Why your Relaunch may Not be Working Despite Going Online
Why your Relaunch may Not be Working Despite Going Online
The coronavirus crisis has sped up Australia’s move to going cashless by five years and seen online shopping hit record numbers according to PayPal Australia according to Stephen Fenech Tech Guide editor and one of Australia’s most respected tech journalists.
An article in Tech Guide June 2020 Fenech reported:
“Small businesses in Australia saw sales processed through PayPal surge by 54 percent during the coronavirus pandemic in April.
Australians took to online shopping like never after restrictions to physical stores were in place and other storefronts shuttered during the pandemic….
Sign-ups to PayPal tripled during the COVID-19 restrictions in April when compared to pre-pandemic levels. And these new sign-ups included a 65 percent year-on-year increase of Australians aged 50 or over. There are now more than 8 million PayPal accounts in Australia covering a third of the population.”
If so many people are signing up to buy online why are some who are taking the step to relaunch their businesses online failing?
The answers lie in the 5 main areas.
1. ASSUMPTIONS
Media coverage has pushed the notion that everyone (meaning your customers) is going to be more online than ever before and if your business did not adapt, pivot and relaunch and go online you were going to miss out.
The truth of the matter is that many businesses have made lots of assumptions -the first being all, you had to do was go online and the customers would follow. Wrong.
COVID 19 changed consumer behaviour from their priorities to their values, to the preferences in the way they would like the service or product delivered.
Those that failed didn’t bother to find out from the market by completing the right research, about how the market felt about the existing business value proposition as well as the entire business model.
2. LACK OF ABILITY TO DIVERSIFY
Offering the same choices will no longer cut it.
As COVID 19 created a new set of problems for businesses to solve because of the lockdown restrictions, businesses must be abreast of these changing needs and diversify their offering to meet the new demands.
Relying on one offering increases the risk that your business will not be able to compete on one core offering that may exist in a saturated market.
Diversification is a growth strategy that involves adding products, services, and markets to your businesses’ core business. Putting your eggs in a variety of baskets will minimize the risk of a lack of available working capital to operate your business and will increase the reach of new potential markets.
3. WEBSITE FAIL
Not understanding the customer journey and shopping experience online which differs from an in-store experience means that businesses who are relaunching online must build a website that connects to the customer on a human level, conveys an understanding of the needs of the customer, and allays any safety fears.
An interactive website has a marketing copy that acknowledges the current concerns of the customer and speaks to those concerns whether it be a change to operating hours or methods of payment or the delivery of the service will stand out.
Now more than ever are consumers doing their research and their purchasing decision is taking longer. Your website must be updated, maintained, and above all be relevant.
4. LOOKING FOR ADVICE ONLINE
For so long now we have been relying on Google as a self-help tool for about every problem we wish to solve.
However, when it comes to relaunching your business it’s not a good idea to look for advice online because nothing or anyone on the internet can understand the complexities of your situation, your business model, or the goals you are trying to achieve.
Too often businesses who are relaunching ask the wrong people for help. Business launch specialists are often overlooked for marketers who only know how to create the online presence and strategy but they don’t have the data required to build the online strategy and presence having gathered it from intensive market research.
Marketers may have tools to find lookalike audiences but the risk here is that the data may not be accurate.
If your online business relaunch is not going to plan and would like a business launch specialist to get your business back on track and do the right research take a look at my 90 day Quick Start Program.