Whether you’re a business owner who focuses on ‘brick and mortar’ or you have found yourself forced into closing shop-front because of a crisis, there are many reasons why moving online has its advantages. For traditional companies – the ones who sell by person, phone or mail – the eCommerce world can be a daunting task, but without it, you’re doing not only yourself a disservice, but your customers too. For many of us it can simply seem too risky, but there are many good reasons to switch to online and boost your business with a click of a button. Here are 5 reasons why your offline business needs eCommerce.
1. Be Available 24-hours, 7 Days a Week
While some businesses may not be able to work a full 24-hours (foods, perishables, made to order products), the online world never sleeps. A key benefit of having an up-and-running eCommerce site allows customers and clients to browse your services and products, place an order and send an enquiry all while the business ‘sleeps’. Follow up in the morning, and you’ve made a new sale. For many companies, investing in a 24-hour salesperson or team to manage enquiries and generate leads is a worthwhile investment. Quite simply, being online leaves your doors open three to four times longer than you could ever before.
2. It’s Simple (and cheap!)
ECommerce sites are notoriously easy to set up, especially for smaller businesses. Investing in a platform to help manage order (such as Amazon) is the easiest way to get your products online, but when the orders grow it is usually advised that you set up your own eCommerce service on your website too. However you tackle the sales platform, know that it’s cheap. There are very few start-up costs – all it takes is a bit of time to build a website, and you’re ready to go. If building a site isn’t your thing, you can always outsource the job to a marketing expert like Myk Baxter Marketing.
If you decide to take on your own website, WordPress has many free or reasonably priced themes and systems you can install directly onto your site, or get a team of professionals to build you a more custom layout if you need.
3. Happy Customers = Better Sales
When utilising an eCommerce system, make sure to include enough information or a Q&A page to help answer questions immediately. This allows your client or customer to make an informed decision on the spot, which not only makes you look good, it also increases the chance they’ll make a purchase immediately. With an eCommerce site, you can provide much better customer service without doing anything. It also frees up phones for more specific questions and orders, allowing your team more time to generate revenue and focus on more in-depth marketing strategies – a win-win scenario.
4. Live And Work Anywhere (And Target The Globe)
For traditional companies that decided to give up their physical spaces and move entirely online, the global market is opened exponentially. You can have thousands or millions of visitors to your site every day – imagine the potential growth!
ECommerce also, in many cases, allows the owner and their staff the freedom and flexibility to work anywhere in the world. Although not possible for some, as long as you have a reliable internet connection and a team of physical workers on the ground somewhere logistically appropriate, you can work from anywhere. This not only allows you more flexibility in your day-to-day life, but it also improves staff morale and provides them with a better work-life balance that, in turn, boosts productivity. In addition, it also helps to reduce your operational costs.
5. Crises Are No Longer a Crisis
When crises strike, such as 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic which has affected millions of businesses globally and is predicted to impact even more by the fourth quarter, many brick and mortar businesses will sadly not survive. In times of crisis, whether it’s a natural disaster, a simple office power cut or a global pandemic, companies online can, on the most part, continue as usual. Of course, the success of any online business is down to how it is marketed, but the freedom of the world wide web helps keep many businesses afloat. 2020 is already said to be the great ‘culling’ of traditional companies – make sure you’re not one of them by seeking the best advice from Myk Baxter Marketing.
The internet and the eCommerce systems out there are powerful tools to boost your business, increase sales and build a name. With many processes becoming more automated, you’ll find yourself doing less work for greater returns.
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