The 2020 pandemic created a situation which no amount of marketing research could have ever predicted. Business owners soon realized that offering some type of online sales on their own website was the best approach for survival.
Since the pandemic shows no sign of slowing, every small business needs to put more focus on their online marketing for 2021. Your business website is a safe way to offer your customers sales, ordering, payments, booking, and more online.
Add online ordering in 2021!
Retail Shops
The jump in online sales in 2020 has been huge, even at the local level. There are still people who are more comfortable shopping from home than visiting a physical store.
This means every retail business needs an ecommerce site to compete, especially during our current pandemic.
Start small with your most popular products, fine tune your order fulfillment and shipping process, and add more products as you go. For your local customers, you can add curbside pick-up as an option.
Restaurants
Some areas are restricted from indoor dining so savvy restaurant owners have found a way to take orders and payments on their website.
Your restaurant website should be offering customers an easy way to order from your menu and to pay for their order with a credit card. Your customers can then pick up their pre-paid order at a specified time.
Local Business
What about your business – have you thought of new ways to succeed in today’s online ordering trend?
- Do you offer online booking for appointments?
- Can your customers pay their invoices online?
- Can you sell gift cards or gift certificates on your website?
Buying and booking online is no longer a temporary trend, it’s here to stay. Start planning now on how your business can create revenue streams with online sales in 2021.
Pro Tip: Plan Now for 2021
Now is the time to hire a professional web designer. You need someone with experience in ecommerce, online ordering, website optimization, security, search engine indexing, and local SEO.
To start a project in 2021 and to work with the best, you have to plan more than a month ahead. Now is the time to get proposals from local web designers to get in their project timeline for January 2021.
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This article was also published in the SCORE Tip of the Mitt Newsletter on December 1, 2020.
