Top 5 Web Skills You Need to Learn to Run Your Own Business

When you decide to make the big leap and become a business owner, you are accepting the fact that you have a lot of learning to do. Running a successful business is not a talent that you’re born with. It requires dedication and attentiveness.

Thanks to the possibilities available online, setting up a business venture is much more accessible than it used to be, yet there is still a learning curve that every aspiring online business owner needs to go through.

Here is a list of 5 web skills you simply have to attain if you want to achieve great things with your business. Many small business owners find that they need to deal with these tasks all by themselves. But even if you have employees or business partners to assist you, as a business owner you will inevitably need to understand each of them in order to strategise and lead your team.

1. Improving user experience

When potential customers visit your business website, they need to be greeted by an intuitive browsing flow that provides maximum satisfaction for minimum time and effort on their end. In web lingo, this is referred to as “user experience”.

The idea is to strive for your customers to experience your website in the best possible way. This includes, amongst other things, making sure that the navigation is very clear, that the text on the website is easy to read and that the homepage is not too cluttered with information.

2. Writing to sell

A major part of every business transaction is the pitching process. In your online marketing efforts – whether on your website, in your newsletters or in an ad campaign – you want to make sure that the pitch is phrased and presented just right. Powerful, credible and persuasive text is crucial for establishing a strong brand and for successfully closing deals.

3. Creating social media buzz

Social media is an important marketing arena, especially for new small businesses who don’t have big budgets for professional cross-media campaigns. The beauty about social media is that you can see great results by putting your creativity into action and without spending huge amounts of money.

The first thing to do is to understand which social networks are best suited for your type of business. Then move on to establish your brand on these networks and engage with your target audience.

Remember, even if social media activity doesn’t immediately translate into sales, it’s still an important, long-term investment in your branding.

4. Mastering online customer care

Too often business owners neglect this crucial aspect of business life. Effective customer care means giving your customers the full package of support. They need to feel free to contact you with questions, suggestions, compliments and even complaints.

With online customer care, you have the option of offering several communication methods: email, social media, online chat or contact forms. Regardless of which ones you choose, you need to be able to commit to providing timely, adequate and personalised responses.

5. Performing stats analysis

While it’s not really a glamorous task, keeping track of your website’s statistics could hardly be more important for any business with an online presence. These stats give you information about who your visitors are, what makes them stay and what makes them leave, how they arrived at your website to begin with and what are the most popular search terms that lead people to it.

In other words, stats give you the key to understand your visitors’ browsing habits and improve your website’s content accordingly. Knowledge is power!

SOURCE: Wix