SEO.
References
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeswigunski/2021/07/06/small-business-seo-ranking-your-business-on-top-of-google/?sh=563307e97c9d
https://www.mtu.edu/umc/services/websites/seo/
https://neilpatel.com/blog/improve-google-rankings-without-getting-penalized/
https://www.veem.com/library/the-importance-of-seo-for-small-businesses/
https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/how-to/marketing/2020/08/what-seo-means-for-your-small-business.html
https://www.improvemysearchranking.com/5-key-benefits-seo-small-businesses/
How to Setup Email Marketing for a Small Business Website
Email marketing is among the best techniques small businesses can use to promote their products and services to new and existing customers.
This article narrates how a small firm can set up email marketing on its website.
Post written by Kota Kinabalu Web Design
Introduction
Email marketing is a form of digital communication through which a business informs the public about its products and services. Business experts describe it as the king of advertisement channels because it has approximately four billion users and provides a better return on investment than other methods. Therefore, every small business should consider conducting an email marketing campaign to attract customers and drive more sales.
Emails are vital components of digital marketing plans. This promotion technique is applicable in any industry and appropriate for all enterprises. If a small business wants to succeed in email marketing, it should use the right approach and select the right people.
To get started on email marketing, the business should define specific marketing goals. This information is vital because it will help them determine the types of campaigns to send to the audience, the content to include, and how to evaluate the success.
Once your business has created a user-friendly website, you should consider setting up your email marketing by following the following steps and strategies.
Select an email service provider (ESP) on the website
The role of an ESP is to assist the small business to organize its audience, segment it, and send them the email campaigns. Using this software also enables users to evaluate the results for better campaigns in the future. Business runners can find many ESPs in the market today, but they should select one who is ready to help them achieve their marketing goals.
Create an email marketing list
This step involves determining the specific target that will receive the campaigns. The preferred technique depends on the goals established. For example, you can import known contacts to the email marketing tool to communicate with existing customers. Small businesses can also manually upload a contact list to monitor new customers.
If you are experiencing challenges developing this list, you should consider using lead generation software. They make it easier to create campaigns within minutes, even if you do not have excellent coding skills. An online sign-up form can also come in handy.
Segment the email list
In this step, you use specific criteria to divide the subscribers into groups. It allows you to send relevant and personalized emails instead of sending one email to the whole list. Segmenting the list increases the conversion rate because customers receive content that interests them. It also decreases the unsubscribe rate.
Upload the contact into the business’ email accounting account
In this phase, the small business should upload the contacts from a spreadsheet or external file. Alternatively, they can add them from existing Gmail, Outlook accounts, and other apps. The upload button on the website also offers them the option to add the contacts according to their segments.
Add an opt-in form to grow the email list
An effective strategy that can help you expand your email list is adding the opt-in form on the business’s website. It encourages people who visit the site to sign up or subscribe to the emails. The opt-in permits the business to send the emails to avoid the customers from unsubscribing and sending them to the spam folder.
Create a lead magnet
Also called an opt-in bribe, a lead magnet is a free item that a business offers the public for receiving an email address. Most small firms prefer using digital materials, such as videos, free trials, or PDFs because they are easier and more affordable to create. You can use any item that you want as long as it is relevant and offers value to the audience for free.
When adding the lead magnet to the website, consider the following;
- Create an enticing headline that describes the benefit of the opt-in
- Include a clear and brief description that attracts the readers’ attention.
- Include appealing visuals, such as a picture of a person checking the opt-in form.
- Use a simple form to keep the visitors motivated.
- Add a compelling subscribe button by using a contrasting color that pops out on the website.
- Add a non-generic email copy that persuades the audience to click.
Install the opt-in form on the website
The next step involves installing the opt-in form on the small business’ website. It is advisable to place it on high-conversion positions, such as on the splash page, website’s header, footer, sidebar, or designated sign-up page to increase its effectiveness. More users will subscribe to the email campaigns after scrolling through these places.
Set up the welcome email
The small business’s welcome email refers to the first message that new email subscribers receive. Every business should create a message that offers an impressive first impression and leads to a higher open rate.
When drafting this message, start with warm greetings and then tell the subscribers the information they should expect to receive from your business in the future. After setting up, all new contacts will receive the welcome message automatically.
Design a reusable email template
The next step when setting up email marketing on the enterprise’s website involves creating professional and beautifully-designed emails. Ensure that you select a unique and eye-catching layout that attracts the subscribers’ attention and passes the message. A mobile-responsive one is also an excellent choice because subscribers use different devices to open emails.
Customize the email template
After selecting the reusable template, customize it with your small business. You can start by fitting the business’s logo at the top of the email template and then linking the image to the website’s homepage. Companies should always remember to include their enterprises’ signature colors to make it easier for the customers to identify the emails.
Another vital design element is the email footer. It should include the business’s name, contacts, and links to other social media or digital platforms. After including all these details, make a copy of the email template and save it as the master version so that you do not have to create one from scratch every time you want to send an email.
Preview and test the email marketing service
Businesses that are starting to use email marketing are likely to make errors. To ensure that the email marketing is functioning correctly, you can send a test email to one of the employees before sending it to the audience.
FAQ
Why is email marketing important for small businesses?
It helps to attract a wider customer base and building long-term relationships with customers. It also enables the business to deliver specific messages to the target audience.
How does email marketing help businesses?
It enables them to reach more customers. It helps small businesses advertise their products and services economically.
Is email marketing profitable?
Yes, it has a high return on investment.
How can email marketing improve sales?
It informs existing and potential customers about the products and services they can receive from a company.
Should small businesses use email marketing?
Every small business should consider using this marketing technique because it is effective and productive.
9 Reasons Malaysians Should Choose Shopify for Their Online Stores
We really like how simple it is to setup the entire website. Any beginners can start selling immediately with minimal effort.
Daniel Wong
When it comes to eCommerce platforms, there are plenty of options on the web today. However, not all online stores are created equal. Some are more user friendly than others.
If you’re looking to set up an online store in Malaysia but aren’t sure which eCommerce service to use, look no further than Shopify. Here are nine reasons why this platform stands above the rest.
#1: You Don’t Have to Worry About the Technical Side of Things
You don’t have to worry about designing or running your online store from a technical perspective when you use Shopify. The website, inventory, shopping cart, and payment page can all be selected from a template or designed by a Shopify professional.
You can start profiting within 14 days. Take the free trial here.
Shopify provides everything you need to get your store up and running; software, hardware, and support. It can be as easy as choosing a template for your page and plugging in your products and content, or you can hire a designer to create a customized design for your store.
Your Shopify online store is guaranteed to be secure and functioning properly at all times. This eliminates a whole host of issues including slow loading speeds. If a customer has to wait a long time for a page to load, they may grow frustrated and leave your site. Shopify provides 100% SSL which keeps sites running quickly and smoothly. Focus on sales and leave the tech stuff to the professionals.
Whether your customers are visiting your site from Kuala Lumpur, Paris, or Tokyo, their experience with the speed and security of your page will be consistent.
#2: The Payment Process is Easy
Handling payments can be one of the hardest parts of running your own online store. Shopify makes this process easy as it is compatible with nearly all payment gateways.
Payment gateways are third-party entities between customers and merchants that securely take money from your customer’s bank account and deposit it into your company’s account.
You can start profiting within 14 days. Take the free trial here.
Other sites such as Magento and WordPress often require you to purchase extensions for each payment gateway you want to use. With Shopify, it’s simple to add nearly any payment gateway at no additional cost.
Leaving the payment process to the professionals will grant you peace of mind. You won’t have to worry about compliance, hackers, or caching. You and your customers will both feel secure making transactions.
Shopify even has its own point-of-sale service where you can integrate any offline sales with your Shopify inventory. If you want extra security, Shopify has the ability to pay security researchers to hack-proof their systems.
A streamlined payment process makes it easy for customers from all over the world to make purchases from your store. Your customer base will extend far beyond Malaysia with Shopify.
#3: It’s a Legitimate and Reputable Company
Shopify is a publicly-traded company that invests heavily in security and software development. They are beholden to their shareholders and therefore have the incentive to keep growing and improving. They’re consistently developing and rolling out new tools to improve the Shopify experience.
As a global platform, Shopify is used by people all over the world. It’s a great tool for reaching an audience outside of Malaysia and creating a global customer base.
#4: The Back End is Incredibly User Friendly
As an online store owner, you’ll spend a lot of time on the back end of your website doing things like adding products to your inventory and responding to customer feedback. Shopify is simple to use and makes completing these administrative tasks easy. The setup checklist and Analytics field are particularly useful and user friendly.
A reliable and user-friendly interface is one of the benefits of using a global platform. Malaysian sellers will be able to save time they might normally spend figuring out how to update their page themselves.
#5: Shopify Has a Dedicated Support Team
With other platforms like WordPress, the only support you have is community support. This means that your questions may not always get answered, and even when they do, the advice may not be qualified or professional. Shopify has a dedicated and professional support team that is happy to assist with any questions or concerns you may have.
Shopify has email/chat support, phone support, and a large database of FAQs. You can rest assured that when you contact support, an experienced and knowledgeable representative will be there to help.
Managing your own store can be overwhelming, and Malaysian sellers will appreciate knowing that someone is there to help them at every step of the way.
You can start profiting within 14 days. Take the free trial here.
#6: Tons of Built-In Tools
Shopify has a full, easy to use toolbox with everything you need in one place. It allows you to quickly access tools such as inventory management, upsells, analytics, blogging, and coupon codes. Managing an online store is easy when you have everything you need for success right at your fingertips.
The all-inclusive platform also allows Malaysian sellers to install apps and extensions directly from their app store. Some extensions may cost extra, but they are all easy to locate and guaranteed to work properly.
#7: Marketing is Included
Marketing and advertising are essential for a thriving online store. Shopify helps you with the most essential marketing tasks and does an excellent job employing SEO techniques. The platform allows you to create meta descriptions, landing pages, and custom title tags. All of these tools will help drive people from all over the world to your online store in Malaysia.
Whether you’re creating an ad campaign for Google, Facebook, or any other site, Shopify has the tools you’ll need.
#8: Getting Started is Relatively Cheap
With no upfront developmental costs, Shopify is a very affordable option for getting your online store up and running. It’s designed so you never have to come up with the money for a big one-time investment all at once. Costs are spread out over monthly periods, so they are kept low and affordable.
There are transaction fees for small stores, but this will no longer be the case once your store has expanded. With low overhead costs, you’re able to spend your money on inventory and continuously grow your profits.
Shopify is perfect for sellers in Malaysia who want to launch a store but don’t necessarily have the capital needed for a more traditional business opening.
#9: You’ll Have Access to a Network of Professionals
Shopify provides incentives for third party professionals to get familiar with their platform. This means that a vetted network of professional consultants, designers, and developers know their way around Shopify and are at your disposal when you need help. This is a great way for Malaysian sellers to find professionals from all corners of the globe who can assist with marketing, custom designs, or specialized applications.
Think of using Shopify as hiring one contractor to help you build your dream home, rather than lots of individual sub-contractors. It’s like not needing to hire a plumber, electrician, and carpenter individually because your primary contractor has all the contacts already.
Conclusion
With just one subscription to Shopify, you’ll have everything you need to launch and run your online store.
The global platform will connect you to buyers, sellers, designers, and developers from all over the world.
11 Reasons Why You Need a Website For Your Business
It could be you are setting up a new business and wondering if you need a website for it. Or, you already have an existing business and have come this far without a website.
Understandably, you might have a list of justifications why you don’t need one. But, the reality is that not having a website costs your business more- both money and time. We have compiled a list of some of the top reasons you should consider getting a website for your business.
1. Credibility
We live in a skeptical digital era where almost everyone will first browse the internet before making a purchase. Once a potential client can’t find your website, they will question the legitimacy of your business more likely than not.
Besides, a website helps vouch for the quality of your goods or services to the masses, giving you a chance to stand out. It is your chance to build a lasting first impression, which gives you a competitive advantage.
2. Having Control of Your Brand
“Focus on the right message for the right people at the right time.” – Russell Glass
3. It is a Marketing Strategy
You can have the best products or services in the world, but if you don’t tell the world about it, it does you no good. That is why you need to create an effective marketing strategy.
Given that most people rush to the search engine first thing, SEO comes in handy. Therefore, when you have a website optimized for search, you can effectively spread the word about your business.
4. 24/7 Presence
Chances are, your business does not operate 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. Therefore, you can only communicate with customers within the hours of operation. However, a website does not restrict you to a few hours each day but instead remains operational round the clock.
Consequently, even when you or your staff are not available to interact with your customers, they can still find information about your business on the website. Even better, customers can submit their orders through the website any time, any day.
5. Staying Relevant
While uniqueness is a fundamental principle in business, it is also important to keep up with the prevailing trends, lest you will soon be out of business. Regardless of which industry you are in, your competitors likely have a website. Therefore, to stay relevant in your niche, you also need to have a footprint online by having a website.
6. It Saves on Time
7. Compelling Customers to Engage with You
8. Making your Business Easier to Find
9. Leads to your Business
While other strategies, such as word of mouth, still work, we cannot downplay the role of a website in appealing to a new audience.
Your business grows when more and more clients are streaming in, and a website can increase the chances of getting leads. Especially if your website is search optimized, people can find your business with ease.
Pair that with readily available contact information, and the return on investment will be significant
