A business thrives off its ability to streamline the consumer’s entry into it. How quickly you can get their attention, win them over, and get them to commit is what marketing and sales are all about. A key ingredient that plays into that whole process is approachability, but there are some major mistakes that many businesses, especially online ones, are making in this regard. Here are a few of the biggies.

Your Site Is Sketch

If your website is hard to find, poorly designed, or lacks some of the most basic features a website should have, it’s time to either go back to the drawing board or hire a professional web designer. Most important of all is ensuring that you take the step of securing your website. Most online consumers know to look for the little padlock sign or the “https” in the URL bar nowadays.

People Can’t Pay You

Believe it or not, people wanting to pay you can become a problem when you don’t accept their preferred methods of payment. From Paypal to Bitcoin, there are a lot of different ones and you shouldn’t feel obligated to accept every single one. However, you can accept virtual payments with a virtual terminal that caters to the majority of most widely used methods. Otherwise, you could be creating an additional barrier for customers are already committed, mentally, to going through a purchase, only to be blocked by a seemingly arbitrary declining of their preferred payment method.

There Are No Examples to Follow

On the internet, people often look for the signs that they’re dealing with a trustworthy business before throwing their money at them. In most cases, this means looking at the experiences of past customers. However, if you have no reviews, no social media presence, and no reputation, it’s even sketchier than having a bad brand. Make sure you’re taking the time to build lasting relationships with existing customers. Not only could you be building the repeat customers who make your business sustainable but you are also help with the word of mouth and positive social proof side of your own marketing efforts.

You’re Not Treating Your Employees Well Enough

If you have employees on the front lines, whether on the phone, on the front desk, or on the cash register, don’t underestimate the importance of their role. In any marketing 101 course, you learn that positive, engaged front-facing employees are one of the most significant keys to profit. A happy team makes happy customers, providing the products and services support it. If your employees don’t seem as engaged or as happy with their work as they could be, then you should be looking at the ways that you could treat them better and offer them some job satisfaction.

Invest a little time into your approachability. It will give customers the confidence to give you a try, which gives you the opportunity to win them over. Once you have that, the ball’s in your court.