If your online marketing efforts really take off, you’ll see a pretty sizable jump in customers – at least that’s what we’re all shooting for! But there’s a missing piece in achieving true success in social media marketing, online ad campaigns, and email marketing: PREPARING TO DELIVER.
One of the best things you can do as a business owner, whether you’re doing online marketing or not, is to do a thorough review of how customers “flow” through your business.
Ask yourself, “what would happen if my business doubled overnight?”
I’m sure that doubling your business sounds like a great problem to have – and it certainly can be. Many of our clients see substantial increases in traffic of all kinds once their social media, content and online marketing campaigns really start to take hold.
However, that kind of relatively sudden increase can really put some load on your people, on the processes you use to service customers, and even on your suppliers.
So here’s what you should do, on an immediate basis: take a look at your business as a whole system. You could even draw this out, showing every person the customer interacts with and what happens when they do. Don’t forget all the people in non customer-facing roles – you’ll need to account for their workloads too.
Next, try to envision what that work looks like when you push massive amounts of customers in on the system. Are you adequately staffed? How quickly can you get new team members up and running, effectively, in that role? What do you do if someone calls out sick right when you get slammed? Do you need to invest in more training? Hiring? Capital equipment? How will this affect the suppliers I use – can they handle the business, or do I need to have a backup supplier?
You’ll probably identify improvements you can make right away – even before you get started with online marketing. Some of the improvements you want to do may need to wait until you do see the expansion an effective marketing campaign can bring. Either way, you win – your understanding of your own business improves, and you’ll be prepared to deliver once you kick off an effective online marketing campaign.
At Northshore Rising, we know how tell your story online, and we know how to drive the business in the front door. On your end, make sure you’re ready to deliver!