Education is the key. It is key to accepting new ideas, trusting in the people you hire to do work for you and it is pivotal to understanding how to move your business forward in previously unknown areas. Without education or the commitment to devote appropriate time for a willingness to learn; you have ignorance, distrust and a perpetual state of misunderstanding that creates chaos.
Education allows you to have realistic expectations for your end goals. It also perpetuates open lines of communication with service or product providers. When you have a basic comprehension of the standard operating procedures for the products and services your vendors provide, which may have otherwise been foreign to you; then their processes, language and timelines are no longer issues.
When businesses fail to be coachable in specific areas that are unfamiliar to them, false levels of perceived success or achievement may be defined. You are then left with a vision that is as permanent as an oasis in the desert. It is is seemingly concrete and there in front of you one minute and gone the next. It sustains itself with miscommunication and unrealistic expectations. And finally, it results in something that simply isn’t there and confrontation may arise.
This malady has never been as evident as it is currently in the small business world, especially as it pertains to the web, social media and SEO development. Somehow misguided companies are imagining that they are vying for the same type of results, regardless of whether they have an understanding of the rules of the game or they are just stepping onto the field for the first time. They have been lulled into a state of false euphoria by the media and the slick marketeers; believing that if they show up to play, they are in the same ball field as the “Major League” players. It simply isn’t true. Saturation ability, budgets and diversity of placement all play a demonstrative role.
Can a small business make a huge impact on the web and their see an increase in overall business? With over 6.7 billion internet users worldwide, according to Nielsen NetRatings, they absolutely can! But with 156 million websites currently residing on the web and with thousands being launched daily; how could anyone really believe that if you simply build a site, or show up to play the game . . .they will come. They . . .being the customers. It takes a greater understanding of the process and strategic planning and collateral marketing to make the process congeal.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a must in today’s Internet environment and the awareness it brings to any given site, is made up of multiple factors. Without it, the most comprehensive website is merely a pretty picture on the web. How long you have had your domain name; how often you change your content information, images and key words; how readily accessible you are to common language; and who your competition is; are all merely a few of the factors that make up a part of a very complex equation.
It takes a maturation process to achieve results in any business. And on the Internet it is no different. In the South, they call it “weathering”. Your website must “weather” the storms of people wondering: (1) where have you come from, (2) whether you’ll be in business next year, (3) who has worked with you, (4) who do you know and (5) WHO KNOWS YOU! You may even have to educate the public on where are you going and what you seek to achieve. You may even have to prove whether your website is a credible commodity! Scams and urban Legends just by the existence, have tainted the process that businesses have to go through to ensure the public that they are good and honest businesses.
These are not new facts. With the advent of the Internet, your product or message may be delivered in new ways and are facilitated at lightening speed but success is still realized through solid, concrete elements of what constitutes good business and superior marketing . Results do not happen overnight. And in the case of SEO and website development, they usually take a good 12 to 18 weeks to even germinate an existence.
If you are in business and you do not yet know these factors, it is incumbent upon you to educate yourself and find out. No longer are we sitting in a world where knowledge is portioned out to a select few. Common sense must prevail over wishes and dreams. And residing in a state of denial is no longer an excuse.
There is nothing wrong with believing that by putting yourself on the web, you will realize your business dreams; but there is something flawed with the idea that if you build it . . . they will come. Doing business on the web takes the same diligence and educated approach as any other type of medium. You need to be educated on its strengths, its weaknesses and its pitfalls. Once you elevate your level of understanding, then and only then, can you play with the Major Leaguers and step onto your Field of Dreams.
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