Every business needs a makeover from time to time, regardless of how amazing the UX or UI might be. In this day and age, people are easily bored with the same old contents and they require new inventions to keep them interested. Since nobody invented a button for triggering creativity, one must rely on other methods to keep their customers happy and intrigued. Here are some strategic steps you can make in order to achieve your goal.
Freshen up that UI
If you have never done it before, it is high time you changed the whole theme of your UI. You do not need a grand reason for doing this, it can be any number of reasons. Your website can have a different theme every season, that will lead to you changing it four times a year. Moreover, you can add new features when it is Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day or any holiday you like. Sure, it is a lot of work, however, it does make people happy. It will keep your customers motivated to keep visiting your website or your social media account if you keep up with current events. Also, once you do a full cycle of one year, it will be easier to keep up the following years as you can reuse parts of your old version of a Christmas or spring theme.
Integrate quarterly updates
If monthly seems a bit of a stretch, quarterly updates can make your business much more fetching to the audience. If you incorporate brainstorming meetings for new ideas and decide to put one into action each quarter, it is definitely something that should keep users interested. Of course, none of this is to be taken lightly, it needs to enter your business plans. What is more, it needs to be realistic, so each brainstorming session is to be followed by planning and putting things into action. Your teams would be working harder, perhaps they would even need to expand, but it is an investment in the future of your business.
Form a test group
While we are on the topic of new features, having a control group is a great way to have access to honest feedback at all times. If you are to accept the idea for quarterly updates, it is an absolute must to hire a test group that will be there as the first line of defense for each new feature. This is a solid investment that saves money. Instead of launching a feature that users will dislike, launch a test version for your control group and analyze their feedback. Only when you are certain your test was successful should you launch your new feature to production. The only tricky part about a test group is forming a non biased one. It is quite difficult to choose adequate members of the group to simulate a random sample of your target audience. In order to do this right, you might need assistance from a psychologist or your own HR if they are proficient in such domains.
Upgrade social media
Social media is a bottomless pit in every possible sense. One can never know everything there is to be known, so there is always room for learning new things. Being proficient in social media means constantly willing to learn new things. Continuous learning is the only thing that can get you results in this domain as it is changing at an incredible speed. The power of social media is great and unknown to many, so it is your job to seize the most of this situation. Use all the tools that are applicable to your business. Maintain your profile, find the golden ratio between quality and quantity and keep the enthusiasm coming.
Revisit your set of keywords
SEO is a very important part of the way you run your business. However, it also demands regular maintenance. In that sense, make sure to rethink your keywords every once in a while. These things change and if you fail to update the change, your SEO will quickly reduce to basically nothing. This is why you need to incorporate keyword research into your monthly plan and keep that set updated. If you manage to keep track of the changes, the results you obtain will be amazing. Many people try to incorporate an SEO strategy, but very few understand that it is more than a one time effort. This is your advantage, use it and results will follow.
Spread the word
Once you made all the changes you would like your users to see, the final step is to advertise them. Sadly, there can be no recognition for your work unless people find out what you did and come to see it. So, now is the time for your marketing department to shine. The first step is to create a marketing department if you don’t have one already. After that, it is on them to spread the word about your business. Make sure to put your logo and your motto wherever you can. Brand recognition is really important. People are more prone to using services and buying products from brands they already know. This is why you need to send word of your business out there so that people are more comfortable becoming your customers when in need of your expertise.
All in all, being innovative on schedule is not really possible. However, you can design a process that will approximate it in the best possible way. If you decide to follow these tips or use some other ideas for innovation in business, make sure to write everything down and add it to your business plan. It may seem silly, but the energy and will usually lasts for only one cycle, after that people tend to forget and go back to their old ways. On the other hand, if you have it in your business plan that a new feature is to be planned and developed, you are more likely to take it seriously and actually do it in the long term, which is the ultimate goal.
Author Byline: Liam Collins is a tech pundit and Web enthusiast working at TuiSpace.com. He spends most of his time reading and writing about the current affairs in the world of information technology advisory services. When he isn’t working, he likes going for long bike rides and walks in nature.