An Accenture study conducted back in 2017, revealed that consumers were weary of companies that failed to deliver a favorable customer experience. Further examination dove deeper and it was discovered that as much as 44 percent of consumers were specifically dissatisfied with companies who missed the mark in providing “relevant, personal shopping experiences”.
Almost half (49 percent) were very concerned about personal data privacy. Both this double whammy of lack of trust and relevant personalization came with a high cost of $756 billion for U.S. companies. These organizations simply did not have the deep consumer insight necessary to deliver and meet the experiences that consumers were desiring.
This massive loss should be an eye-opener for companies so that they can re-prioritize investing in the necessary tools to both acquire and retain customers.
The Tools Necessary To Run A Profitable Website
It’s never enough just to create a website, only to launch it and hope for the best. As you will soon discover, running a successful and profitable website has a lot of moving parts. However, with the right tools and solutions, many of these tasks can be automated, helping you focus more on growing both your business and your profit.
Here are a few tools to consider using on your website:
1. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is considered one of the most powerful and effective analytic services in existence. With this tool, you can easily analyze your traffic. It can reveal demographic information (gender and age). You can also see who has visited your website, whether a newcomer or a returning visitor.
2. Mention
With a “user-friendly interface”, Mention is a great tool that takes care of social media and web monitoring. Its free plan enables you to track up to 500 mentions per month for your brand name. If you want to be able to track more than that, then you can consider using their Pro Plan which starts off at $29 per month.
Mention is a great time-saver since you can retweet mentions and you can like or share positive mentions on a Facebook page. You can even send mentions through e-mail. Alerts are delivered quickly. You have the ability to preview the results on the screen as well.
3. SEMrush
SEMrush is another powerful tool that enables SEO experts and website owners to research relevant information for their clients. With this tool, you are able to see the full picture. You will be able to determine the best keywords, “outrank” competitors, look into their website traffic, identify all of a site’s issues, and so much more.
4. Ahrefs
By using Ahrefs, webmasters are able to analyze a link profile, get the latest update on a current link status of a website, and assist you in understanding both your content, as well as your competitors.
Within the Ahrefs suite, you will be able to find Batch Analysis, Keyword Analysis, Site Explorer, Backlinks Report, Competition Analysis Tools, and Domain Comparison. If you are an SEO newbie, that is not a problem. The program is relatively easy to comprehend.
5. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is known as an all-inclusive, cloud-based SEO service that reduces time on producing reports and assists in the preparation, analysis, and adjustment of marketing tactics and development projects.
Other great features included in SE Ranking are backlink monitoring, keyword suggestions, social management, and website auditing. It can also facilitate the running of your marketing campaigns, regardless of the complexity.
6. Piktochart
Piktochart is an online infographics creator that is very user-friendly. It is the perfect tool for those who are not graphic designers to create very basic graphic designs. If time and your budget do not allow for a very fancy graphic, then Piktochart can be the best choice for getting the job done.
With Piktochart, you can create maps, videos, charts, and even an autosave feature, just in case you forget to save your creation. You can try it out for free, however, it will only give you access to the most basic features. If you want more, consider signing up for the Pro version in order to have access to all of its features.
7. Payment Gateway
Of course, if you do not have a way to take payments, your business will not keep its doors open for long. In order to truly maximize profits and keep your customers happy, you must invest in a simple payment system, such as a payment gateway.
The bare minimum that customers expect is to be able to enter their sensitive payment information without having to worry about fraud or network snafus. Many customers abandon their online carts due to a poor payment experience. Providing an easy way for customers to make their payments will help you sidestep this problem, which will mean you can sell more products.
With The Right Tools, Your Business Will Grow
One of the most difficult aspects of growing a profitable online business is finding and retaining customers. Customers are the lifeblood of your business. By implementing the aforementioned tools and resources, you will get a more accurate view of who your customers are and what their pain points are.
Once you have determined this valuable information, the next step is to have the right tools to process their payments. Ensuring that it is both a safe and seamless experience. Happy customers usually translate into returning customers.