Running a business entirely online can be simply liberating. You don't have to go to an office every day and you can instantaneously interact with customers. On the other hand, it's also sometimes easy to distance yourself from the traditional business world, when that world has a lot to offer. But how do you interact with the regular business world when your enterprise is entirely online?
Consider these four ways online companies can do real world business.
Meet With Clients In Person Semi-Formally
This is something many freelancers do when they primarily work online but occasionally are asked to meet with clients in person. It's a good way to develop a rapport with clients and offering the option of meeting with them in person might make them more inclined to trust you. Meeting with clients is typically done at restaurants over lunch or coffee, but it could really be anywhere both parties are comfortable, such as a library. This can help develop your company's reputation as more laid back if that is the image you wish to foster, especially for the purposes of recruiting.Related articles
Attend Conferences, Seminars, and Job Fairs
Even businesses that operate wholly online have need to attend relevant industry conferences and seminars. These events connect you and your employees with other professionals in the industry and are instrumental in the continuing education of your field and profession. Online businesses should know these events have the potential to expose them to new technology, procedures and information that might be beneficial.Attending these events also helps get an online business's name out there and allows for networking with other, traditional businesses for mutually beneficial purposes. Attending job fairs can be extremely helpful for recruitment where potential candidates can be met face to face rather than simply being processed online.
Rent Temporary Office Space For Formal Meetings
If you are going to be doing heavy work for a particular local client for the foreseeable future, it may be worth it to rent temporary office space in which to do business. It also might be a good option if you need a professional place to meet with a major new client before taking your interaction entirely online.There are companies that offer month-to-month leases and other flexible office rental arrangements that might suit your needs, such as co-working spaces, as-needed office space, and more. Just search something as simple as “office space Salt Lake City” and you’re bound to get plenty of relevant results. You might also be able to partner with a local business that has excess space and utilize it as office space on an as-needed basis rather than going through an independent commercial office space leasing company.
Make Non-Digital Products
If the products you produce are entirely digital, the best way to reach an offline audience is to start producing physical products. For example, if you publish books or music, make physical CDs and print books available. Having physical items is helpful if you ever go to a trade show or have a booth at an event. This is easier and cheaper for some products than others, obviously, and so you will have to weigh the costs and benefits of producing physical products wisely before making any significant changes. However, it's worth considering expanding due to the benefits physical products can have in the promotion of your business and what it has to offer.Just because a business is online-only doesn't mean it isn't connected to the larger physical business world. Online businesses reap a lot of benefits by remaining connected to the traditional business world, and a business stands to gain significant potential customers by accommodating offline companies and clients. The methods mentioned in this article are all excellent ways for online-only companies to do real world business.
By  Brooke Chaplan | Embed |
Author Bio - 33rd Square contributor Brooke Chaplan is recent graduate of New Mexico University where she studied journalism. She loves to hike, bike, run and explore around her home in Los Lunas, New Mexico. She also enjoys blogging about health, fitness, fashion and many other topics. | |
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