If you have a remote business, it’s very likely that on top of your employees working entirely online, a lot of your clients are primarily interacting with your business online as well. In this way, it’s important to understand not only how working remotely will impact your business, but also how to use it to your advantage.
A multi-faceted approach, while complex, can often be the best way to do things. So your approach needs to include both employee satisfaction and customer/client satisfaction.
Increase Employee Engagement
Working remotely has actually been proven to increase employee engagement when done correctly. There are several ways that this can be achieved. One way is through building communication channels to create clear, open communication. Everyone needs to be on the same page in regard to the company’s goals, values, and trajectory. When employees are kept on a need-to-know basis, they check out very quickly.
You also need to recognize that while remote work allows employees to better balance their home and work lives, they may also struggle with separating the two. Be understanding of outside distractions that may not be present in the workplace, and also organize regular meetings to ensure that everyone is making progress and to see if anyone requires further assistance.
Project Management System
The other thing you need in order to retain high employee engagement is the correct tools that work best for your team. There are many management tools and systems to choose from, and they can ensure that everyone communicates well, can work on projects, and you can see progress. You also need to make sure that people are using the tools that you set up. There’s no point in implementing Slack and then no one uses it.
In addition, having SMART goals and being clear in your key performance indicators will help everyone work more efficiently and effectively.
Finesse Your Website
Now to look more outwardly towards your customers or clientele, the first thing you need is a website that works well. It needs to be easy to navigate, not have any glitches. In other words, it needs to allow for a good user experience.
It also needs to be mobile-friendly as the majority of the people accessing your website will be doing so from their phone rather than from a desktop.
Customer Personalization
With the rise in online businesses, people are becoming picker and are searching for businesses that cater to their specific needs. Something that you can do to maximize upon this need is to use Google analytics to see which parts of your website are bringing in the most engagement. You can also look into the communities and other types of content that your consumer-base are most likely to interact with, and then personalize your services from there.
When it comes to your existing clientele, schedule more interactions with clients and would-be clients than you did when you met them in person. Often people may lose touch with you because you are remote, so it’s important to make sure that this doesn’t happen.
Of course, pay-per-click advertising is another way that you can keep company costs down while also appealing to your target market.
Focus on Content Marketing
Beyond customizing your business for your consumers, you’ll want to focus on content marketing to increase interest in the products or services that your business offers. You’ll want to create a content marketing strategy to understand what kinds of content works best for your target market, the budget you’ll need, and how often you should be posting.
Content marketing includes but is not limited to, creating a blog, having a social media presence and using email marketing. This way, you are reaching out to your customers in the same way that they are finding you, online.
You can also work towards getting into the world of influencer marketing. Using an influencer to help drive customers towards your business is a great way to increase interest in your products or services. The followers of influencers tend to have very niche interests. These are interests that you can market towards.
Lauren Schwartz | Staff Writer
