We’ve just set the clocks forward, so despite what the thermometer may say in some parts of the country, spring is right around the corner. With the busy holiday season behind us and big spending holidays like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day ahead, now is a great time for small and medium-sized businesses to do some spring cleaning.
Here are some simple things SMB owners can do this spring to prepare for the year ahead.
- Freshen Up Your Website- Think of your website like your retail storefront. Is it inviting? Attractive? Easy to find? As you assess your website, keep these things in mind:
- Contact information is key. It sounds obvious, but leaving out all or some contact information is a surprisingly common mistake. Make sure potential customers who find you on the Web have immediate access to your phone number, email and street address. A strong “how to find us” page with map, directions and parking information is also essential to giving local shoppers a good experience.
- Make sure your website is optimized for mobile. The fact is that most small business websites are missing out on mobile revenue (up to $1 trillion nationwide, according to hibu research). Your website should be easily viewable on a mobile phone or tablet, without lots of zooming, twisting, pinching and pulling required. You can visit the hibu Knowledge Center for more tips on how to make your website the strongest it can be.
- Organize Your Social Presence- Develop a social media calendar to help with consistency in posting. Having a strong social presence is a vibrant way to tell your brand story and generate user engagement, but it’s important to be mindful about your approach.
The goal is to create a socially dynamic environment for your customers, and to expand beyond current customers. Consider planning special offers—like a 10 percent off coupon—that can be shared on social networks and encourages your current customers to spread the word with their friends and family.
- Stock Up- Now is the time to make sure that you are fully stocked moving into Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation season and beyond. When people come to your website or walk into your store, they're primed to buy—and if you let them down, they'll go elsewhere.
Taking the time now to organize and refresh your business can mean fewer headaches and more profit as the year goes on. A little spring cleaning goes a long way.
This guest post is courtesy of Matt Anderson. Matt is the Chief Digital Officer at hibu. Matt leads our Digital Business Unit with responsibility for the development of all our digital solutions, embracing digital marketing, online commerce and business operations for our SME customers. Matt is also responsible for our internet Yellow Pages (iYP) products and our Consumer, Payments, Incubator and Latin initiatives.