Small online businesses have always been a great option for people that did not have the funds or did not want to rent out or set up a store. Specifically for entrepreneurs, this option was a somewhat easy one as they can save up some money instead of paying rent and maintenance fees for a store. So, why wouldn’t one start an online business, right? Most people start their businesses based on their hobbies and passions.
Let’s make one thing clear here. Small online businesses cannot function without the internet. Obviously! Not only is the internet a medium for your business, but other perks and benefits of the internet can play an important role for a small business. Here, we are going to discuss CenturyLink internet and how it is a good fit for your small online business. But before we get into that, we will discuss the reasons why you need a good internet connection and how a bad internet connection can affect your business.
Reasons You Need a Good Internet Connection for Your Business
Gone are the days when we had billboards and posters for new products, sales, discounts, and much more. While these traditional methods of marketing are still in use, digital marketing and digital advertising are more widely used. But that is not the only thing you need the internet for. Here’s why you require a good internet connection:
Social Media
Social media is possibly the first digital platform that small businesses opt for. The reason being that having your own website doesn’t really make people aware of your presence, especially if you are just starting. To raise awareness about your brand/business, you need to be where people are mostly spending their time. You need to be where people can talk about you and see you, and that is social media.
You might have experienced this as well when looking up information about some small businesses. While they may not have a website right away, they will surely have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. accounts. Perhaps they don’t have accounts for all these social media platforms, but they will, at the least, have an account on one of them. Using social media, you can also market your business easily with the help of paying some amount to run ads and get a greater customer reach.
Managing your social media and running digital ads can only be achieved if you have a smooth internet connection. Without a good internet, it becomes hard to control and manage your social media accounts and reach out to your customers.
Online Shopping
Here’s a question: What do Amazon, Etsy, Ali Express, and eBay all have in common? Online shopping! While some consumers are skeptical when it comes to online shopping, in comparison there are a lot more people that shop online. Moreover, if you don’t have a storefront, you have no other choice but to go for the option of online shopping. A smooth shopping experience can only be managed through a good and reliable internet connection.
Keeping Tabs on Competitors
Whether you are a big brand or a small online business, keeping a tab on your competitors is a necessary task. Why do you need to do that? Because being aware of your competitor’s success and failure gives you an idea of what they are doing. If they have launched some campaign but received negative reviews on it, then you can learn from that and avoid it. Whereas, if their campaign is successful and garners much attention from customers, you can learn from that and design a campaign of your own.
The idea of keeping tabs on them is not to copy them but to learn from them and try to stand out from the crowd. Instead of going with the flow, you should learn to go against it and stand out. All in a good way, of course. Furthermore, keeping an eye on your competitors also means that you are aware of the customer’s likes and dislikes and you can use it for your own business.
Automation
Online automation tools for your tasks are a blessing. You should take advantage of these tools whenever you can. Automated replies to customers on email or social media tells your customer that you are active and forms long lasting relationships with them. This something that is managed by a good internet connection.
Analytics
While big businesses and brands have teams of people constantly researching current trends and analyzing the response they are getting from their customers, small online businesses do not have the budget for that. Instead, they can use online tools such as Google Analytics and social media analytics as well to get a better picture of what is liked and disliked by their customers.
How Does a Bad Internet Connection Affect Your Business?
While there are multiple reasons your small business needs a good internet connection, let’s see how a bad internet connection affects your business.
Employee Productivity
Slow and spotty internet connection disrupts your workflow and slows productivity. All tasks, even those that can be completed in mere seconds, will take much longer and your employees will be slow to work as they have no other option.
Big Files and Documents
Whatever the business field or industry, there will be exchanges of big files and documents. With a slow internet connection, you will be faced with the problem of downloading and uploading large files and documents, and sharing them with your employees. If the files don’t reach the right person on time, it will cause other problems and it can lead to a delays and late submissions.
Customer Service
Dealing with customers is not an easy task but it is something that has to be done nicely and on time. Making the customer angry is not something you can afford to do as a small business owner. So, to deal with the customer nicely and on time, you need to have a strong and reliable internet connection.
Video Conferences
Having an online business leaves room for collaborating and working remotely which means you will need to video call often. Without a good internet connection, none of that can be managed.
CenturyLink Internet Plans
Let’s take a look at the internet plans offered by CenturyLink.
Internet Plan | Connection type | Internet Speeds | Data Allowance | Pricing | Conditions |
CenturyLink Simply Unlimited Internet | DSL | Up to 100 Mbps | Unlimited | $50/mo. | Paperless billing or prepay requiredAdditional taxes, fees, and surcharges appliedSpeed availability subject to location |
CenturyLink Fiber Gigabit | Fiber | Up to 940 Mbps | Unlimited | $65/mo. | Paperless billing or prepay requiredAdditional taxes, fees, and surcharges applySpeed availability subject to location |
As you can see, CenturyLink offers DSL and Fiber internet plans with great speeds, unlimited data allowance, and reasonable prices. This is why CenturyLink is beneficial for small businesses and is recommended!
Takeaway
If you are interested in subscribing to a CenturyLink internet plan or knowing more about it, you can do so by going to BuyTVInternetPhone and clicking CenturyLink. However, if you want to look into other service providers or compare CenturyLink’s internet plans with another service provider, you can also do that on our website!