In a post-pandemic work environment, it makes sense to promote virtual offices and interactions. Going remote with your business is a smart move that ensures your team’s safety and can reassure customers. As a lot of people are still nervous about face-to-face interactions, remote businesses offer an alternative that is guaranteed to keep everybody satisfied. However, your audience expects you to avoid the digital mishaps and errors that pledged the start of the pandemic. Now, a few months down the line, you need to know how to tackle the following issues successfully:

#1. Unreliable broadband connection

You can’t build a sustainable presence online with a lagging connection. Limited bandwidth can affect the volume of data you can transfer at any given time and the speed of the connection. Unfortunately, for small companies, bandwidth efficiency problems may not have appeared until the start of the pandemic. If you’ve never needed to bring your business activities online, you’ve probably never realized your bandwidth needs were unsupported! If switching Internet providers isn’t an option, you may want to look into alternative solutions, such as using managed SD-WAN technology. Indeed, you can use Software-defined Wide Area Networks to optimize your bandwidth use and maintain digital availability. 

#2. Complex navigation

When your services and purchases happen primarily online, you need to keep the conversion path clear. User experience and user interface make digital navigation straightforward, reducing confusion on-site and numbers of clicks. Your visitors are unwilling to waste time and clicks navigating your site, especially when your competitors might be offering a better experience. Therefore, it’s a good idea to work closely with a UX designer to improve the site. 

#3. Lack of engagement

Online retailers have an easy job of surviving in a digital world. Other companies, however, need to embrace alternative options to replace their usual engaging strategies. For businesses that rely on social events, a virtual event can be a great option. However, managing engagement in an online environment requires more than a virtual host and carefully selected guests. You need to create a sense of involvement, such as choosing compelling social media #hashtags to promote the event. 

#4. A disparate and isolated team

Keeping your team together when everyone works from home is a challenge. If you haven’t invested in team bonding tools and activities for your remote employees, it’s time to get them involved. Your team wants to feel part of something and to belong to the business. Bonding activities, such as a virtual social event – an online quiz night, for instance – are crucial to the growth of the business. When your team feels isolated, the productivity and motivation drop dramatically. 

#5. Data quality and security

As digital communication becomes a lifeline for employees and customers, the surge in online traffic brings new security risks. For businesses, improving data security and protection must prevail. Unfortunately, for many, COVID has been synonymous with losses. Therefore, companies are reluctant to invest in IT security. However, you can’t afford to ignore the risk that comes with a high volume of traffic. 

In conclusion, making the long-term move toward a remote-friendly environment is no easy decision. It is a commitment to tech investment, dedicated people-focused solutions, and specialist digital skills. As much as remote businesses are in a better position to recover their COVID losses, they need to make the necessary improvements to grow further.