Go Online With

Ease
A Step By Step Guide On How To Take Your Business

From Offline To Online

Index
Introduction ................................................................................................... 6
Creating A Brand .......................................................................................... 10
Steps: How To Create A Brand ................................................................. 11
Identify your target audience .............................................................. 11
Research your competitors .................................................................. 12
Position your product and business ..................................................... 13
Choose a business name ...................................................................... 13
Define your business' personality ........................................................ 13
Share your brand’s story ...................................................................... 13
Choose a slogan and logo..................................................................... 14
Establish your brand everywhere ........................................................ 14
Brand Identity .......................................................................................... 14
Elements of brand identity................................................................... 14
Brand Values ............................................................................................ 17
Making Product To Brand ............................................................................ 18
Steps to Follow ......................................................................................... 19
How To Position Your Brand ........................................................................ 23
Brand positioning strategies .................................................................... 23
Levels of brand positioning ...................................................................... 24
Steps to Follow ......................................................................................... 25
Assess your current brand position ..................................................... 25
Create a brand essence chart............................................................... 25
Identify and research your competitors .............................................. 28
Compare your positioning to that of your competition....................... 29
Identify what makes your brand unique .............................................. 29
Build a brand positioning framework................................................... 29
 Create your positioning statement ...................................................... 30
Implement your new brand positioning .............................................. 31
Marketing: Setting Up Social Media ............................................................ 33
Online marketing tips ............................................................................... 33
Steps to Follow ......................................................................................... 35
Ensure your accounts are updated ...................................................... 35
Use social media tools.......................................................................... 35
Be regular but strategic ........................................................................ 38
Import Your Contacts ........................................................................... 38
Act positive and be engaging ............................................................... 39
Join relevant groups ............................................................................. 39
Be consistent with tone and image...................................................... 39
Find influencers and connect with them ............................................. 39
Understand the fundamentals ............................................................. 40
Sales: Get More Leads.................................................................................. 41
Steps to follow ......................................................................................... 41
Engaging directly .................................................................................. 41
Advertise for a bigger audience ........................................................... 42
Requesting referrals ............................................................................. 42
Optimized content to rank ................................................................... 42
Join forums ........................................................................................... 42
Freebie & lead magnet ......................................................................... 42
Make offers for emails ......................................................................... 43
Steps to get more sales ............................................................................ 43
Understand your audience................................................................... 43
Find out how customers find you ........................................................ 44
Make customers' experience simple.................................................... 44
 Offer great services to customers ........................................................ 44
Ensure HQ service presentation........................................................... 45
Setting Up CRM ............................................................................................ 46
The steps in the CRM process .................................................................. 47
Create substantial awareness .............................................................. 47
Acquire sustainable leads..................................................................... 47
Convert your leads into customers ...................................................... 47
Provide prevalent customer support ................................................... 48
Upgrade products with time ................................................................ 48
Automation Software................................................................................... 53
Five key steps to automation ................................................................... 53
Choose which tasks to automate ......................................................... 53
Choose automation tools ..................................................................... 54
Set targets ............................................................................................ 54
Track results and refine processes ....................................................... 54
Start small and build from there .......................................................... 55
Design Software ....................................................................................... 55
Basic automation: Zapier ..................................................................... 55
Social media: Buffer ............................................................................. 57
Content: Grammarly ............................................................................ 57
Scheduling: Calendly ............................................................................ 58
Accounting: Xero .................................................................................. 58
Marketplace Listings .................................................................................... 59
Steps to Follow ......................................................................................... 59
Set reasonable prices ........................................................................... 59
Ensure HQ photos ................................................................................ 59
HQ Product Description ....................................................................... 59
 Give quick responses............................................................................ 60
Be open to negotiations ....................................................................... 60
Offer delivery ....................................................................................... 60
Be realistic and patient ........................................................................ 60
Marketplace Ads ...................................................................................... 61
Steps to Follow ......................................................................................... 61
Hire The Right Team ..................................................................................... 63
Steps to attract the right employees ....................................................... 63
What to look for when hiring ................................................................... 64
Technical competence ......................................................................... 64
Attitude ................................................................................................ 64
Get to Profitability........................................................................................ 67
Steps to increase profitability .................................................................. 67
Steps to assess the profitability ............................................................... 67
Customer To Fan (Re-sales)...................................................................... 68
Steps to make your customers fans ......................................................... 68
Deliver services to them proactively .................................................... 68
Make them feel appreciated ................................................................ 68
Offer loyalty programs ......................................................................... 68
Offer referral programs ........................................................................ 69
Engage on social media ........................................................................ 69
Be active on several channels .............................................................. 69
Give something to talk about ............................................................... 69
Personalize experiences ........................................................................... 70
Ask for feedback................................................................................... 70
Conclusion .................................................................................................... 71
 Introduction

It was the summer, of 2014. Uncle Ravi was so satisfied

and happy with his store, it was nothing too extraordinary,
but it was big enough, the biggest in the neighborhood
even. He made enough earnings from it, at least enough to
meet his daily expectations, and sometimes it even
exceeded his expectations. He had a good number of
customers and they related so well they always came back
for more purchases. He was so content and confident with
his store and was glad about the steady progress he was
making. At some time I talked to him about taking his
business online but he rejected the idea saying it could be
difficult and even too much of a risk.

Then one summer, he faced some challenges and could not

open the store as often as he did earlier. It wasn’t for such
a long time but he realized he had lost so many customers
and even much more sales. But there was this particular
customer who would always call anytime she needed
anything from his store and he would get it to her. She was
still there and kept coming to the store. Then it dawned on
him that he did need an online presence. If he was doing
business online, despite his inability to open his store, as
usual, he would still keep his customers and make sales. He
then said to me,

“you were right you know, you know what is even

riskier? Having to lose customers and sales once your
physical presence is challenged, that’s so limiting. I’m
going online right away”.

He decided he had to get his business online at all costs,

even if it’s difficult or could be risky, it’s possible and worth
it so he would give it his best and make it work. And yes!
He did. With my help, he created an online presence
effectively and has been able to sustain and grow it over
the years.

Offline businesses may be great at accommodating

customers with personal service, but they are limited to a
physical location and set hours, thus the need for an online
presence.

Moving your offline business online may seem

overwhelming, especially if you are trying to make a fast
change.

Trying to switch from an offline to an online business isn’t

always a simple process. Most times, what works offline
may not work online, so you’ll need to adopt new strategies
to keep your current customers and attract new ones.

While thinking of making this switch, reflect on whether

you have the necessary skills to follow through with it. Can
you successfully translate your offline experience into
online business success?

Changes always come with challenges and this is not

different either. Trying to make this change has its
difficulties and setbacks.

The greatest challenge you could face while moving your

business online is to create a perfect online presence.
Something that resonates with your target audience, that
has the look and feel of your brand and at the same time
includes all the latest online business features.

You must have often witnessed successful offline

businesses going down or losing so much while or after
moving online.

This happens most likely due to the lack of proper planning

and the unavailability of proper guidance from experts.

If you’re not sure if you have what it takes, I have created

this guide to walk you through each step you need to take
to move your business from offline to online. You will get
detailed instructions on every aspect of the process.

The good news is that it’s easier and cheaper than ever
before to take your offline business online. Online
businesses and remote working may seem unfamiliar to
many of us, but these trends have been on the rise for the
last few decades. That means that a lot of the tools you
need for transitioning your business online are in place. It’s
just a matter of knowing what steps you need to take.

With all of the technology available, it’s easier than ever to

make the switch to online. You can do this yourself or with
the help of an expert to get the most impact. Your business
will have a bigger reach than ever before, so you can get
ready for a new phase of business growth.

I have so much passion for taking offline businesses online

so I had to get the basic certifications to get it right. And
for the past years, with so much emphasis to expand my
online presence and help others create, sustain and grow
theirs too, I have been able to gain more experience.
Within these past years, I have helped over 100 business
owners effectively take their offline businesses online and
managed them successfully, making good progress.

If you are planning to take your offline business online, or

maybe you have tried already but have faced certain
challenges and want to get insights on how to get it right,
then read on and follow the steps to achieve your desired
success.
 Chapter One

Creating A Brand
Branding is the art of giving a product, company, or
product line a distinct personality and image through the
name, packaging, logo, colors, and messages.

Your brand is how people perceive you wherever they

interact with your business.

Just as a person would have a name, a face, a style, a way

of communicating and making different impressions on
different people with these traits, so do businesses also
have names, products, logos, colors, fonts, voices, and
reputations that makeup what they are and affect how
they’re perceived.

You cannot create a brand efficiently without being

consistent and maintaining that consistency as you extend
your brand to every part of your business. The most
effective way to build a brand is to start by establishing
what you want your consistency to look like and the
feelings you want it to create.
Taking your offline business online requires you to answer
such questions as, “what should it look like? How should it
make people feel? Will it resonate with my target
audience?

Answering these questions right will help you create a link

between what you’re selling and who you’re trying to
reach.

Steps: How To Create A Brand

Identify your target audience

It is important to know who you’re trying to reach. Think

about what kind of products you’ll be selling and who
they’ll serve. Try to be specific with your choice of
customer.

You can achieve this with:

Existing customers: If you have existing customers then

you should consider who they are and what they love
about your business.

Your competition: consider the kind of customers other

companies like yours are targeting and see if there is how
your own business could be of better help to them.

Buyer personas: picture your ideal customers and create

a profile outlining in detail who they are.
As you begin to build your brand, you will be open to better
opportunities to learn more about your audience from
customer surveys.

Research your competitors

Before you start making any decisions about how to create

a business brand, you need to understand who your
current competitors are.

Some steps to follow are;

Google your product or service category and analyze the

competitors that come up.

Check online communities or group posts that relate to

your customers and pay attention to their conversations
and product recommendations.

Talk to people who are part of your target market and ask
them what brands they buy from in your space.

Look at the relevant social media accounts or pages your

target audience follows and is receptive to.

The essence of this research is to know who your top

competitors are.

This will help you know who you’re up against and what
you need to do better to get an edge over them.
Position your product and business

Product positioning is about placing your product in your

customers’ minds by highlighting a unique element that
sets your product apart from others in the market.

The best practices for positioning your products and

business include understanding your target market, and
identifying what they love about your product the most,
how it is useful to them, and what problems it solves for
them.

Choose a business name

While choosing your brand name avoid the temptation to

choose a name similar to a competitor’s name. Choose a
unique name, not too abstract though, one that will be
simple to spell and pronounce is web friendly, memorable,
and consistent with your brand.

Define your business' personality

Business personality represents an emotional response or

character that defines your brand. This is usually
communicated through your tone of voice, visuals, etc.

Share your brand’s story

Sharing your brand's story will help you get noticed by

your target audience and connect you with your customers
on a more personal level.
Choose a slogan and logo

Your slogan is a brief voice of your brand so should

represent your brand personality. Your logo is the picture
of your brand, the colors and elements used should tell the
story of your brand and relate well with your customers.

These should be kept consistent as they may be first

noticed by a customer before anything else.

Establish your brand everywhere

After getting the right tools in place to create your brand,

be ready to establish your brand everywhere possible.

Brand Identity

Brand identity is what makes you instantly recognizable by

your customers. Consistency in marketing and messaging
leads to consistency in brand identity.

Elements of brand identity

● Visual elements
These are mostly picture elements that represent
your brand.

● Color
 Your brand colors speak a lot about your brand.
While choosing your brand colors, consider your
brand personality and who your customers are to
get the right colors for your brand.

● Logo
A brand logo is a simple pictorial representation of
your brand. It should stand out differently, have the
right colors and element representation and reflect
the personality of the brand.
● Slogan
The brand slogan speaks the voice of the brand in a
very short sentence or phrase. It should be kept
short and timeless.

● Typography
The font style and other typography used by a brand
can also be a great representation of the brand. This
therefore should be kept consistent.

● Social media graphics

Social media graphics should also be consistent and
carry the brand's colors, typography, logo, and any
other elements that would represent the brand
effectively.

● Product packaging design

 The product packaging design should also be
consistent and carry the brand’s elements at all
times.

Brand Values

Brand Values are a set of guiding principles that shape

every aspect of your business.

It is necessary to imbibe brand values because they guide

behaviors and the decision-making process of a business
and determine the brand’s message and personality.

Brand values include;

● Integrity
● Honesty
● Trust
● Accountability
● Authority
● Authenticity
● Fun
● Commitment to customers
● Passion

When you imbibe these values in delivering products or

services to customers and you are known for it, they can
help in getting and keeping customers.
 Chapter Two

Making Product To
Brand

A product is made by a company and can be purchased by

a consumer in exchange for money while brands are built
through consumer perceptions, expectations, and
experiences with all products or services under a brand
umbrella.

Products Can Be Copied and Replaced but

Brands Are Unique

A product can be copied by competitors and can be

replaced with a competitor’s product if consumers believe
the two products offer the same features and benefits.
Products with low emotional involvement are typically
easily replaced, thus the need for a great brand
personality to keep up with the evolving competition.

Products Can Become Obsolete but Brands Can

Be Timeless
With changing trends, a particular product could become
obsolete. It may have just been updated to suit customers'
needs better, but products change with time. However, a
brand could retain its identity for a time. This will help the
customers trust and relate better with the business over
time.

Products Are Instantly Meaningful but Brands

Become Meaningful over Time

It could be easy to make a new product instantly

meaningful and useful to consumers just after launching it
because it serves a specific function for them. However, a
brand is not as meaningful until consumers have a chance
to experience it, build trust with it, and believe in it. It,
therefore, takes time and effort to convince consumers to
believe in your brand.

Steps to Follow
1. Gain an understanding of who your potential
customers are and how your products can fulfill their
needs. Knowing who your customers are and how
best your product can be of use to them helps you
get insights on how to represent your brand
personality.

2. Understand the positioning and branding of

competing products. You will need to carry out
competitor research. Following the steps in the
previous chapter on competition research, you can
 then use the template below to analyze your
competition. Fill in the information then compare
yours with that of your competitors as related to the
importance to customers.

Which aspects do you rate better than your

competitors, and which ones do they rate better
than you? How important are your products or
services to the customers?

These will help you know what to do differently and

where to do better.

3. Use the information you have gotten about your

consumer and competition to determine how you
should position your brand to your target
consumers. This helps you assess how many
difficulties you are likely to face, and how much
success you will likely make. When you know what
other brands in your space are up to, what they are
offering, and what they lack, you can then set your
brand up to offer greater value to customers.
 4. Develop a name for your brand, making sure that
the name fits with the image you want to portray to
your audience.

5. Keep your slogan short and under five words long if

possible and make sure that it portrays what your
brand is about.

6. Put together the remaining elements for your brand,

including a logo, colors, font, and packaging, and
make sure that all of these items are in line with the
image you want to portray to your customers.

Your product may be great, but getting a good brand will

help you reach out to more customers. Who wants to buy
from someone they don’t trust or even understand? It will
be easier to get customers when you get them to know who
you are and what value you can offer them.

The better your brand relates with your customers, the

more enthusiastic they will be about buying from you.

So while creating an award-winning product, prepare to

create a more winning brand to create the relationship
between your business and your customers which is what
keeps them coming back and bringing more customers.
And this is the beauty of your brand.
 Chapter Three

How To Position
Your Brand

Firms use brand positioning to create an image of their

product or service in their target customers’ minds.
Positioning defines how the brand’s offering is unique: how
it provides a distinct benefit to customers.

“Positioning is not what you do to a product.

Positioning is what you do to the mind of the prospect.
That is, you position the product in the mind of the
prospect.”

Brand positioning strategies

Brand positioning is based on the following strategies;

Based on product characteristics

This deals with associating your brand with a particular
feature beneficial to customers.

Based on price
Positioning your products or services on price is
competitive pricing. Usually, with a pricing positioning
strategy, a brand aims to be the cheapest or cheapest
market, and value becomes its position.

Based on quality or luxury

Often the price and quality of a product align, certainly in
the consumer’s mind, as the high price is often associated
with high quality. However, positioning a product based on
its high quality or ‘luxury’ is different from positioning
based on price.

Based on use or application

Associating your product with a particular usage is
another way to position your brand in the market.

Based on competition
Competitor-based positioning focuses on using the
competition as a reference point for differentiation.

Levels of brand positioning

Levels of brand positioning help a brand stand out by
targeting the right audience with the best message. These
levels are;
Comparative
Comparative positioning strategies work by placing
products right next to other brands to highlight their
competitive edge.

Differentiation
Sometimes, the uniqueness of a product can’t be
duplicated, making it ideal for a differentiation strategy.

Segmentation
Sometimes, helping a product stand out requires focusing
on multiple audiences with different needs, but with the
same product.

Steps to Follow
Assess your current brand position

Your current brand positioning gives you important insight

into where to go next. You’ll need to understand your
current position to further analyze your competition.

Start by considering your target customer and defining

who they are. Next, identify your mission, values, and what
makes you different from the rest of the market.

Create a brand essence chart

Once you’ve determined where your brand stands within

the market, it’s time to consider what your brand means to
customers. A brand essence chart like this one can help
organize these ideas so that they’re clear and concise.

This chart gives a basic idea of what to consider.

Answering these questions will help you get the essence of
your brand.

Next is a more expanded chart where you can indicate

each element of your brand that gives your brand its
unique personality.
Below is a sample of the brand essence wheel created by
a brand, Rosewood.
Identify and research your competitors

After analyzing yourself, it’s important to analyze your

competition by performing competitor analysis. You can
use the template used earlier.

Once you’ve determined who your competitors are, it’s

time to conduct in-depth competitor research. You’ll need
to analyze how your competition is positioning its brand to
compete. At its simplest, your research should include:
 1. What products or services do your competitors offer
2. What their strengths and weaknesses are
3. What marketing strategies they’re using
successfully
4. What their position is in the current market

Compare your positioning to that of your

competition

You need to see who you’re up against to conduct

competitor research. That research will help you decide
what you can do better in your strategy to gain an edge.

Identify what makes your brand unique

Building a unique brand is all about identifying what

makes you different and what works best for your
business.
As you compare your product or service to your
competitors, you might find that one of their weaknesses
is your strength.

This is what makes your brand unique and is the perfect

starting point for positioning your brand in the market.
Take note of your unique offerings as you compare, and
dive deep to identify what you do better than anyone else

Build a brand positioning framework

Positioning a brand can seem overwhelming at first, but
with so many touch points it can be hard to prioritize a key
message. A brand positioning framework like this one can
help your brand positioning strategy.

Create your positioning statement

A positioning statement is a one- or two-sentence

declaration that communicates your brand’s unique value
to your customers concerning your main competitors.

There are four questions to answer before creating your

positioning statement:

● Who is your target customer?

● What’s your product or service category?
 ● What’s the greatest benefit of your product or
service?
● What’s the proof of that benefit?

From there, you can craft a simple but compelling

positioning statement.

Below is an example from Grays's Cookie.

Implement your new brand positioning

Once your positioning statement is created, it’s time to

test, experiment, and gather feedback from your
customers on whether or not your positioning achieves its
goal.

You can then establish an emotional connection with

prospects and customers, reinforce your brand’s
differentiating qualities during the sales process and
ensure that customer-facing employees embody your
brand.
Your main goal should be to help your prospect solve a
problem or overcome a challenge they are experiencing.
 Chapter Four
Marketing: Setting
Up Social Media

Digital marketing is rewarding and creates better visibility

for your business which leads to business growth and
expansion. Digital marketing requires some intense
understanding of the online space, what works and how it
works.

Online marketing tips

● Set long-term goals for your digital marketing and

keep making constant efforts to achieve those
goals. Envision what your marketing success would
be like then put everything in place and constantly
check to be sure you’re making progress and also
evaluate how much progress you’ve made over time.

● Put your brand out by creating awareness for it. You

can start with resources at your immediate disposal
 and people who you already know and expand to a
greater online audience with time.

● Optimize your content for search engines to be

found easily in searches. Search Engine
Optimization, SEO involves the use of several factors
to determine your position in search results. You can
do keyword research to know what people are
searching for in your space and include it in your
content to rank high in search results.

● Make sure your content is captivating enough. Put

out the right content, enough to not just get your
audience's attention but also keep it and make them
take the required action. Let your content be
informative and engaging.

● Know where your audience is and put more effort

into putting your business out in those places. Which
online space has more of the type of people that
could be your potential customers? Find out and
work more to expand your visibility there.

Social media is highly effective in putting your business

out and speaking of your brand. It is a great tool to
express your brand personality and relate well with your
customers and expected customers. It is free and even
services that get to be paid for cost very little.

Your online conduct is extremely important. Just like how

important customer service is offline, relating with
customers and prospective customers offline must be done
right and strategically to keep them and even expand your
reach to more.

Putting your brand out and increasing your visibility on

social media could be quite tasking. But with the right
knowledge and tools, it can be easy and productive.

Steps to Follow

Ensure your accounts are updated

Make sure all social media accounts related to your brand

are up to date with the right information about your
business. Choose the specific accounts you would be using
for your business and concentrate on growing them. Let
the accounts you are using for your brand be dedicated
strictly to the business, don’t mix it up. This way it will fully
represent your business without causing confusion or
distractions to what you want to project. Be specific about
your brand and business on the designated accounts.

Use social media tools

Several social media apps and tools can help to make

posting across social media accounts easily and faster.
You can use these tools to your advantage.
Some useful tools are Sprout, Buffer, and Hootsuite. Buffer
is the most convenient to use for the task. They
strategically connect to your social media networks and
ease the posting of content by letting you schedule content
to be posted and posted across different social networks
without having to log in to every individual network. These
tools work well with major social media networks including
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Buffer is a multi-purpose social media marketing software

tool. It helps in drafting and scheduling posts and can also
share the same across multiple social media networks like
Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. It
also helps in reporting and monitoring activities across
social media.

Buffer has three separate features which are different

products, but you can access all three features once you
sign up and link them together.

These features are;

● Buffer Publishing, which is the main feature where

you can schedule and share posts across social
media networks.

● Buffer Analytics has a social media reporting

function where you can see the performance of all
your social media posts.
 ● Buffer Engagement, which helps to monitor
engagements and conversations on social media
posts and reply to certain conversations.

With this tool, you can navigate all your social media
accounts with ease and also keep track of your
interactions easily.

Buffer set up
Be regular but strategic

Share content regularly, but do not overdo it. Keep posting

schedules strategic for specific content and set times for
posting each content.

Import Your Contacts

There could be a lot of people you already know who are

likely on the social media networks you’re using. You can
therefore import your email contacts from Gmail or
Outlook and also your phone contacts to your social media
networks.
Act positive and be engaging

Ensure to keep your posts positive. Avoid any post that will
not speak well of your brand. Also, make your posts
engaging enough to attract people to them.

Join relevant groups

There are opportunities to join groups focused on specific

industries or topics on Facebook and LinkedIn. You can
search on each network to find groups that are related to
your specific area of expertise, you can then share your
insights and build authority around your brand.

Be consistent with tone and image

It is of utmost importance to remain consistent with your

ideas and the way you present them so that people can
relate well to your brand personality and trust your brand.

Find influencers and connect with them

Connecting and collaborating with influencers is a great

way to get your brand known. Find influencers who will
make a positive impact on your brand and connect with
them to help expand your visibility and trust on social
media.
Understand the fundamentals

The best way to build your brand on social media is to

understand the fundamentals. You will therefore need to
take a course or even more to learn the basics.

Alternatively, you can hire an expert to do the work for

you. Just be sure you are not working out of assumptions,
but with the right knowledge.
 Chapter Five

Sales: Get More

Leads
To level up your business and increase your reach to
customers, you must learn how to generate business leads.

Lead generation entails getting customers interested in

your business. It involves starting conversations with
prospective customers and getting them to provide you
with their contact information such that you can constantly
reach out to them with your business.

Steps to follow

Engaging directly
If you find that some prospects could be a good fit for your
business, you can reach out to them directly through social
media, email, phone, or even in person.
Advertise for a bigger audience
You do not have to restrict your brand to social media, you
can use Google or Bing to advertise your brand. This will
create a wider reach to more prospective customers.

Requesting referrals
If a current customer is delighted about your product or
service, you can ask them to share their experience with
their friends who also might benefit.

Optimized content to rank

Make sure your target audience can easily find you when
they search for your product or services online. Make sure
your content is optimized. Use the right keywords in all
your content and make them engaging enough with the
right information.

Join forums
Answering forum questions helps to show that you have
expertise in a particular subject matter. Join forums that
are related to your business, and answer questions that
relate to your products or services. You can then indicate
how your business can help in solving the problem posed
by the question. This way people can reach out to you to
get the solution.

Freebie & lead magnet

Everyone loves free things. Your prospects will appreciate
a free offer too. You can offer a free item that will be of
help to the users but also give them the need to get your
products or services. It could just be to solve a part of their
problem which will leave your business to solve the rest.

Make offers for emails

You can make offers to your email list if you have any.
Also, you can collaborate with other complementary
businesses in your space and make offers to their email
lists. This will in turn help to expand your email list.

Using several basic strategies and marketing tactics, you

can use these to your advantage to increase your sales
online, build trust and loyalty for your brand and expand
your business' reach to customers.

Steps to get more sales

Understand your audience

You must understand your customers and prospective
customers to get your decisions about your products or
services and also your marketing activities right.

Use every conversation opportunity you get with your

customers to find out more about their preferences. Ask
questions about their choices and why those choices, if
they’d have alternatives, and every other relevant
question that would give you the necessary information
about your customers as regards your business.

Find out how customers find you

It is important to know how customers who make
purchases from your online store find your online store.
You can use Google Analytics for this research. This will
help you know where to concentrate your efforts in
marketing your business.

Make customers' experience simple

Make it easy for customers to access their needs and even
easier for them to make purchases. Whether on your
website or elsewhere, ensure every process from finding
the desired product to paying for it and getting it is well
simplified.

For websites, ensure to fix the search feature, product

navigation, and checkout. Always be certain that the
process is easy enough so as not to frustrate a customer’s
efforts which will eventually turn them off.

Offer great services to customers

Every customer will appreciate good customer service.
Make sure to know the needs of customers and meet their
demands as much as possible. Find out their challenges
and offer timely solutions. Offer clarity for any confusion
they may have. You can create a section to answer some
frequently asked questions about your business. Also,
make sure to be within easy reach and be prompt in
responding to them.

Ensure HQ service presentation

Showing your products or services clearly with the right
visual representation is extremely important. Make sure
your products appear in photos exactly as they are. This
way, your customers are certain to get exactly what they
wanted and this will create a greater trust for your
business and integrity for your brand.
 Chapter Six

Setting Up CRM

Customers appreciate a customized client experience

taking care of their individual needs. And if you must meet
their demands, you need to comprehend what their
specific wants and needs are, and you should comprehend
how to follow through on these prerequisites better than
your competitors.

The CRM cycle is a technique for keeping each client

collaboration customized and significant. A Customer
Relationship Management System(CRM System) gives the
information and functionalities you need to execute this
methodology and eventually transform leads into
customers.

You must comprehend the CRM cycle to know what this

means completely.

The CRM cycle comprises marketing, customer service,

and sales activities. It begins with effort and obtaining
customers and also prompts customer dependability.

There are five critical stages in the CRM cycle which are:
● Arriving at a possible client
● Client securing
 ● Client conversion
● Client maintenance
● Client dedication

The CRM cycle is that idea in real life. It is the unmistakable

advances that a business should take to assist with driving
prospective customers through the process of finding out
about your brand and eventually becoming steadfast
clients.

The steps in the CRM process

Create substantial awareness

The most vital phase in obtaining new clients is to acquaint
them with your business. The marketing team by and large
takes on this errand utilizing various measures which
incorporate; finding out about your main interest group,
sectioning the interest group, and creating campaigns for
marketing that address the target audience.

Acquire sustainable leads

Acquainting your brand with a potential client is just a step
in the CRM process. From that point, you need to urge them
to find out about your business and draw in with it.

Convert your leads into customers

After effectively captivating your leads and getting them
intrigued, you then work on converting those leads into
your customers.
Utilize your CRM’s dashboard to assist you with making
sure to follow up so that all your leads are well
communicated to and none is missed.

Provide prevalent customer support

If you must grow your business then you should be able to
retain customers. With the right CRM, you have the client
data and every other tool you need to determine a
customer’s challenge fast and easily too. This gives room
for an effective and productive experience for both you
and the customer.

Upgrade products with time

As time goes on, you may want to upgrade to other
products that cost more and also upgrade the standards
of your products and services. Set updates in your CRM to
consistently connect with consistent clients to know
whether there is a way you could work on how you render
services to them or even your products. They might have
had different needs since the last time you talked, and they
might be prepared to purchase your upgraded products or
services.

With a CRM cycle, making and keeping customers is no

longer an abstract thought. The right CRM empowers you
to make a conscious, customized experience that normally
increases how many leads you get to your sales pipeline.

Once you have the right CRM tool and all your customer
data, it makes the whole cycle easy to execute. The least
expensive choice of which is Zoho CRM.
Zoho CRM is an online sales CRM software that manages
sales, marketing, and support in one CRM platform.

Zoho CRM automates business processes so you don’t

have to repeat certain tasks.

With Zoho CRM, you get notifications when customers

interact with your business.

It also has other helpful tools that you can access easily
from the top navigation menu. These include Feeds where
the team members can communicate and share views like
they’re all in one office. This is useful in speeding up
decision-making processes.

There are also notifications for any changes made to a

substantial lead or deal you have been following.

The modular dashboard-building Canvas design studio

tool is also available and is used to create custom solutions
easily for yourself and other departments across your
business.

Altogether, Zoho CRM offers valuable tools that help in

remote teams, automating tasks and further developing
correspondence with ongoing notifications and follow-up
prompts.
Zoho CRM software consulting services
Functional overview of Zoho CRM software

Zoho CRM software setup

Integrating Zoho CRM with WordPress
 Chapter Seven

Automation Software
Automation can be beneficial to brands that are frequently
ready to respond to recent trends quicker. No matter the
size of a brand, they can make their automated cycles to
transform their business and make it more useful,
proficient, and productive.

Five key steps to automation

Choose which tasks to automate

Picking the right tasks to automate is vital. To start with,
you need to comprehend how automation functions and
what it fits because most of the tasks you can automate,
you likely shouldn’t. There are loads of tools for
automating translation, website design, content creation,
and other similar tasks, however, the majority of them
don’t yield the ideal outcomes.

You should automate tasks that are repetitive, time-

consuming, and easy for algorithms to handle accurately
without your input. Tasks like:

● Distributing WordPress posts on Twitter at explicit

times
 ● Mass picture resizing and enhancement
● Analytics reports
● Sending invoices whenever tasks are finished
● Scoring leads in light of client activities
● Monitoring email reactions for various lead scores
● Contacting existing clients

When you understand what automation can or can’t do

you will begin to consider better procedures that don’t only
save time and money but also change your business
completely for the best.

Choose automation tools

When you realize which tasks you will automate, next is to
pick the tools you will use for each part of what you’re
going to deal with.

Set targets
Before you set up any work processes, ensure you set
explicit focuses on what you can use to measure
achievement and refine your cycles. The set focuses on
each quarter and utilizes these as a benchmark to check
for positive outcomes.

Track results and refine processes

Without following outcomes and refining our work process,
we’d have no clue about how much more this strategy
could be adding to our efficiency.
Start small and build from there
The key to automation is to begin little and build your work
processes in the long run. Execute your most memorable
cycles, track results and refine your work processes for
better execution before you begin adding a larger number
or more intricate automation.

Design Software
There are a whole lot of automation platforms available
now so it could become difficult to know where to begin,
so here are some recommendations for the most common
business automation tasks:

Basic automation: Zapier

Zapier is a simple automation tool that creates automation
between other business tools. You can use it to automate
Google Calendar entries from Trello cards, add or update
ActiveCampaign contacts from Facebook and MailChimp
leads, and create all kinds of time-saving automation.
 Zapier setup

Workflow setup on Zapier

 Zapier workflow with Zoho

Social media: Buffer

Social media posting is one of the first marketing tasks you
should automate and Buffer is a great tool to manage
most of our social media activity. You may not have to
automate everything, however, for example, one-to-one
interactions, but tasks like publishing posts, scheduling,
and reposting can all be automated.

Content: Grammarly
Modern businesses need to produce a lot of content. And
with the bulk of content being created, there are high
chances of making a whole lot of mistakes or errors in the
content. This could give a negative view of your brand.
Grammarly may not make your writing perfect but it saves
you from basic errors like spelling and grammar mistakes
that can make people question the credibility of your
business.

Scheduling: Calendly
Calendly eliminates the time-to-time sending of emails for
arranging meetings, phone calls, and other appointments.

All you need to do is set your availability preferences in

Calendly for your meetings and place a link in your email
invitation. The recipient then chooses which time suits
them and the event will then be automatically added to
your calendar.

Accounting: Xero
Xero helps to minimize the responsibility of accounting
with features like automated invoices, scheduled
payments, and cash flow management.

This piece of software has a lot of features which are all

designed to ease managing money for small businesses.

Automation is not reserved just for big businesses, and the

selection of tools designed for smaller enterprises is only
going to increase as time goes by.
 Chapter Eight

Marketplace Listings
The marketplace has a lot of advantages over other online
selling platforms which include easy usability and a lack of
obscurity.

Steps to Follow

Set reasonable prices

You can search for similar items in your area, observe the
competition, and then set your price ranges.

Ensure HQ photos
One of the most amazing ways to be sure that your
product sells rapidly is to give excellent photographs to
draw in prospective buyers to what the thing looks like.

HQ Product Description
Offer as many details as possible about the product
beforehand to reduce further questioning from potential
buyers.
Give quick responses
Respond to interested persons as soon as possible to give
answers to their questions or for price negotiations.
Delayed responses of up to 24 hours can make potential
buyers go to purchase a similar item from another seller.

Be open to negotiations
It’s usually best to be flexible with pricing and accept
reasonable offers instead of waiting for a few dollars
more.

Offer delivery
Consider including delivery of your products. You can even
offer free delivery for larger pieces.

Be realistic and patient

Some items are in high demand and will sell quickly, other
times you may have to wait for some time. Be patient
through the process. Also, consider renewing your listing
periodically so that it can reach a new set of prospective
buyers.
Marketplace Ads

Marketplace ads help to create awareness for your

business. You do not know all the people that need your
products or services, so you may not possibly reach out to
them all just from your own space.

Your contacts may be of great thrust to your online

presence growth, but marketplace ads help to get your
business out to people who you don’t know but are much
more likely to need your products or services, and this
could be a bigger audience.

When you create an ad in Meta Ads Manager, you can

have your ad appear in the Marketplace to reach more
people.

Steps to Follow

● Go to Ads Manager and choose Brand Awareness,

Reach, Traffic, Video views, Lead Generation, Event
responses, Messages, Conversions, Catalog sales or
Store traffic as your ad objective. Then click
Continue.
● Choose your Destination.
● Choose your Audience and define your targeting.
 ● Choose Advantage+ placements or Manual
placements.
● We recommend Advantage+ placements. If you
choose Manual placements, keep in mind that
Marketplace isn’t available as single ad placement
and your ad campaign must include Feed.
● Set your Budget and Schedule. Click Next when
you’re done.
● Choose your ad’s creative format.
● The recommended video and image specs are the
same as Feed. Keep in mind you can’t crop or upload
unique creative for ads in Marketplace.
● When you’re finished setting up your ad, click
Publish.

Once your ad is reviewed and approved, people can see it

when they browse the Marketplace.

Marketplace ads are effective in helping your medium or

small business grow.
 Chapter Nine

Hire The Right Team

You may want to grow your online business and need to

hire a team to work with. This could be a tricky step
because you will want someone who can do some thinking
for himself and at the same time also win for the team.

You must remember first that your online business is still a

business despite the medium and style of delivery may be
different.

If you never seem to be able to find the right staff or

creatives to work with you, you may consider hiring with a
different approach.

Steps to attract the right employees

● Be very clear about your mission and what you hope
to accomplish
● Build a genuine personal brand enough for people to
want to rally around.
● Share content that speaks your brand message
clearly
● Tell stories of your business and be sure they’re
impactful
 ● Give constructive feedback, not complaints and
bullying

Your ability to attract and retain valuable people in your

online business depends on your brand.

What to look for when hiring

Technical competence
Be clear on what specific skills are needed for the job and
ensure to hire the person with the required expertise.

Attitude
You must know exactly what type of attitudes and values
you’re looking for. Look for values that will fit your
business culture.

You can assess this by holding several conversations with

the candidate, their past employer, and other references.

Interviews may be quite tough because people could lie

during interviews and not a single question can always
predict who the best candidates would be.

Finding great staff is always a challenge but Breezy is a

software that can help you organize and manage
candidates for all positions, across different stages of the
interview process.
 Employee sorting with Breezy

Tracking employee communication

People often worry about asking the right questions, but
the questions are not as important as the information you
get from the answers about:

● What the candidate would possibly be like at your

business?
● What it would be like to work with the candidate
every day.
● Their core values and work ethics.

To get these, you need to listen to how they say what they
say, and also that which they choose not to say.

Also, consider the most important skills to your business.

An employee may need industry knowledge more than
leadership experience. There are some attributes you can
teach your team and others you can’t teach. So consider
each of these while hirings.

You may likely get it wrong at one point or another, but

don’t let the fear of hiring the wrong person keep you from
hiring.
 Chapter Ten

Get to Profitability
To get profitability for your online business, you will need
to pay close attention to details and create new and better
strategies to increase proficiency.

Steps to increase profitability

Four key areas can help increase profitability. These are;

● Reducing costs
● Increasing turnover
● Increasing productivity
● Increasing efficiency

You can also expand into new markets or develop new

products or services.

Steps to assess the profitability

1. Manage your costs
2. Review your offer
 3. Concentrate your sales efforts
4. Expand your market
5. Boost productivity

Customer To Fan (Re-sales)

Every brand delights in keeping customers satisfied. And it
is satisfactory to know your clients speak well of your
brand. Nonetheless, you should not stop there, make
efforts towards converting these satisfied customers into
brand fans and advocates. This will help in attracting new
customers in the process.

Steps to make your customers fans

Deliver services to them proactively

Always try to be a step ahead of customers. This can be in
keeping customers informed, simplifying things for them
with advanced service features, or any other thing that
could be of utmost help to them.

Make them feel appreciated

You can appreciate your customers through rewards,
promotions, discounts, and special events. This shows that
your relationship is not just transactional.

Offer loyalty programs

You can show loyalty to customers by offering a loyalty
program with discounts or upgrades based on their
purchase history. You can also welcome new customers
with a discount after their first purchase.

Offer referral programs

Referral programs help a lot in pleasing current customers
while attracting new ones.

Engage on social media

Use every opportunity to build stronger relationships with
your clients. Thank them for their comments and engage
them in marketing campaigns. Also, address every
challenge they may have to show that your brand is
genuinely addressing customer concerns.

Be active on several channels

Being more active on social media makes it more likely to
reach your fans. You may not be on every network, but try
to be on more than one. Try testing to find out where your
fans are, and focus more efforts on those channels.

Give something to talk about

Share some exciting news and maybe one-time-only
discounts with your fans first. Hold special shopping events
for fans only and give them special access to your
products. You can then encourage them to share the word
to their networks such that their friends can get in too.
Personalize experiences
Always address customers by name in service interactions
and any marketing offers, and also keep the tone friendly
and approachable. Also, keeping customers informed in
good time will go a long way in gaining their loyalty. Treat
every customer as a valued person whose time counts.

Ask for feedback

Ask for customers’ feedback through periodic surveys and
other channels to improve your services. Don’t neglect
social media channels too and also encourage them to
post comments and some content such as videos or
testimonials just to show their love for your brand.

Getting customers through the marketing funnel could be

a great undertaking, and keeping them satisfied and
engaged will surely transform them into fans and brand
advocates who will help market your business by sharing
your brand with all their friends.
 Conclusion
Taking your offline business online may be tasking and
require you to do a whole lot to make it successful.

But it is worthwhile because your online presence creates

room for greater sales. You are no longer restricted by
time, distance, or physical presence.

Crafting an online store that uses live commerce tools is an

excellent move to raise brand awareness, build credibility,
and sell all around the clock.

Transitioning your business from offline to online is the

best way to stay current in today’s unpredictable market.
Businesses need as many streams as possible should any
unexpected situation arise. Many benefits of selling online
extend beyond just being prepared for a future crisis.

Online retail stores allow you to reach new customers in

markets far from the local area that your business
services. It also allows shoppers to make purchases when
it best suits them, letting them make purchases all day,
beyond the hours of your offline store. Additionally,
operating an online store can save you money in overhead
costs compared to your traditional store and allows you to
streamline your advertising.

With the world going all digital and a majority of people

online, you can not afford to not take your business online.
The bulk of social media users is an exquisite target
market you should harness for your business.
You no longer have to be limited to the confines of an
offline store. The greater barriers to reaching a bigger
audience for your business have been cleared and all you
need to do is get things done right.

With the right information, ideas and tools put together,

you can effectively take your offline business online and
make more sales. A lot of the work has been done for you
already. You will then need to understand what more
needs to be done and implement it to give your business a
new leap.

Creating an online presence for your business now

depends on you. It is on you to decide what you want your
business to look like, and how you want to present yourself
to customers. Always remember customers interact with
your business based on how you present it to them.

Always make sure your online personality resonates with

your offline business to deliver the best to customers which
will in turn build your channels and help your business
grow.

Taking your offline business online should be a stepping

stone to your business' next success story.

Delay is indeed not worth the risk, and not implementing it

at all is a bigger risk. You can always start small and grow
as you understand the online market better.

Once you understand more of the strategies and tactics

and make good progress with business online, you can
then expand your online presence and widen the scope of
your business online.
This is a sure way to drive more sales to your business,
create steady growth over time and help you achieve
higher goals to take your business to the desired heights
and more.

There is certainly no excuse to wait till later, you can start

with what you have, whatever it is. There are even a lot of
free tools to use. Start now, don’t stop, and grow big. Take
your business to the lengths you envision and make that
achievement. Success is certain if you are persistent and
consistent with the practices.

Best wishes.