I’m sure this isn’t something you want to realize about your business. No one likes to fail, or face some serious financial issues. Your business being in trouble is nothing nice.
And it gets even worse if you didn’t do anything in time, so now you’re in even more trouble. But let’s not be all that pessimistic here. The way online business is constructed lets you get a grasp on the situation quickly so you can act, change things up a bit, and wave the problems goodbye.
So here’s my list of 4 signs that your online business is in trouble, and what to do to make the situation better.
No new clients
I’m not going to start the list with something obvious like “no sales.” However, “no new clients” is not that evident for most online businesses as an indicator of trouble.
Here’s the thing. When you’re doing business with your current clients you might not notice that there’s no one new coming through the door.
Of course, doing business with your existing clients is nice, but when the partnership ends you might find yourself left with nothing. That’s why finding new clients is essential for every business even if you don’t feel like you have the resources to bring them on board.
Whatever you do don’t slow down your marketing just because you feel comfortable with the number of clients you have.
No search engine presence
Since you’re running an online business you probably have a website. This website should get some recognition and credibility in the search engines like Google.
Whether you like the concept of SEO or not, you have to realize that search engines often bring the best kind of traffic to your website. That’s because people are actively using Google to search for stuff, and if you’re on the other side waiting for this traffic, you can capitalize on it big time.
First, start by checking if you’re visible in Google with a tool like SEOmoz, or Traffic Travis, and then begin optimizing your site for your desired keywords (start by researching with Google Keyword Tool).
No buzz
Maybe buzz is not the best of words. What I mean here is that people in your niche should be talking about your online business in one way or the other. Businesses are alive only as long as people know of their existence.
Some bad indicators:
- No Facebook fans (or no fanpage at all).
- No Twitter followers.
- No email or RSS subscribers to your site.
- No comments on your site.
- No activity in other social media.
Thankfully, this is something you can improve on your own. Just spend some time on Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms and start building a following. The goal here is to get the initial discussions about your brand going.
No new partners
Partners can be very important for an online business. Essentially, who you know has always mattered. Therefore it’s crucial to remain in contact with your existing partners and try to build new relationships at the same time.
Finding new partners isn’t as difficult as it sounds. Start by doing some basic stuff. Go to LinkedIn, try to find people in your niche and connect with them. You can also do a search on Google and contact potential partners through their websites.
If you, for example, reach out to 10 people, at least one of them should respond, which gives you an opportunity to start some kind of business relationship with them. Remember, if you don’t ask the answer is always no.
Lastly, what are you doing to keep your business growing? Feel free to share.
Karol K. is a freelance writer and a blogger at ThemeFuse.com – a great place to go if you need some quality premium WordPress themes.