If you’re looking to take your business online, then you need to consider all the different aspects and details that come with this shift to digital marketing and sales. Not only does it come with a completely different language, tools, and approach, but also the expectations and requirements of your customers and potential clients are changing as well.

The Basics

To get started, you first need to decide what you’re going to provide and what you’re going to charge for your services. The first thing to consider is how you’re going to get the word out there about your business. Will you send out marketing materials, host events, or somehow combine the two?

Once you have the basics under control, you can move on to the next phase and consider what’s next. Are you going to set up a shop online to do business or are you going to focus more on marketing and growth opportunities?

Features

Once you have the basics in place, you can start thinking about the features and functions that your online presence can offer. Do you want to create a blog, collect email addresses, or start a webstore?

If you decide that a webstore is the best route, then you need to consider all the different aspects and options that come with it. Will you sell directly to the consumer or operate a dropshipping store, meaning you’ll order all the products yourself and deliver them to your customers?

All these questions and more can help you decide what features and functions you want to include in your online marketing plan. Keep in mind that you don’t have to have all of these items, but you should have enough knowledge and information about the subject to know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

Plan For Growth

When you have a clear idea of what you’re going to provide and how you’re going to provide it, you can start considering the growth and development of your business. How big do you want your company to be in five years? Ten years?

Every entrepreneur, business owner, and digital marketer has a dream to grow their business and become famous, so this is a crucial question to ask yourself. Do you want to be a small fish in a big pond or do you want to be the big fish in a small pond?

The answer to this question will help you determine how you’re going to grow your business, what resources you need, and how you need to approach marketing and sales online.

Language

If you decide that English isn’t your first language, then you need to think about whether or not you want to focus on English-speaking users. The vast majority of internet users around the world are perfectly happy using their native tongue, so if you’re looking to reach the largest audience possible, then you might want to avoid English and go with another language.

If you decide that your first priority is to reach your existing customers, then you might not need to worry about which language to use. However, if you’re looking to attract new customers and potential clients to your business, then you might want to consider using English.

Tools

Nowadays, everyone has access to a computer and an internet connection, so this is no longer limited to just those who can afford to spend hundreds of dollars on a designer suit and a haircut. Your customers and potential clients have all the information they need at their fingertips, so it’s up to you to provide them with the best possible tools and platforms to do business.

If you decide that a blog is the best way to gain credibility and generate interest in your business, then you need to consider the different platforms and tools that can help you do this. Do you want to use WordPress or Medium to host and publish your content?

The answer to this question will help you decide what type of blog-related tools you need to invest in. Do you need help creating and publishing posts, or do you just want to be able to write and publish any content that comes to mind?

Marketing Plan

You can’t implement a digital marketing plan without a clear idea of what you’re going to do and when you’re going to do it. To that end, you need to make a detailed business plan and sit down with a trusted advisor to review and improve it as you go along. Don’t worry, plans can be revised and improved upon as necessary.

Overall Approach

As with any new venture, you’ll need to approach online marketing and sales with a clear mind and an open heart. Just because this is a new way of doing business doesn’t mean that you have to go into it thinking that you know exactly what you’re doing and that it will all be easy. The truth is, it’s a lot more work than you’d expect and it requires a lot of self-learning.

If you want to succeed, then you need to be willing to put in the work. It might not be easy, but you’ll gain a lot from it in the end.

To sum up, if you’re looking to take your business online, then you need to prepare for the shift by considering all the different aspects and details that come with it. Not only will it require a completely different language, tools, and approach, but also the expectations and requirements of your customers and potential clients are changing as well. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to do face-to-face marketing and sales, but you’ll just do it digitally now. That’s the beauty of technology and the internet — you can operate from anywhere!