When you’re prepping to launch your brand, there are so many small AND big details that determine your success. So naturally, Candace and I have been putting together a list of the top 5 items that have made a major impact over the past few weeks.

First on the list is checking your website speed. Why?? Because your website speed is DIRECTLY tied to your Google ranking. The fact of the matter is that Google wants to support reputable companies that operate efficiently and if your website is taking forever to load (i.e. making customers hit the back button before they’ve even had a chance to hear your UVP (unique value proposition)), you are NOT the company they want to prioritize in their ranking. 

So what can you do to avoid this problem?? Use websites such as Elementor and Uptrends to see if your website speed is lagging. In terms of design, avoid elements that take a long time to load, such as custom fonts and large videos which can HUGELY impact the speed of your website.

Second on our list, is setting clear expectations with your customers. The reality of owning a small business is that customers are often unfamiliar with your area of expertise and have no idea what questions to ask or what to expect. As a result, they are relying on you to fill in those blanks for them. 

That’s why it’s imperative that your homepage and contact page set the stage for what your process looks like, whether you are selling products or offering a service. Here at Atlas 5, we love a good process map on the homepage. Use a tool like this to let them know what their client journey will look when working with you. It can be as simple “Intake > Initial Consultation > Strategy Development > Implementation > Monitor”. Creating transparency into your process makes your business look competent and builds trusts with potential customers.

On your Contact page, make it clear how you communicate with your customers. Add a simple message about how soon they should expect to hear back from you and the method whether it be call, text, or email.

Third on the list is setting your brand guidelines. Fun fact: On average, customers need to see your brand 7-8x before purchasing. However, that number drastically increases when your branding isn’t easily recognizable. That’s where brand guidelines become increasingly important for converting customers. Having a clear distinct visual identity (adjustable logo, 3-5 colors, 1-3 fonts) ensure that your customers recognize your brand, as they move through east stage of your sales funnel.

Good ole #4 is creating an email workflow. I know, I know. Email marketing seems more than a little dated in the age of TikTok. However, email marketing is one of the least expensive and most effective ways to convert customers. In fact, email marketing has an ROI of $36 for $1 spent. With those numbers, I think we can all agree that email marketing is giving. That being said, automating your emails is going to be a LIFE SAVER. Use platforms, such as Klaviyo, MailChimp, and Flodesk to build beautiful email templates that send directly to your customer the second they subscribe to your email list. You can also use email workflows to automatically send those annoyingly helpful abandoned cart reminders after they clicked “add to cart”, but never finished purchasing. All in all, automated email workflows are a gift.

Lastly, at #5, we have testing your links. This seems really obvious..and yet, we can almost guarantee you’ll get an email about a broken link or error page within the first couple days of launching your brand. We all know that broken links are annoying, but as a business owner, they can actually lose your customers, before they even have an opportunity to learn about your brand. And sure, a really nice customer will probably let you know..eventually. But it’s a completely avoidable problem. Make sure you check your own website or you can go to websites like Fiverr and hire someone to test your website for you. 

That’s the list. Let us know which tips have been critical for your brand.. Or if there are some you’d like to add to the list!