Friday, February 10, 2017

Rashaad Patrick PhD - 12-Point Checklist For Building an Online Business (Part 4)

Building an online business is never an easy task. Either if you are a business veteran or a beginner pursuing a dream, there are numerous challenges to overcome, trends to keep an eye on and a need for tremendous preparation. To make it at least a tiny bit easier, I decided to put together a 12-point checklist in a 4 part series, covering all the essential steps for starting an online business.




10. Analyze and implement

If your test phase seems to be 100% positive, the participants weren't honest probably. At least you should be receiving a few remarks on the colors of the buttons on your homepage, or that your background image is not "that" cool, or that your "About us" page is glitchy. These test phases get you valuable feedbacks and even if you are 100% sure that everything is perfect, it is usually not. Analyze the feedbacks you have received and implement any additional functions, or changes that are recommended by the bigger percentage. Obviously, you won't be able to offer a product that fits everyone's needs, but you should be paying attention to the needs of your future audience. Don't be upset if you run into a bunch of negative comments or weird suggestions, remember, that there is a possibility that one of them is a real game changer. Don't get sloppy and spend time on evaluating your new data.

11. It's launch time!

You've got everything in place, so it's time to hit the big red button and go viral. Spread the word on social media, send out your first newsletters and watch closely. This is it, you are running an online business! Enjoy it for a few moments and after that, get prepared for the new challenges. Focus on creating engaging content on social media to draw more attention to your website, start ad campaigns and advertise your service as much as possible. Your number one goal from now on is to build an engaged audience, followers, who will tell everyone about your business. Be an active part of the community that you are building and be approachable. Spend time on preparing and launching marketing campaigns to get traffic to your brand-new site. Invest in PPC advertising and look for other options of cooperation to get noticed.

12. It's always lab time!

It is impossible to achieve success, without paying attention to the details. With the constantly changing online environment, you have to remember, that it is simply always lab time. That means, that you will have to closely analyze all the data that you have about your new website. Who are your most frequent visitors? Did you correctly identify your target audience? Is your service receiving positive feedback? How are my competitors reacting? These are just a few of the questions which you should pay attention to. Be prepared to change your original plan or to re-scale your business. You will have to react to the changing needs, fresh feedbacks of your potential customers, which means a never ending cycle of the following 4 things:  
  • Gathering insights - Analyzing Data - Modifying/Implementing - Testing. 

If you keep these 4 things on your daily schedule, you will surely be able to react to the needs of your audience. This enables your online business to become a successful one.



I hope that these 12 points will help you in building your own success story. These are only a few basic ideas that can get you closer to achieve your goals and building your own online business. Obviously, everyone's story is different, however, these 12 steps seem to be vital, when it comes to turning an idea into reality. Don't be afraid to step out there and give yourself a chance! I wish you the best and hope that your great idea, successfully transforms into a great online business! 

Till next time:)

Dr. P