5 Things SMEs Should Be Doing Online
By John Feng

提高电子商务平台销售的技巧
虽然现在电子商务是一个非常蓬勃发展的业务，但许多卖家正面临着从小型到大型对手的激烈竞争。对于像淘宝和天猫等最大和最畅销的网站来说，你必须证明你的品牌是值得信任的。您必须通过在每次购买中获得的积极评价来建立自己的声誉。

1.检查产品SEO或关键字。
如果您希望自己的品牌位于搜索列表中，请确保提供了一组合适的关键字。

2.在您的商店中建立高交易率和良好的反馈。
我们的市场上有超过6.18亿互联网购物者，无可否认，只要您在购买者中建立信誉，您的在线商店就能成功创造销售。

3.创建完美的产品图像。
注意，在您的商店中使用专业、高质量的图像会吸引客户点击您的产品。

4. 进行促销，折扣和超级客户服务无论您是新店还是运营了几个月的商店，向买家提供令人兴奋的促销和折扣都非常重要。

The differences between big companies and Small and Medium Enterprises have been much bigger in the past.

This is a sentence that can seem controversial at first sight, but please allow me to dissect it. It is true that there were never in history companies’ evaluations as right now for giants like Apple, Amazon or Alphabet. The gap between these companies and the average SME is huge and for sure it has never been higher. However, I truly believe that, nowadays, with the help of the internet, every business owner has almost the same opportunities to improve its business – I know, the budget is still different, but...
 

What I mean is that it is possible for a SME Marketing Manager to have access to the same digital marketing tools as the big companies, and it all depends on how much effort and quality you put in using those tools. After you reach a high level of quality in those tools, your results will dramatically improve and you will be getting closer and closer to the “big boys”.

But which tools are we talking about here? Let’s take a look.
 

Website

How many companies stopped in time and still have the same website as 5 years ago? I know some which even froze ten years ago. This is certainly hurting the business! First of all, focus on getting a top-notch website, with a modern design, clear contact information and most importantly, mobile responsiveness.
 

Besides this, you have to make your website visible through Search Engine Optimization. Audit your SEO strategy often, review it and adjust it to your needs and accordingly to the keywords that are bringing you good results.

Social Media

Build your presence in all social media platforms that are relevant to your business and dedicate yourself to them. Having a static profile will not help you in any way, so make sure you consistently post relevant content to your audience. If this content can direct people to your website, then it is a win-win situation.
 

Pro Tip: If at the beginning you do not have satisfying traction, do not worry and keep doing it. It takes time to be acknowledged, but eventually the results will appear.

Local Directories

Ok, now you have a very nice website and you can interact with your customers on social media, but everyone has different ways to find answers to their problems. It is vital that you build your presence in as many places as possible, and even if local directories are losing importance over the years, they are still very relevant means to be found. Not only they focus on their own SEO, which will benefit you indirectly, but also it does not cost you anything and there will always be some potential clients visiting those pages. Depending on the country and industry you have your business at, these directories can change, so search for all of them and become visible.

Content

Turn around the fact that you are a small company and focus on your niche. Wouldn’t you agree that it is much more difficult to create content to serve Nike’s millions of followers than to a nice couple of thousands dedicated customers? It is indeed easier, so you just have to give them relevant content, write about topics that interest them and will genuinely add value to their lives. Do not focus too much on selling, because that will hurt more than help. Through added-value you will become a partner, instead of just another company trying to sell.

Engagement

Whether it is social media, chat or emails, engaging is the key. Contribute in a valuable way, give your honest feedback and advice and, then again, your customers will see you more as a partner and less as a supplier. It might be hard to spend much of your day on this if the company is small, but every interaction, if it is done in a genuine way will help your business incredibly.

Wrapping Up

These are some of the things any small company should be doing, but then again, it might be too big of an overload to do this in-house, so there is always the outsourcing resource that will allow you to have high levels of quality in your digital presence, in exchange for a monthly fee. There is a wide variety of companies that will provide you with this service and you will have many options within every budget level. Above all, there is no excuse why you shouldn’t be focusing on your online business, whether you are a small retailer, a service provider or even a “one-man show”.

Take action and see the growth!