The scariest time of the year has arrived, when monsters, ghosts and skulls are present everywhere as part of the annual Halloween season. These days are full of scares and surprises that can make more than one’s hair stand on end. Entrepreneurs are not exempt, no one wants to be scared when it comes to starting and running a business and therefore they must be prepared to deal with unforeseen events and surprises to keep their businesses growing.
For small business owners, there are few things worse than disappointing your customers. From the terror of having to deal with creating content for your website to creating an easy online purchasing path for your customers, entrepreneurs must face the challenges that threaten their business. That’s why I’m sharing with you how to avoid some of the online scares and survive the unpredictable and scary Halloween season.
Avoid these 5 scares in your online business
Counter with an online presence
We have already talked before about how important it is for a business to have an online presence and how quickly e-commerce has grown. According to the Study on Online Sales in Mexico from the Mexican Online Sales Association, in 2022, more than 63 million people throughout the country purchased a product or service online, doubling their volume in just 5 years.
Although having an online presence should be crucial for any business, there is still a long way to go, especially for smaller companies. The lack of presence of a business on the Internet to increase visibility and engagement on digital channels may be preventing entrepreneurs from reaching customers where they spend their time. To avoid this scare, small business owners can spend time understanding the current market and competitive landscape to offer their customers a set of online options to connect with their business.
Regardless of the online strategy that entrepreneurs follow, they must take into account that of the total number of users who made an online purchase in 2022, 98% did so through a smartphone, compared to 79%, 58% and 47% who did so. did using a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet, respectively. This means that small business owners should strive to develop a mobile-friendly online presence to prevent their customers from having a nightmare visiting their website or online store from a mobile device, which was most likely created from a computer. This is easy to achieve with the right website builder that automatically converts your website into a responsive one, i.e. one that adapts to mobile devices.
Increase web security
Security is a collective concern for both entrepreneurs and customers. Precisely with the increase in online sales trends, customers’ perception of security has expanded; According to the AMVO study, 7 out of 10 Mexican buyers perceive that buying products and services online is safe; However, what about the rest?
Companies must be able to ensure the online security of their customers to boost their trust. Without a protected website, personal data such as banking information may be at risk of being leaked or compromised as part of cyber fraud. By offering website SSL certificates and monitoring services like those offered by providers like GoDaddy, even the smallest of businesses can protect their online presence from potential attacks that could put sensitive information at risk in these scary times.
Survive by offering online shopping options
With more people shopping online, the need to offer a variety of payment methods becomes essential; The same AMVO study states that the most used payment methods for online purchases in 2022 were credit and debit cards, while GoDaddy’s 2023 Data Observatory highlights that entrepreneurs have taken note of this situation, since that e-commerce features such as offering multiple payment methods (63%), selling products (59%) and the ability to offer multiple shipping options (48%) were rated by respondents as having the most impact on their business .
If entrepreneurs do not have the options that their customers demand, they can drive consumers away from their business forever. Offering a variety of payment options and complementing the experience with shipping options according to the possibilities of entrepreneurs can help customers easily choose to buy from one online business over another.
Resist with ideal web hosting
Web hosting is the virtual space where the information on a website is stored such as photos, videos, web pages, and texts, among others. Hosting server allows a company to store a large amount of data so that a website can run smoothly 24 hours a day; The more files and traffic your website has, the more storage space it will need.
If the traffic or files stored on a website are greater than its storage space can support, the site may “crash” and not function properly, which can scare away customers and negatively affect their experience, which can lead them to not complete their purchases. So that businesses don’t get shocked when their website doesn’t load, they should be aware of the amount of hosting space they need and continually evaluate when upgrades to their hosting services are necessary.
Overcome the fear of creating attractive content
Nowadays, interactions on social networks are essential for any online business. According to the same GoDaddy study, 68% of the companies surveyed in Mexico rely on this channel to complement their Internet sales. Creating engaging content on an ongoing basis, such as business information, photos and videos of products and services, can help make a difference in capturing the attention of new potential customers; However, this can stress more than one entrepreneur. Don’t let the perceived lack of time and design knowledge scare you from boosting your business.
With new tools it is not necessary to have extensive design knowledge to create professional content, as it is an easy-to-use tool to create designs for websites and social media posts. Additionally, it offers logo creation, link in bio, and the latest AI-powered instant video editor solution. With an online design partner, entrepreneurs can strengthen their brand presence in digital media to help build greater trust through outstanding and consistent designs.
Protect your online business
There are many scares that entrepreneurs can have, especially when fear is in the air at this time of year. However, they can be one step ahead in dealing with possible situations that could bring challenging consequences for their business, by being aware of their customers’ needs along with new consumer trends.
Entrepreneurs with a vision for the future and a good understanding of the prospects for their business, as well as their customers, will be able to overcome any scary situation that comes their way, turning challenging scares into opportunities to improve and continue growing their business. on-line.
Gianluca Stamerra Gianluca is GoDaddy’s Senior Director for Latin America and Iberia, where he helps entrepreneurs succeed online. He has spent his career at multinational technology companies such as United Internet, Vodafone and Orascom. He has extensive experience supporting the expansion of companies in multiple markets such as Italy, Spain, France and Mexico, as well as scaling subscription-based business models (B2C and B2B).