This post is about the challenges of digital marketing for small businesses.
Here on CreoPark’s company blog, CreoPreik, we web folks like to talk about everyday problems from the real lives of our clients. Especially now that autumn has arrived and people are back to using the internet for just about everything.
And in the name of digital awareness, and with our sales hats on, we’re taking a closer look at some shared experiences from many who have come to us recently – and which you might also want to take a closer look at this autumn.
Here, we cover the full spectrum – some face very specific digital challenges, while others deal with issues that appear again and again on the common list.
Poor usability (or client-friendliness), meaning websites that don’t work well for users or clients, is perhaps one of the biggest digital problems for many operating in the more everyday side of business.
And often, it comes down to the fact that your organization isn’t set up to maintain digital solutions, so the issue is far from purely technical.
HIt’s difficult to say exactly how much lost usability costs each business in lost revenue, but we can guarantee that it comes at a price.
That’s part of the reason we offer a wide range of solutions, including standardized options ready to go out of the box (yes, a bit contradictory with package solutions here – but if what you need is a simple digital business card online, you can have that too).
Now to the most common reasons why your users or clients leave your website – in addition to your solution being outdated and therefore not very user-friendly.
We can try to summarize it like this:
On top of that comes a lack of measurement, meaning you lose control over digital hygiene and development. How do you know if users actually found what they were looking for?
Is there alignment between expectations and the actual experience of your content?
“Keep it simple, KISS” is another principle that promotes positive user experiences.
Take Google’s homepage for easy inspiration: what does Google want you to do there? Search.
Many are stuck with outdated solutions that often contain valuable data. PHOTO: CreoPark
Then there are the issues that need to be solved individually.
Most importantly, there must be alignment between your business strategy and your website.
If you run a bakery, your website will need different functions than if you cut people’s hair for a living.
Another challenge is varying levels of competence within your organization – in other words, your level of digital maturity. This is a tool often used by larger consulting firms when assessing their efforts for bigger organizations like municipalities or counties.
Everyone also has different budgets for digital marketing, which can result in a lack of personality on your site, inconsistent color choices, missing logos, and poor typography. Then there’s visibility on social media (SoMe), as well as style and tone.
All of this is noticed by your users or clients – the ones you want to engage with your digital services or consume your content.
In short, ineffective websites often come down to a lack of integration with other parts of your organization.
If you run an airline, your website should allow users to book tickets – ideally in a system connected to your payment solution. If you’re a plumber, people should be able to reach you easily – and preferably choose you over others.
In the same way, your website should be built or designed to solve specific tasks, so that it actually contributes to value creation in your business.
If you run an online shoe store, for example, it’s quite useful if the user or client (the user of your solution) can actually buy a pair of shoes – without it being significantly more complicated than visiting a good old-fashioned physical store.
For example, it may be that only a fraction of those who visit your shoe page online actually complete a purchase, simply because most never found the checkout.
The problem is also that your users have extremely high expectations for usability online. They come from Google and Facebook and expect your website to perform just as well.
Those of us working with digital solutions have years of experience in this field, and like many other agencies and companies, we want to share some of that knowledge for the common good.
But ultimately, it’s also about you becoming a clear client – so that we can build good solutions for everyone involved.
This is how we want users and clients to feel after using your solution. PHOTO: CreoPark
