5 Essential Things You Need When Launching Your Business
You’ve done it – after months (if not years) of planning, you’re finally ready to launch your business! It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that your hard work is about to pay off. To ensure a successful launch, however, there are several essential factors that could make or break your new venture, with many of them overlooked. In this article, we’ll explore five key elements you need when launching a new business and how Sprint Online can help you achieve your goals.
Brand Identity
Before launching your business, it’s important to have a clear and cohesive brand identity. Identify your USP (unique selling point) and target audience, and craft a compelling brand story to help you stand out from the crowd. This step is essential; not only does it help you identify your business goals, but it assists your audience in understanding who you are as a business and what your values are.
A consistent and cohesive brand image is crucial across all touchpoints including your website, logo, visuals and messaging. Your brand identity should represent your company in a way that is recognisable to your audience and aligns with the type of business you are in.
Professional Website
In today’s digital world, a professional website is one of the biggest and most important investments you can make for your business. Your website serves as your online storefront, providing information about your products or services and acting as a platform for customer engagement. It's the first impression many potential customers will have of your brand, so it needs to be visually appealing, user-friendly, and optimised for search engines.
There are many platforms available that provide easy ways to create business websites for all niches. However, constructing a website from scratch can be an overwhelming and often time-consuming process if you’re trying to run your business at the same time. There’s so much to consider; what colours should you use? What information should you put on the home page? Speaking of pages, how many do you need?
Sprint Online can help take the pressure off – we create stylish, functional websites that speak to customers in your brand voice and remain authentic to your business identity. From landing pages to logos, to setting up your mailbox and arranging a domain, we can create the perfect online presence for you so you can go back to doing what you do best – running your business!
A well-designed website builds credibility, enhances your brand image, and facilitates lead generation and conversions. Investment is key!
Online Presence
In addition to a professionally built website, a strong online presence across relevant digital platforms is crucial for a successful business launch. During your research stage, you should have identified which social media channels fit your business best - the ones that align with your target audience to build brand awareness and engage with your potential customers.
As well as social media, content marketing is a great way to establish thought leadership and provide value to your audience. Creating a newsletter helps connect with your audience and allows them to feel involved in your business, while writing blogs for your website creates trust and demonstrates your knowledge in your field. If you don’t have the time to run your socials or create content for your brand, outsourcing is a great way to avoid burnout and helps you focus on tasks that suit your skillset best.
A Virtual Address & Phone Number
If your business is exclusively online, chances are you’ll be registering it under your personal address. This can be tricky, however, as many people don’t want their personal address associated with their business due to fear of being spammed or contacted by third parties. Often, your registered business address can be easily found online, which can be frustrating if you don’t want to be advertised to.
This is where Virtual HQ come in! Virtual HQ can provide you with a professional mailing address without the need for a physical office space. Virtual addresses are great for enhancing your brand image by projecting a professional presence, even if you’re operating from a home-based or remote setup. They also allow you to separate personal and professional mail, ensuring privacy and maintaining a level of professionalism.
A virtual address can help you establish a local presence in different geographic areas, building trust with customers and opening up new market opportunities. With over a hundred locations across the country, you’re bound to find one near you. Book using the code VHQ&SPRINTONLINE10 to get an exclusive discount!
If you want to add a virtual telephone number into the mix, we at Sprint Online can offer your business your own virtual phone system. No one wants their personal number ringing off the hook with business calls when they’re trying to relax on the weekend. Gain access to your virtual phone whenever you’re on the clock – and when you’re off, you’re off. It’s perfect for small or medium-sized businesses of any size, and a great way of using the same number across multiple platforms. We use our virtual phone system every day – get in touch and get one of your own!
Effective Marketing
If you put all of your energy into your brand identity and website but don’t effectively advertise it, no one will know you exist! Your business is just one of millions in the digital world, so it’s essential you carry out the right kind of marketing to get your business in the eyes of your audience. Develop a comprehensive marketing plan that includes both online and offline strategies.
Content and email marketing, social media campaigns and digital advertising are the most effective ways to generate awareness and drive traffic to your website. Digital ads, particularly Google Ads, are a great way to boost your brand within the search engine and assist with getting your business to the top of the search results. Did you know that we offer £600 of free Google Ads to every new client? We can help set up your entire Google Ads account, design and run your ads on behalf of you, and track your results so you can see how your ads are performing.
Launching a business requires careful planning and execution. The essential elements above lay the groundwork for brand visibility, customer engagement, and long-term success and, by focusing on them, you can set yourself up for a successful launch and build the business of your dreams. Remember, launching a business is an exciting journey, and with the right foundation, you can make a remarkable impact in your industry.
Get in touch to start your digital marketing journey with Sprint Online today!
Merry Christmas you Filthy Animals Valued Clients!
As we wrap up another successful year (sorry, there’s definitely more puns to come), we want to express our heartfelt thanks for being a part of the Sprint Online family. Your trust and collaboration have made 2023 a truly remarkable year.
This year we’ve been as busy as Santa’s Elves when the Argos catalogue gets released, and we're thrilled to share some highlights:
Four Fillies (Vegan Coffee Trailer): We all need a dose of Caffeine to get us through January, and thank goodness for the lovely Four Fillies, who we provided a host of services to, making them the go-to for vegan coffee delights in Surrey!
Google "Vegan Coffee Trailer Surrey", and they'll come up first – we’ll raise an Oat Latte to that!
Victory Wash: We embarked on a branding adventure providing a full marketing package including branding, website development, and SEO. Squeaky clean and perfectly timed, just like the services they offer.
Cappadocia Epsom and Kingston: Not at all biased, but perhaps a little led by our bellies, one of our favourite clients, Cappadocia. Now utilising our services for their multiple Surrey restaurants, they asked us to broaden their outreach in an engaging and fun way. Through an innovative 360-degree photo shoot, we allowed their Kingston and Epsom venues to feature an inside look on Google Street View, so clients can see inside the restaurant before they visit. Yum!
We were trigger happy this year with our cameras, providing photo and video shoots to Ildiko's Chocolate, La Terrazza, Utopia 360 Visuals and many more businesses.
As always, web development and branding is a big part of the Sprint Online offering, and this was no different this year. Just to name a few, Serious Entertainment Group, J M Wegner Sports Therapy, Win 360 Consulting, Kable Recruitment and Anthea Your VA trusted us to create brand new, shiny websites for their businesses this year, and we delivered. It’s not quite 7 billion presents on a sleigh, but give us a few mince pies and a red suit, and we won’t be far off!
Brambles Coffee (can you sense a coffee theme?) enjoyed a complete marketing package – from branding to website design, we brewed up a slick look, and the milk ‘tache from the cappuccino does somewhat complete the Santa look…
Piccolo Vicolo received a brand new menu design, from our in house design team, alongside a host of print and signage services for a variety of other local clients.
Finally, we connected hundreds of businesses to a more professional and flexible telephone number through our successful virtual landline service.
Looking ahead, the excitement continues into 2024. We have a lot already planned, including the launch of a brand new WhatsApp Business integration. It's our commitment to keeping your communication as cutting-edge as your business!
Now, it’s time for the annual game of Twister. I tried to join in before I wrote this message, but apparently putting my laptop on Red instead of my foot didn’t count.
Christmas gone mad. Wish me luck!
Warm regards,
Gellért and the Sprint Online Team