We know by the time this is posted that it’s still too early to really tell what 2021 is going to bring, given our world’s current events in 2020. One quick search on Google will tell you how stressed we are in terms of how we’re going to keep our businesses going and how to live our lives once the world has calmed down enough to get into this new state of normalcy. Because despite how you want things to go back to ‘normal’, that’s the last thing our world is going to be next year. New protocols are already in place. It looks like that same sense of stress is going to carry over into the following year.
With all this in mind, we have to ask some tough questions going forward: how can us business owners help our customer clientele post-2020? In our case, online services are more crucial than ever. That goes to both launching new websites that were developed as well as maintaining our clients’ current ones and ensuring their hosting and domains are secure and safe. That kind of work is always going to be needed, but not every business is going to be so fortunate.
We know this is scary to think. Sometimes the best thing we can do though is to look forward after all this craziness has settled down and really, REALLY look at our next course of action, and make a strategy that everyone can be all hands on deck for. So, here are three things you need to do for your business—and its website—after 2020.
- Move everything online
If you run a shop on a local scale, you may already have done this part in order to keep your sales going month to month. With some industries, in-person service is completely unavoidable; doctors still have to help their patients, for one. Repairers have to help fix household and commercial machinery, for another. Dentists also need you to be present in order to clean your teeth. For other industries however, such as accountancy, real estate, law, music, retail, and so on, the possibilities to expand to online service have soared in the past decade. Customers can now shop online and communicate with doctors and specialists prior to an in-person appointment via live video features such as Zoom and other telehealth specific software.
Now it’s more crucial than ever to really look at your online services and if there are ways to shift your services on to a virtual scale. There are ways to keep your business going—it requires you to really take a look at what your website is doing right now, is the thing. Is it offering such possibilities to your customers now? Is it working the way it should be—as a virtual business card, online shop, and communications device all rolled into one? If not, you’re going to need to catch up, big time. If you can move each service you have to offer online, this will be the best course of action to take not only now, but going forward.
- Increase your online distribution channels
Content is more relevant and resourceful to us now than ever before. Though your website is certainly a worthwhile distribution channel in and of itself, there is more than one way now to share and communicate your brand message and relevant content to your customers. Doing so will also help you become recognized as an authority within your business’s industry.
Podcasts, videos, pictures, and blog posts are all content worth distributing across online channels, even if you don’t think you have much to offer (the truth is, you do). The key thing to remember with most content from your industry is to explain everything in layman’s terms—i.e. if there’s a jargon word you’re used to but others are not, it’s best to explain it as opposed to assuming everyone else knows what you’re talking about. And when you’re done explaining that on your website, you need to share that on all of the other channels. It’s the only way to really increase your online presence as well as let other customers know you exist, whether they’re familiar with your company or not.
- Redesign if needed
No matter how many new accounts you create for distribution channels, none of your promotional strategies will work if your website doesn’t work. Software programs such as Adobe Flash are officially no longer usable (you can check out our article as to why, and what to do about it). Certain plugins have continued to be updated for optimum performance all this time, too. Logo and brand redesigns are always going to need to be done, even when everything seems so uncertain.
By redesigning not only your business’s website but also its brand and overall functionality, you’re going to be seen as someone who knows when it’s best to adapt to the future of how and where we go to when we need something online. In order to receive that kind of attention from your customers, however, you’ll need to do your part and actually sign up for a new website!
Get the website your business deserves
We know there’s a lot to think about in terms of how to keep your business afloat. One thing you shouldn’t think about for too long is whether or not your business deserves to have a website that does it all. When properly built and launched, a website can be your company’s business card and retail shop and your company’s first means of communication all rolled into one. If this sounds like what you want for your business going forward, give us a call at V3 Media. We can help your site stand the test of time, both during 2020 and beyond.