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Things You Need to Start an Online Business in 2020

Have you been thinking about starting a small online business? Before you move forward, there are four important things you’ll need before anything else.

Published

2 years ago

October 20, 2020

TwinzTech

In the past months, we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic impact our world in ways we might never have imagined. With several industries furloughing many of their workers, many people have been without a job. As such, many people have been seeking alternative ways of making income.

Even if you’re lucky enough not to have been laid off, you’ve probably also thought about other ways to earn money. And given the need to follow social distancing regulations, you probably want to do business remotely too.

Because of the need to follow social distancing measures, more people have been turning to e-commerce for their shopping and businesses. If you’ve been thinking of starting an online small business, here are just a few of the things you’ll need.

Table of Contents

1. Web design and digital marketing tools

If you’re serious about starting a business, you’ll need tools like e-mail marketing, web design, and SEO, apart from just social media.

Perhaps you think you can forgo building a website for your brand because social media exists, and it’s a great marketing tool. You’re mistaken. Social media platforms are great marketing tools, but it wasn’t made for e-commerce.

If you use Instagram, for example, as a makeshift website for your brand, you’ll be limited to the confines of the platform’s interface. But when you design a website for your brand, you’ll have a range of customizable tools for all your needs.

Benefits of Digital Marketing

You’ll also need digital marketing tools. Digital marketing is a way to spread awareness of your brand using the internet. It makes use of tools such as search engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.

As compared to traditional marketing – such as TV, radio, and print advertisements – digital marketing is cheaper. It also can reach a wider audience, whereas traditional marketing is usually confined to a particular region.

Another great thing about digital marketing is that it’s personalized and measurable. It gathers data about consumers, their demographics, and their shopping habits. Doing this allows you to personalize the content you send to each consumer based on these data.

Through analytics, it will enable you to see whether the marketing content you’re posting is effective – i.e., if it’s getting your brand attention.

2. A niche

The Little Lebowski is a store in New York City dedicated to selling merchandise based on the 1998 cult classic filmThe Big Lebowski. Co-owners Roy Preston and Nicholas Dollak originally intended for their shop to be a children’s bookstore, but that endeavor didn’t do them any favors.

Eventually, they got around to selling the Big Lebowski-themed shirts. Seeing that these sold more than the books, their suppliers sent them more and more Lebowski merchandise. Today, their shop has become a popular destination in Greenwich Village.

Co-owner Roy Preston’s advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to find their niche. This is a crucial part of starting a business. Focusing on a niche market will pinpoint your target and help you adjust your marketing materials accordingly.

Trying to serve as broad a market as possible may stretch you too thin, especially when you’re just starting. You can’t please everyone, so don’t try to. Instead, focus your efforts on serving a specific group of people.

4 Benefits of Software for Your Online Business

Once you find your niche, do your research. Know the consumers, their habits, and what they want. Then get to know the competition; if you know what kind of products or services you want to sell, check Google Trends. This will help you to see how many people have been googling those keywords.

3. Hire a bookkeeper

Many small business owners will say that they can manage their bookkeeping. Unless you’re a skilled accountant yourself, it’s still best to hire an expert. Having an accountant from the get-go can help you with planning your business. An accountant can help you plot your finances, secure the proper permits and documents, and prepare for your business in both the short and long-term.

Once you’ve started your business, you also have the option to use an accounting software tool such as QuickBooks for your bookkeeping needs.

4. Capital

Of course, you’ll need money to pay for all these things. You have to spend money to make money. Perhaps you have some money saved up that you can use to launch your startup, or maybe you’re thinking of applying for a loan. Take advantage of the e-commerce trend. Find a niche

There are many other things you’ll need when starting an online business, but these four things will give you a good foundation. Even if you’re lucky enough not to have been furloughed – or perhaps you’ve bounced back and found employment – it’s still worth it to look for other avenues of income.

Find a niche market you’d like to serve and study them. Gather some money from your savings or a loan and enlist an accountant to help you plot finances.

Business

What is a Customer Data Platform?

Published

1 week ago

January 27, 2023

TwinzTech

A customer Data Platform (CDP) is a new approach to centralizing your business’s promotional and sales information. Learn how companies use CDP to get ahead of the competition and effectively address their clients.

Table of Contents

1. Understanding a Customer Data Platform

A customer data platform stores and organizes customer information in one place, making it accessible to various customer care, sales, and marketing departments. The software can do its functions because it compiles information from multiple channels, such as your company’s social media profiles, website statistics, and live chat sessions.

You may best analyze your consumer’s needs and produce more targeted marketing campaigns with a customer data platform. Your marketing and sales activities will be more efficient, saving you time and resources. The advertising, sales and other teams that you manage will be able to make more informed decisions with the help of detailed prospective customers.

2. Reasons Why Businesses Should Implement a Customer Data Platform

A customer data platform is essential for modern businesses for many reasons.

The Elimination of Third-Party Cookies

Given the development of privacy rules and the shifting security expectations of consumers, marketing methods dependent on cookies set by third parties are becoming more unsustainable.

First-party consumer data, collected directly from your clientele, is the new gold standard. You may better serve your clients’ individual needs by creating a unified database of their information and using that information to send them tailored messages. By adjusting to the world of first-party cookies, your digital advertising will be able to draw on a far richer pool of data, including consumer interactions, choices, and transactions.

Development of Comprehensive Channels of Interaction

Advertising platforms like Google Ads and social media are becoming more popular among businesses. Direct mail campaigns are one kind of marketing communication, sales call to prospective clients, and in-person visits from clients. Whatever channel your consumers choose to engage with your company, it’s essential to provide them with a smooth, customized experience.

Omni-channel success begins with a detailed consumer profile fed by a customer data platform. If you do not have the proper marketing software, your clients may have a poor experience with you on several platforms. That is an issue since clients who are unclear on what they want cannot make a purchase.

Adopting a More Personalized Approach to Advertising is The Norm Now

Marketing Messages that are universally sent to all customers, both present and prospective, are no longer appropriate. Consider the impact of brand loyalty on advertising, for instance. One customer’s connection with your business is not the same as another’s, even if they have made many purchases from you.

With marketing technology, particularly a customer data platform, it is now feasible to personalize marketing communications in response to individual customers’ actions. The most excellent way to learn what a consumer wants is to tailor your marketing to their purchases, purchasing habits, and associated activities.

Upgrades That Will Help Your Business Thrive

3. Benefits of Customer Data Platform

Track the Most Productive Advertising Avenues

Knowing who you are selling to enables you to focus on the most effective methods of communication. Their use patterns may help you determine the best places to advertise to them, increasing your chances of success.

Make Better Products and Services Available

Understanding your clientele has applications beyond advertising and sales. Customers’ pain concerns are a goldmine of information for developing fresh offerings that appeal to your target market.

Upgrades Your Advertising Language

With a deeper understanding of your target demographic, you can craft more persuasive marketing communications. Knowing your potential market’s language, pain points desired solutions, and previous purchases allow you to communicate with them more effectively.

Accumulate All of Your Client Information in One Centralized Database

There are many different places where data on your customers may be found. A customer data platform consolidates data from several sources into a centralized repository, giving you a complete view of your clientele in one convenient location. There is no need to go between applications to compile data on your clientele.

4. Final Verdict

Consolidating real-time data sources, linking them to a customer profile, and making them instantly deployable in a campaign gives a CDP a great chance of winning over your present marketing team members. As the pace of your campaigns increases on a global scale, you may find yourself in the advantageous situation of improving the degree of customization and targeted advertising. This aligns with a decline in time spent on data cleansing and making ads.