When the worlds of business and online meet, there comes an incendiary mix of possibilities. With business there comes the notions of best fit (what is the best individual fit for a business) and best practice (what is ‘the norm’ or the standard for business in general). With online, however, arguably a combination of both best fit and best practice is the best way for businesses to keep their clients and consumers happy in this connected world we live in.
One can only imagine how unevolved business would be today were it not for the internet and online elements. The sheer communications scope that the internet has given us means that business has truly gone global. From automation to websites and everything in between, business truly connects to consumers in the online realm. With the many different ways there are to connect with people online, so too are there many different ways to position your business online. Some businesses will have an app, some will not. Some businesses will send out a weekly newsletter, others will choose monthly. But why is this and what is the best fit and best practice for your business and industry? Here we explore both – what fits in where and where and why.
Best Fit Explained
Best fit dictates the elements that are best fitted to your individual business. This is a truly unique and bespoke positioning that is not bound by trends (i.e. best practice). For example, a town may have two flower shops. The first may send a text message to their customers when their flower order is ready. The second flower shop may e-mail customers individually instead. Even though these two flower shops are from the same industry and even based in the same location, they use different methods to fit their needs and their customers’ needs best. The best practice may be to e-mail customers when their order is ready. But for the older customer who may not be the most tech-savvy and therefore may not even have an e-mail address; it would make more sense to call them instead.
Three Examples of Best Fit Online
1. Sending Newsletters
The sending of newsletters to your subscribers is something which your business will have to decide first if it will do this at all and if so, when will it send them. In essence, what is the best fit for your newsletter strategy? For a business or company that sells predominantly to the older generation or the ‘grey market’, it may be unwise to send e-newsletters at all as their target market may not frequent the use of technology to access these.
2. Social Media Updates
While social media can be a powerful tool to harness brand awareness and engagement, it still does not fit in with every business type. Did you know for example that Apple has a live Twitter account (registered in 2011) but they have not posted a single tweet to it? In this instance, Twitter is not the best fit for Apple to use – instead, they favor press releases and product launches in the form of conferences and keynote speeches.
3. Google Ads
Having an online presence is of course extremely important for any business, but just how much of a presence is a subject of best fit theory. A small local garment alteration business may prefer to utilize social media for organic online advertising as opposed to spending their limited budget on Google Ads. Business size, scope, and ambition is also a factor here. For smaller local businesses and massive international corporations, competition may be few and far between and so investing in paid online advertising is not essential for them – i.e. it would not be regarded as the best fit for them.
Applying Best Fit to your Online Business Activities
We create tailored online sales and marketing plans and strategies for all of our clients on an individual case-by-case basis. Here at Ireland Website Design, our team understands that every business will have different goals and different desires to achieve these online. As we know that there is no one size fits all, we work towards your desired goals, analyze your competitors, review your resources and then implement a realistic plan that drives sales to your business.
Best Practice Explained
Unsurprisingly the opposite to best fit, best practice includes the more broad elements that dictate on a general level how businesses should conduct themselves online. For example, as using mobile devices to access the internet is an extremely popular activity; best practice would dictate that you should have a mobile responsive website for your business. This is not a suggestion for any particular business type of industry, it is simply a standard with which businesses should actively practice in today’s online climate. To reiterate this, Google for example is known to not favor websites that are not mobile responsive (thus limiting the potential amount of web traffic a non-mobile responsive website could obtain). Best practice sets the standard benchmark with which businesses should measure themselves against in order to survive and thrive online.
Three Examples of Best Practice Online
1. Having an App
Today in 2017 the world is a highly connected place thanks to the internet and technology. As an extension of this for businesses, having an app for smartphones is a resulting best practice of this phenomenon. There are a multitude of reports, studies, and surveys that show the use of smartphones to access the internet has skyrocketed in the past five years. Due to this fact it is best practice for businesses to have a dedicated place (i.e. an app) on these frequented devices.
2. Mobile Responsive Website
Echoing the sentiments from the point above, it is best practice for business websites to be mobile responsive to render and perform properly on the likes of smartphones and tablets. This simply makes sense as sales can be made online and your website is one of the best ways to drive sales to your business (both online and offline sales can be made possible). Having your website poised to perform for those who visit it is best practice to increase your possible sales and leads.
3. Having a Blog
Blogging has been around for a very long time indeed – and for good reason. It is best practice to have a regularly updated blog within your website to function as the theoretical heartbeat. With fresh content added ideally at least weekly to your blog, this goes a long way to show Google that your website is current and updated and therefore worth directing traffic to. Blogs can also take a more informal approach which can be a useful tactic to connect with customers and potential customers alike.
Applying Best Practice to your Online Business Activities
In the absence of some essential best practice elements online, your business is at serious risk of losing out on sales and leads to your competitors. We can help you by optimizing and turbocharging your online presence in line with best-practice methods to drive sales to your business and awareness and engagement with your brand. As a premier digital agency based in Waterford, Ireland; our team has a vast amount of experience and can help you to reach your online aims and goals.
Thank you for taking the time to read our blog – please share it with anyone who you think may be interested in it. If you would like Ireland Website Design to drive sales to your business and help you to reach your online aims and goals; please call us on 051393524 or click/tap here to get a quote.
