If your business has been stuck in a bit of a rut lately, whether it be in making profit or just simply not living up to what you thought it would be, it may be time to revamp your image and give yourself a makeover. While this can be confusing to some long-time customers, it could help you bring in new clients that like what you did to your image. To quickly update your business, there are three main actions you’ll need to take.
New Website
First, you need to update any outdated websites and add a mobile site. According to Business Insider, there were roughly six millions websites in existence as of the end of 2012, and roughly a half million of those don’t get enough traffic to warrant the business paying for them simply because the site is just too old and needs updating.
Most people don’t understand that the number of online visitors who catch your site on their smartphone is quickly outgrowing the number of visitors that will view your site from their home computer and/or laptop. This oversight means that most business owners are not designing their website for maximum efficiency and that many people that go to their site every day see a below-standard version of the product they wish to put forth.
Replace Inventory
If you have a business that sells products but you often find yourself with excess inventory, you need to do a few things. First, stop buying products that just sit, and, second, get rid of the old stuff by giving it away. Yes, this may seem like a bad idea because of the lost investment, but if you clear the inventory, you can get new products people may actually want. This is the idea behind all the “blowout” sales that mattress companies and car dealerships like to do. Also, this will help you see if people really do want what you’re selling. Finally, most people don’t turn down anything for free, and if they get your product, they are likely to talk about it if they like it, which promotes it for you. If they don’t like it, though, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This will show you just what people think so that you can start offering a product people will want to buy. If the alternative is letting product rot on the proverbial shelf while you pay inventory costs, there is an obvious way to go there.
Related: Building a Freelance Business
New Promotions and Advertising
Finally, in today’s Mad Men world of intense marketing, if you have outdated ads, no one will take you seriously. You need to update your ads at least once a month to keep people interested in you and your business. This doesn’t have to be expensive, though. With social media, free websites, and forums, you can advertise for free or low-cost to thousands of people online. Just make sure your advertisements are fresh and exciting and that you can get peoples’ attention quickly and easily. With the expansion of the internet meme culture and the huge amount of free publicity that comes with anything “going viral”, taking a couple of days to come up with an ad scheme that includes something that is humorous and/or involves cats could make a real difference to your overall brand and your ability to move product.
Revamping your outdated business can be done quickly and easily if you take the time to do it. Update your sites and advertisements and give away old products you plan to replace with new stuff to get the ball rolling, but you don’t have to stop there. After you have seen consumer response you can start on new logos, slogans, and campaigns to really boost your presence in the business world.
