5 Ways to Effectively Scale Your Online Business

Is your online business growing so fast that you’re having trouble keeping up with your customers’ demands and expectations? Or perhaps, have you already hit a growth plateau and you’re now figuring out what to do next?

Scaling is the answer.

Successful businesses will tell you that scaling is one of the most effective ways to grow your brand and keep your customers happy – and yes, we agree 100%.

Scaling an online business isn’t actually a complicated task. Unlike in the traditional brick-and-mortar operation, you don’t have to scout extra storefronts or waste your time looking for more physical space since your business is mostly virtual.

If you’re new to scaling, or you’ve done it a couple of times but weren’t able to see great results, then you’re at the right place. Below are five proven ways to successfully scale your online business:

1. Automate Manual Processes

Automation is a vital element for just about any business out there. It helps save time and reduce overhead costs. No doubt, it’s going to do wonders for you!

Thanks to automation, you can focus your time and energy on the most important tasks of running an online business. You may leave the rest to your automation tools.

Evaluate which minor areas usually take up much of your time, and try to find the tools that are designed to automate them.

For instance, many marketers rely on platforms like Buffer or Hootsuite to automate their social media management. Conversational support can be automated using Verloop.io and Jumplead. As for email automation, you can bank on Mailchimp and Hubspot to get the job done.

2. Monitor Your Analytics

There’s no better way to get direct insight into your progress than by monitoring the performance of your business.

The first metric to analyze is your sales performance. A strong sales performance means you’re on the right track. It serves as a key indicator of your scalability, as it reflects the health of your business.

Do you see healthy trends? Are your sales growing fast or are they moving slowly? What could be the possible attributions?

Of course, you’ll want to pay attention to other metrics as well. Here are three others:

• Product performance: What are your bestselling products? Have you thought about expanding your product line?
• E-commerce conversion: Are most of your customers online or offline? Where do they normally buy?
• Cost-per-lead (CPL): How much does it cost to generate your leads?
• Cost-per-sale (CPS): Where is your lowest CPS coming from? What can you do to generate more sales from that avenue?

3. Expand Your Global Options

Think you’re more than ready to take your online business to the next level?

Well, here’s an idea you might like to hear: Introduce it to the global market.

Many entrepreneurs started out catering to one geographic region only. They’d sell their products in their own country so they can skip the hassles of accepting different currencies, nor do they have to find ways to manage shipping and taxes.

However, by the time they realized that they’re capable of doing so much more, they’ve decided to go international. For sure, that decision made a lasting impact on their business. You should definitely consider following suit.

Selling to the global market isn’t as intimidating as it sounds. All you need is to have the right tools and resources.

In fact, with platforms such as Macquarie Data Centres, you’ll be able to manage your business as smoothly as you can ever imagine. With it, you can display your store in almost any language and accept payments in almost every currency.

You don’t have to worry about international online transactions either. You can integrate with PayPal, Stripe, or other gateways without having to spend a penny for transaction fees.

And, in terms of international shipping, you can do it by collaborating with a number of providers across the world. Before you agree to their terms, though, be sure to check into country-based rules and regulations.

4. Take Advantage of Media Exposure

Scaling your online business means having to promote it constantly. You’ll need to explore new markets and reach out to new people who can potentially turn into loyal subscribers and buyers.

Help a Reporter Out, or HARO, is one of the best platforms you can use to get the word out about your brand. It gives businesses an opportunity to gain exposure by simply having them sign up.

With around 50,000 journalists and bloggers seeking insights from experts for their content, there’s a good chance that you’ll get discovered if you’re actively participating. By adding yourself to the HARO database, interested writers might approach you for your opinion or comment regarding a specific issue of your expertise.

The more knowledgeable you are, the more attention you’ll be garnering. This could get your business in the spotlight.

Then again, there are several other ways you can do to get noticed by your ideal audience. Depending on the nature of your business, you can:

• Write guest posts for well-established brands
• Run social media ads
• Invest in an SEO services company to get your website to improve online visibility
• Pitch your business to public relations firms
• Reach out to influencers you can partner with

5. Make It Incredibly Convenient for Your Customers to Purchase

You’ll be shocked to learn how prospects would make their visitors jump through different hoops just to make a purchase. If you’re guilty of such, don’t worry – your secret’s safe with us!

To give your customers the best online shopping experience, be sure to ask yourself these questions:

• Can they check out in as few clicks as possible?
• Which payment methods do you accept?
• What’s your return process?
• How fast does your website load?
• Is your website mobile-friendly?

These questions can help you think about what you do well and which areas need improvement. That way, the next time shoppers check out your website, they’ll be amazed by how ridiculously smooth-sailing the entire buying process is.

Get Your Scale On!

Whether you’re selling stuff online, provide online courses, or offer small business loan fast, these tips will no doubt scale your growing business and put you ahead of the competition.