Business

Effective communication is the building block of every great organization. How a business communicates internally and externally directly represents the company as a whole, including its reputation.

When left unchecked, ongoing communication issues in the workplace can potentially increase turnover and cut into profits. Moreover, employees who lack proper avenues for healthy workplace interaction end up feeling disengaged, undervalued and unlikely to go above and beyond for the organization. Here are some solutions to common communication problems that occur in the workplace.

1. Mixing Work and Personal Communications

The problem: Some staff members tend to mix their personal lives into workplace communications. This detracts from professionalism in the office and sometimes leads to gossip. It could result in decreased morale or even accusations of harassment.

The solution: Transparent leadership is key for stopping gossip in its tracks. Emphasize the need for confidentiality in the workplace and hold sensitive meetings behind closed doors.

2. Email Overload

The problem: In addition to internal meetings, phone calls and text messages, the average professional receives about 120 new emails each day. This communication overload may result in important information being lost, deleted, forgotten or ignored. Sorting through multitudes of emails each day may also negatively impact productivity.

The solution: It’s vital to know which information actually needs to be shared — as well as when and where it needs to go — and to filter it accordingly. Complex issues are better addressed face-to-face or on a phone call.

3. Making Assumptions

The problem: Assuming someone else is going to pick up the slack on a project without verifying individual roles may cause you to drop the ball. This can result in blame and missed deadlines.

The solution: In any group dynamic, there needs to be a point person to set and clarify roles during the beginning stages of a project. A group email that clarifies who is completing which task and when might help streamline group initiatives.

4. Passive Listening

The problem: Sharing information is only part of the communications process. Strong listening skills are essential too. Passive listening means hearing what another person has to say without truly understanding or empathizing. When an employee fails to listen, he or she won’t comprehend the message that is being relayed, which can lead to misunderstandings or friction.

The solution: Be sure to stress the importance of active listening among employees, especially before starting a meeting or discussion. Inform staff members that passive listening might prevent them from learning about the different views and ideas that are present in the workplace.

5. Poorly Written Communication

The problem: Staff members may opt for a variety of communication tools to interact with colleagues, such as memos and emails. However, if messages are poorly written, they might cause misunderstandings or frustration among teams.

The solution: Employees should always proofread their copy before pressing Send. It’s also important to check the tone of the message to ensure the recipient won’t misconstrue its intent.

6. Incomplete Answers

The problem: In today’s fast-paced world, there’s an impulse to provide quick, definitive answers to questions. Many people respond with a yes or no without fully addressing the scope of the inquiry. This may lead to confusion and wasted time on follow-ups.

The solution: Employees should take the time to answer questions completely and review messages before sending them to make certain all points are addressed.

Effective communication allows the entire workforce to stay in the loop with company changes, information, news and events, while allowing staff members to collaborate, offer feedback and feel empowered. For more information about workplace communication problems and ideas on how to solve them, see the accompanying infographic.

Author bio: Jim McCanney is Editor-in-Chief of Institute of Business Publications, a fast-growing publisher of business-to-business newsletters for professionals who need a finger on the pulse of their industries. He has more than 40 years of experience in the industry and focuses on writing about worker safety.

 

Betika’s creation dates back to the year 2016, and since then, this Nairobi-based sportsbook gained some loyal customers in Kenya, quickly becoming one of the most important bookmakers in the African country. It was a genius move back then, as it wasn’t common for bookmakers to invest in the African market due to social and financial factors.

Bookies who want to enter the African market might be willing to promote a lot of bonuses and promotions, as the locals love it. That’s exactly the case with Betka, and today, we will discuss a little bit more facts such as:

• Betika Jackpots
• Betika bonus and promotion currently offered

Besides that, we will also walk you through the whole process in order to get a better view of how to use betika bonus.

Betika’s Jackpot Bonuses

When it comes to jackpot betting, the bookmaker itself has “The easiest jackpot to win in Kenya” slogan. It’s a good slogan, but I’m not sure if it’s spot on, as winning jackpots is not for everyone. Well, the bookmaker has basically two kinds of betika jackpot bonus:

• Midweek Jackpot
• Grand Jackpot

We are going to give you in-depth explanations of each:

Midweek Jackpot

The Betika Midweek Jackpot works basically like a lottery game, where you have 15 games – mostly football ones – and you need to predict the match outcomes. For each game, you need to select a winner, or if the game will end up as a draw. As the name itself suggests, these games are midweek games. For this week, for example, there are 4 English Championship games, 10 UEFA Europa League matches, and a sole UEFA Champions League game, between Marseille and Olympiacos.

The Midweek Jackpot is really famous in Kenya, as through quick online research, I could find dozens of websites offering free jackpot predictions for the matches betika picked for these midweek games.

In order to win it, all you need to do is to correctly predict all of the 15 pre-selected matches outcomes. So you might be asking yourself “alright, but how much can I actually win?” and that’s a great question. The maximum midweek jackpot prize reaches up to 15,000,000 Kenyan shillings. I mean it’s a lot even in USD!

However, punters who predict from 12 to 14 games right, also win some shillings, and this count will be based on the number of bettors who also won as many punts as you. Also, only bets higher than 60 Kenyan shillings will count for this jackpot.

It’s a great bonus, but at the same time, football is the most unpredictable sport in the world, where a second can make a terrible difference. So it’s really hard to win, and it really works out as a lottery, as famous Kenyan newspapers and magazines seek the few winners to get them to an interview.

Grand Jackpot

The midweek one was pretty good already. 15M Kenyan shillings as long as you get all 15 matches right. But… What about this so-called Grand Jackpot one? I mean, “Grand” gives us a perception of something big. And believe it or not, it really is…

Let me be straightforward: The grand Jackpot maximum prize is 100,000,000 Kenyan shillings. A 100 million Kenyan shillings, that would be something near a million US dollars.

However, it’s harder to get all of them right, as the number rises from 15 to 17 events. The minimum stake must be 60 shillings and the ones who get from 12 to 16 correct predictions will also get betting money.

According to Betika, you can also place multiple bets with different outcomes for the Grand Jackpot, so it should enhance your chances considerably.

There’s still another Betika Jackpot, and it’s a daily one. It’s called Sabashiba, and it’s available every single day. The maximum prize is of about 200k shillings and punters must get all the 7 events correct. It’s not as fancy as the other two, but you could be making good quid out of this one as well.

Most of the aforementioned rules go for the Sabashiba jackpot bonus too, and the best part is that you can place bets on both Sabashiba and Midweek or Sabashiba and Grand Jackpot simultaneously, as the events are different.

Conclusion

Betika is undoubtedly one of the greatest bookmakers in the whole of Kenya. It is true that the bookie lacks a betika registration bonus, but their jackpots are outstanding. It’s totally worth a try, even if you are not from Kenya, as it shouldn’t be that hard to get the money to your local place in case you win a jackpot. Maybe you should try multiple times before getting at least a minimum of 12 to get some money back. Also, another great tip would be to study and analyse stats from teams of the pre-selected matches before laying your wagers on it.

Google Ads is the paid advertising service offered by the search engine giant Google. Paid search digital marketing or pay-per-click as its widely known, offers advertisers the opportunity to advertise with a search engine so that their business appears on their search engine results pages.

Basically, Google Ads is Googles paid advertising service whereby your business pays to show up on the search engine results pages (SERPS). When done correctly, this service is quite straight forward, cost-effective and can yield impressive results. There are many benefits of incorporating Google Ads in your digital marketing strategy.

Using ad extensions in your Google Ads (previously known as Google AdWords) is a great way to improve and capitalise on your pay-per-click conversion rates with Google Ads. You can boost your qualified clicks by attaching ad extensions to all of your Google Ads campaigns.

To get the most out of your pay-per-click advertising strategy it’s highly beneficial to complete an accredited digital marketing course or a paid marketing course so you fully understand this popular online advertising platform.

Why use ad extensions for Google Ads?

Using the built-in ad extensions for your Google Ads is a great way to increase traffic to your website and will help your business generate more leads – and they don’t cost extra. Almost every advertiser on Google Ads has experienced logging into your Google Ads account with the high hope of seeing a large number of clicks only to be sorely disappointed.

Many advertisers experience the same thing, but how do you increase the performance of your Google Ads? So, if this has happened to you remember – you’re not alone. Online advertising is an extremely competitive field. The good news is that you can dramatically increase the performance of your ads by using ad extensions. Think of an ad extension as a helpful way to improve your text ads with Google Ads.

By using extensions in your ads, you are able to maximise your digital marketing budget which boosts your click-through rates. More clicks through to your website means higher traffic volumes and every digital marketer’s main goal is to boost their click-through rate. With ad extensions added to your Google Ads search strategy, you can add special discounts and offers, additional links to your website and other information to draw in visitors to your site to increase your click-through rates.

Types of Google Ads extensions

Fortunately, Google offers advertisers a wide variety of ad extensions which really do help increase your ad rank and ultimately your click-through rate. In fact, keep in mind that its key to make use of the many different types of extensions in your Google Ads search strategy because some ad extensions perform better through different devices, such as desktop versus mobile, which includes tablets and smartphones. It’s really helpful to get a thorough understanding of the ad extensions that’s best suited to certain devices to help you get the most of incorporating extensions in your Google Ads.

Here are a few of the most popular ad extensions for Google Ads:

• Location extensions – A location extension is clickable and should be linked to a relevant landing page. This extension is listed on a separate line, thereby increasing the size of your ad, drawing more attention.
• Call extensions – By including a telephone or mobile number in your ad you’re effectively making it easier for people to contact you.
• Link extensions – These extensions are clickable and should be linked to relevant landing pages on your website. Enabling site links on your Google Ads increases click-through rates.
• Promotion extensions – A promotion extension is great to highlight sales, discounts or promotions.
• App extensions – This type of extension only appears if the user is using a mobile device and the app link is placed below the ad itself.
• Price extensions – This is a great way to showcase your products and pricing. This extension appears below your text ad and is viewable via a pc or mobile device.
• Automated extensions – This is a really handy feature with Google Ads. Google automatically adds an automated extension to improve your ads performance.
• Seller rating extensions – A seller rating extension is also automated. Google gathers ratings from reputable sources and displays them below your text ads.

When was the last time you saw a marketing post on social media that didn’t feature an image? It’s so prominent now that we expect it – the text, a little information, and an image. And overall, it is the image that we remember most clearly, and that’s why a promotional social media post now looks a little strange without one.

But, it’s also why we can instantly translate the famous ‘M’ into McDonalds, a red-white-and-blue striped sphere into Pepsi, and a three-leafed, stripy flower symbol into Adidas.

Overall, 90% of the information we process is entirely visual, and we actually process images 60,000x faster than we do text. Although we might not necessarily think of it in these statistical terms, we’re all aware of it – which is why typography often gets overlooked when branding or re-branding a business.

Imagine if typography wasn’t important

A good place to start when trying to, excuse the slight pun, visualise the importance of typography, is to envisage a world where it wasn’t important. Going back to the above for a moment, imagine seeing Coca Cola suddenly written in something like Comic Sans, amazon.com written entirely in capital letters, or Tesco suddenly adopting a completely black typeface – your relationship with the brand would be changed instantaneously.

If typography wasn’t important, none of this would matter. Plus, when Marathon originally changed to Snickers, Opal Fruits transformed into Starburst, and Jif became Cif, the typography would have changed – not just the name of the brand. Even in complete re-brands of products then, the businesses behind them don’t want you to change how you feel the moment you see that brand in the market. But why?

Typography alone can influence mood

Another reason typography is often overlooked is because we’re simply more aware of our emotions when we react to an image. Whether it’s a photograph of a homeless person, on the flyer of a dedicated charity, or a group of people enjoying a beer at the beach, for something like a holiday or drinks company, we react emotionally to the image completely naturally.

However, if you were to then add a humorous typeface to the first image, or a sinister font to the fun photograph, the entire mood of the advertisement changes. Before we know it, we see it in an entire new light, perhaps don’t even trust it, and will either forget about it – or not remember it particularly fondly.

Typography defines brands

Essentially, this is why typography is such a fundamental. While people outside of the design world don’t necessarily recognised fonts as ‘Times’, ‘Arial, ‘Calibri’, etc., they do quickly learn to associate brands, products and services with specific fonts. So, if you’re headed into a re-brand, or defining your brand identity for the first time, do put some serious time into choosing the right typography.

From here, ensure that all digital images adorned with any form of text, and any print materials you distribute, are both consistently branded with the right images and typography for your business. By also giving your promotional materials a professional touch, with exceptional quality printing from products by Duplo International, you can be sure that your brand reflects its unique personality in imagery, typography, and quality.

 

There are 627,000 businesses formed in the US every year, and most of these are in a small handful of key sectors. So, when starting a business, not only do you have the economy, the customer, and your unique offering to contend with, but you also have several competitors. Standing out with what you can offer using your personality and the basis of your brand could help you not only beat your competitors but solidify your unique product proposition, while also attracting a loyal set of customers. But, how can your business stand out from the crowd in an increasingly saturated market?

Keep Your Business in Check

One of the most upsetting things for businesses is when everything is going swimmingly, and they suddenly begin to unravel because things weren’t done by the book. This could be in relation to social media, where you are investigated for improper data usage on platforms like Facebook, or it could be as simple as not adhering to policies you have said you would, such as environmental ones or transparency around finances.

One of the main ways you can protect yourself and make sure that you stand out through this transparency is through the proper insurances. As online business insurance quotes suggest, this can range from general liability insurance to insurance specifically for professional errors or omissions and even automobile insurance for any cars that your employees might drive. Being fully insured tells customers that if there was an issue, everyone would be protected in order to solve it quickly and efficiently. You can take this further and ensure you are fully accredited in anything to help give you further expertise to help you stand out. This can act as a trust signal to customers about the quality of company you are.

Be Bold

Standing out as a business can mean so many different things, but the businesses that attract our attention the most are the ones who are bold in how they let us know they are there. For instance, Imperfect Foods stands out because they offer the same food at a lower cost just because the products are shaped imperfectly, while the company also makes significant environmental pledges. College Hunks Hauling Junk became immediately recognized as a removal company and one whose playful and obvious messaging sticks in the brain.

Nordstrom, meanwhile, has become a force for good customer service, which helps it stand out through the often over-the-top ways it treats customers. Another such example is Dental Bliss, which changed a standard dentist business into one that resembled a spa, which helped customers place it higher up than a regular dentist and also helped remove some of the unpleasantness of going to the dentist.

Standing out as a business not only gives you freedom to further innovate, but also allows you to attract customers in a more natural way. You can do this in two simultaneous ways. Firstly, ensure that your business is in check and known for its trust signals, such as full insurance and any other licenses it may need. But you also need to be bold and show that you are more than just a company that will stand in line with your competitors – you need to show that you can stand out.

 

You’ve seen the snaps of freelancers working while gazing across Bali’s most beautiful beaches; you’ve heard about writer’s who set their own hours and live where they want. Only one question remains: how do I do that too?

The digital nomad lifestyle is an attractive dream for many, but it’s not that hard to make it a reality. You don’t have to be a writer, endless online job opportunities exist, such as:

• Programming/coding
• Virtual assistant
• Graphic design
• eCommerce
• and many, many more.

Whatever career path you chose to take, there’s one tool that will help your business growth exponentially. Having a website is an essential pursuit for any online freelancer.

Here’s why:

Diverse Marketing Hub

If you’re a freelancer, you may have had the following problem when constructing your résumé. With so many projects in short spaces of time, how can you present your achievements without producing a veritable novel for your employers.

Having a website is a modern solution for a modern problem. It allows you to showcase all of your work in a fun, aesthetic, and interactive way. A prospective client is much more likely to click through numerous pages of a site, than they are to leaf through several pages of a résumé.

Here are some tips for creating a marketing hub that grabs attention:

• Create a brand personality, with color scheme, logo and cohesive font choices.
• Use multimedia to avoid banal, repetitive pages.
• Give your proudest projects the prime space (i.e. on the homepage)
• Create a logical navigation system to find your way around the site.
• If any of your work occurs offline – e.g. events – create blog style posts documenting the experience.
  

  Centralize Social Media Correspondence

Social media is a powerful promotion tool. In fact, most freelancers find clients via this method. The problem is that not all social media is created equal; audiences differ massively, and it’s worth targeting them all.

Consider these statistics.

• 68 percent of users prefer Facebook as their primary social network
• 35 percent prefer Instagram
• 29 percent use Pinterest
• 24 percent use Twitter.

This doesn’t even begin to cover job-specific social media, such as LinkedIn, Upwork and Fiverr. Maintaining accounts on all these sites so they actually benefit you is an incredible time investment. You have to be active, platform specific and relentless to grow your following.

The benefit of having a website is that it can act as a central resource to which all your social networks point. Instead of providing in-depth content on every platform, you can include short snippets and links to your website. This way, you can target a wider audience while streamlining your workload.

Establish Online Presence

Finding clients online is largely down to being visible. While social media provides you some visibility, it only really promotes your services to those in your network. Having a website gives you the opportunity to pop up in Google searches.

By creating relevant articles and posts around keywords in your industry, then you can target your content to search engines. This process is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and is a tactic used by most website to increase their visibility.

Creating articles is also a way to demonstrate your authority on a topic. If a potential client reads a in-depth post written by you, which shows you understand their niche, then they’re more likely to trust your services as a freelancer.

Establish Trustworthiness

While visibility is important, it’s not the only factor for securing new clients. Employers need to know that they can trust you to produce high-quality work in a timely manner. One of the best ways to establish this trust is through reviews and feedback from past jobs.

On your website, it’s easy to set up a form where happy customers can leave their thoughts on your experience. Alternatively, you can copy and paste feedback you receive on other platforms – like Upwork or Google – and link to the original source.

Jumpstart Your Freelance Career Quickly

According to FreeTrain, over one billion hours of freelance work was completed in America per week this year. If you want to get a slice of this pie, then you need to establish your position as a trusted, well-known remote worker.

Having a website comes with numerous benefits, including:

• Marketing your skills and abilities
• Streamlining your social media correspondence
• Promoting your services in Search Engines
• Proving your legitimacy

If you are yet to create your own website, now is the time to start.

 

 

 

Outdoor marketing is often viewed as conventional and archaic, and trails behind digital methods of advertising. Although most people have the impression that advertising outdoors has lost its appeal, it is not entirely true even today. On the contrary, companies are aggressively using outdoor ads to gain brand recognition and are creatively marrying digital channels with conventional marketing methods.

The primary reason for the success of outdoor ads is that when they are done right, they are a powerful tool in affecting a person’s judgment towards a brand. If you realise how outdoor ads affect your impression about specific brands, then you understand that it is not outdated but still an appropriate and effective form of advertising.

What makes outdoor advertising effective?

Many people spend hours every day outside their homes. But grabbing the attention of people while they are outside is quite tricky because you only have a few seconds to make an impression. The power of outdoor ads is in their inevitability. Unlike digital ads which you can choose to close, billboards and banners will be in the same place for a while. If the ad is compelling, you cannot avoid it, and therefore it becomes a lasting reminder about a brand. To determine which type of outdoor advertising to use for your company, consider this list of the most effective outdoor marketing strategies to use.

Point of sale display

A point of sale display is usually found in-store close to where customers check out. This type of display is useful in catching the attention of customers as they line-up to pay for the products they bought. This type of advertising is highly targeted, which allows you to promote products and services and encourage the buyer to consider adding more to their purchase list. The most common type of point of sale display is a pop up banner or roller banner which you can quickly move to different areas within the store. Many retail stores use displays to inform customers about promotions, product launches, and deals they can benefit from.

Billboards

Perhaps the most impactful type of outdoor advertising is a billboard prominently displayed over thoroughfares and buildings. Billboard advertising today has become innovative with the help of technology. Gone are the days when billboards were mostly composed of print and graphics. Today, you can see digital billboards and moving billboards that are eye-catching and contain witty messages.

Transit advertisements

Public transportation is another popular location for outdoor ads because of the high foot traffic and captive audience. These areas where people spend time waiting are perfect for advertising because the constant exposure to your brand helps with recognition and recall. Technology has also played a significant role in innovating transit advertising.

Similar to billboards, transit ads today are a variety of static and digital messages effectively promoting all kinds of products and services. From train stations and bus stops, including wraps placed on transport vehicles like buses and taxis, you can choose which location is most suitable for the message you want to convey to your consumers.

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Independent companies have reliably assumed a noteworthy job in monetary development since they make such a significant number of occupations—a lot more than vast organizations. In the initial three financial quarters of 2014, reports the SBA, independent companies included 1.4 million new employment, 39% of which were from private ventures (with less than 50 individuals). As you can envision, independent company was key for the country’s recuperation from the retreat. Between the center of 2009 and the center of 2013, 60% of the employment made were from private companies.

There are 6 small business growth statistics that you should keep in mind for your company to do well on the business front. They shall be discussed later in this article.

The statistics are given here as follows:-

1. Around 66% of business will endure 2 years in business, half of all organizations will endure 5 years, and 33% will endure 10. The more extended an organization has been doing business, the more probable it is to remain in business—it’s those initial couple of years that are the hardest. The Bureau of Labour Statistics likewise followed business survival crosswise over enterprises and reasoned that these measurements are entirely reliable paying little heed to industry.

1. 120 million people work for small businesses. Almost 50 percent of the world is invested in small businesses. Thus man power is an important factor that gives strength to small businesses, and if utilised in a better way, can be used to turn your smaller company into a bigger one.
2. It is a well-known statistic that an incredible 82% of organizations that come up short do as such on account of income issues. Keep in mind that income doesn’t simply mean the measures of cash that are coming in and out: you need to consider inventory, as well.
3. Small businesses have created 65 percent of the revenue in the modern business world. They added many new and vibrant kinds of jobs in this sector.
4. Small businesses have added almost 8 million jobs to the sector, whereas large companies have downsized in capacity due to multi-tasking, technological advancement in the sector etc.
5. However, small businesses are getting a hang of the sector and learning to manage better. Almost 2/3^rd of small businesses claim that they have steady financials as of now and are guaranteed to last longer. This optimistic attitude is very helpful to the industry and is guaranteed to bring in better business ethics and revolutionize the market sector. The market and Wall Street need to be studied properly before larger steps can be taken.

If you just put an online search about the 6 small business growth statistics required for top companies, you will realise that there is no dearth of advice available on the internet. However, what matters is that you utilise the advice that can truly be useful for you.

 

Having the guts and drive to launch your very own start-up is a great achievement in the modern business age. Whatever market you have decided to move into, simply having the bottle to go for it puts you a step ahead of most people out there. Of course, no one said it would be easy! As a business entrepreneur, there are many things to think about when driving growth in your start-up.

From making sure that your customer service is spot on to getting your financial planning down, there will be a list of things to look after when running your own business. One key thing that all new start-ups need to think about carefully is marketing.

Why is marketing so important, and why is digital marketing king?

When it comes to running a successful business, what will make you last for the long term? In simple terms, it is a case of letting people know who you are, what you do, and where they can find your services or products. This will naturally lead to sales, revenue and a loyal base of customers. All of this is achievable with effective marketing.

A key trend within the whole marketing sphere is digital marketing. This is basically any marketing activity that your business does online. With around 4 billion internet users worldwide and around 3.5 billion social media users, the evidence shows just why it makes perfect sense.

Awesome digital marketing tips for your new business

If digital marketing is so key, how do you make the most of it? Before we look at some amazing tips to help, you need to first identify your target audience. Look at the type of people who use your services or would be interested in them. These are who you should be targeting your marketing efforts at to get the best return.

Let’s take a look at the best digital marketing advice around:

• Video marketing – stats released in 2018 show that 55% of the population watch a video online each day. This shows just why video marketing is taking off now and why it should be a channel you use. Consumers are increasingly responding more to visual marketing that engages them on a level that they can feel as well as see. Create top-quality video content to market your services or products to then share via popular platforms such as YouTube.

 

• Social media – another great place to share video content is other social media sites such as Instagram or Twitter. The big social media platforms allow you to market your business on a global scale and to many more people than traditional forms of marketing can. They are also superb at building up your brand and establishing personal relationships with your customers to inspire brand loyalty.

 

• SEO – one very important part of any digital marketing plan is search engine optimization (SEO). This is basically structuring your website in such a way that it ranks higher in the search engine results when people look for the type of service you offer. It also involves other factors such as link building and image optimization. If you know how to do this, then it is well worth it – or you can always get help from a specialist SEO agency if needs be.

 

• Creative content on site – one great way to market your brand and get it established is to have a regular stream of fresh content on your site or site blog. The big bonus here is that this can also be marketed via your social media accounts to drive more traffic to your site and sales. Make sure that you post content that marks you out as an authority in your field and solves problems for consumers. It is also good to show a lighter side now and then to add personality.

Marketing via online ads                                                                     

A major part of many organizations’ digital marketing plan is using online adverts to reach more people. This could be in the form of Pay Per Click adverts, where you construct ads that pop up when people search for keywords in them. The beauty here is that you only pay when someone clicks on them to use your services! Marketing on Amazon can work in much the same way and may be worth looking into – often, using a specialist Amazon marketing agency is wise here to make sure that your adverts are fully optimized.

Marketing online is key for modern business

If you are just starting out on your business journey, then you need to do all you can to succeed. Digital marketing is one way to really help here and reach as many potential customers as possible. The sheer number of consumers who hang out online now means that you simply cannot miss out on the chance to market your services to them there.

There are a lot of ecommerce stores out there that specialize in lifestyle products. You, however, believe that you offer products and services no one else does, and therefore consumers should turn to you. How do you let them know of your existence, though? How can you raise your voice over the online cacophony? If you want to draw new customers to your business and retain old ones, you are going to have to pay attention to the details. Here are a few ways to optimize your lifestyle brand.

Make your website beautiful and functional

Your website is the digital equivalent of a brick-and-mortar establishment’s physical space. You cannot adorn it with paintings and plants, but you can make the UI and UX design aesthetically pleasing and seamless. No one wants to have a challenging time navigating a website, so put in necessary efforts to improve how users will experience their time with you. Make sure it’s fast, too: slow loading times can have a significant influence on who stays and leaves your site.

Pay attention to the details when it comes to your product images and copy. Product descriptions should be intriguing, proofread, and paint a picture of what your merchandise would look like in someone’s life. Your photography can do something similar: because you are a lifestyle store that sells products people typically like to see and feel for themselves in-person, you can use pictures to fill this need and give them an idea of what using their orders would be like. Videos never hurt, too—they’ll enhance your legitimacy and put you ahead of your competitors.

Streamline the payment process

How annoying is it that when you are online shopping, the retailer requires you to enter information on multiple pages and maybe even create an account in order to purchase? You want to find your items, add them to your cart, enter payment information, and expect them on your doorstep in three to five business days. If you have to go out of your way just to pay for something, you might be inclined to find similar items somewhere else.

Do your best to streamline the payment process to avoid online cart abandonment. According to Baymard Institute, an average of 69.89 percent of virtual carts are abandoned amongst 40 other studies from major companies (like SaleCycle, Adobe, and IBM). Don’t make life hard for your customers. Make the transaction process simple and accept multiple forms of payment (such as wire transfers, eChecks, and Bitcoin).

Keep your brand consistent

Don’t spread yourself too thin. It’s tempting to appeal to as many people as possible, but being slightly good at multiple things won’t attract customers who prefer to go to businesses that are very good at one or a few things. Reflect your commitment to your niche in your branding, too—expert Carolina Rogoll says:

“Consistency pays out. Frequent exposure to the same brand identity and message helps increase brand recognition and awareness. If you have a well-defined and managed brand identity combined with messaging that’s compelling and executed consistently, your media investment will also have higher returns and go further in building the strength of your brand.”

You might be able to leverage your personal brand. If both your personal and business brands are intertwined with one another, what boosts one will hopefully prop up the other, but what drags one down will certainly do the same with the other. People like to do business with companies they know are run by people (as opposed to faceless corporations), so remind customers that you are, indeed, a person who wants them to have the best experience.

Make sure your products are high-quality

You would hopefully not be in business if you wanted to sell products that are anything other than high-quality. If you are using the drop shipping model and not making products yourself, however, the decision is not always up to you. To provide the best merchandise possible, you need to find the best drop ship lifestyle suppliers available.

Vet any manufacturer you consider partnering with. Are they ethical? What are their materials made of? What are their locations compared to your highest concentration of customers? If something goes wrong, customers will contact you, not them, which means you will need reliable allies to avoid damages to your brand and a world of headaches.

Lifestyle e commerce is a competitive landscape, but offering the best shopping experience possible will help distinguish you from the crowd and keep customers coming back. How will you optimize your online store?