From startups to small businesses right through to huge brands, there are a huge number of companies that can benefit from their own e-commerce website, where they can sell their own products or services. In today's competitive and convenience-focused society, no longer do consumers want to venture to the high street in order to buy items. Instead, consumers want to shop from their own homes, making e-commerce a flexible solution for both businesses and buyers.
If
you’re still on the fence about launching an e-commerce store then look no
further, here’s the top 10 reasons why e-commerce is so important for your
business and just how you can benefit from moving online this year!
1.
Helps You Reduce Your Costs
To have an
online store it is not necessary that you have all your products presented in a
physical space. In fact, there are different companies that operate online
where they only show all their inventory through their electronic commerce.
This implies not only saving by not needing a rental or purchase of premises, but also everything that involves electricity, the Internet, etc. Or if you want to have one so that customers have a physical space, it does not have to be as large as everything you offer. In either case, you will be reducing your costs.
2.
Helps Businesses Go Global
Directly related to the previous
point, this fact allows you to put your products for sale anywhere in the
world. They will not have the explicit need to travel to where you are to see
what you have to offer.
If you are running a physical store,
it will be limited by the geographical area that you can service, but owning an eCommerce website will give you the opportunity to increase your outreach.
It’ll offer your products & services to customers around the whole world,
regardless of the distance and time zone.
Furthermore, this eliminates all
kinds of geographical and linguistic tango barriers. Your e-commerce translated
into different languages will allow them to buy from different countries.
With eCommerce and mobile commerce
as well, the entire world is your playground. Your products or services are
within reach for a lot of customers who might be sitting in another corner of
the world.
So, if you want to grow your online
business worldwide, it is a great idea to start creating your own online store
and localize your it in different languages.
3.
Can Be Done With Fewer Overheads
& Fewer Risk
Starting an online store can mean
significantly lower start-up costs compared to a brick-and-mortar retailer. The
retailer or the online business owner doesn’t have to take into consideration
the high expenses of shop rental, hiring a salesperson to woo the customer,
utility bills, security measures, etc. This, in turn, will enable you to sell
your products at competitive prices. Also, having an online store enables you
to enjoy increased profitability with less risk.
4.
Can Broaden Your Brand & Expand
Your Business
Having an eCommerce store can be
used to broaden your range of products/services for sale, expanding your
business, bringing you more customers and diversifying your sales. It’s the ideal
way to take your brand from a traditional brick & mortar store to an
innovative, well-loved one.
With eCommerce, there is no need to
have more than one branch, just one singular online store allowing you to fully
reach customers without having to worry about moving locations, you can just
manage your online business from home.
It’s important to mention that,
eCommerce will be helpful for Both B2C and B2B businesses to boost their brand
awareness in the market.
5.
Offers Better Marketing
Opportunities
Your eCommerce site is the best marketing tool that you would ever have. Thanks to the internet, now anyone can
market through online tools like social media marketing, email marketing,
search engine marketing, pay per click ads, and SEO helps you build very useful
links and contacts.
For example, with good SEO, your online store will appear in the top results of SERPs. Also, social media
networks will provide you with a platform to engage and build trust with your
customers through reviews and ratings, as well as keeping them informed with
regular posts about your products and offers.
6.
Online Store Will Stay Open
24*7/365:
Also, one of the great importance of
eCommerce that eCommerce retailers can enjoy is store timings are now 24/7/365
as the eCommerce stores are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, compared to the
regular stores.
In this way, retailers can increase
their sales by boosting their number of orders. However, it is also helpful for
customers as they can purchase products & services whenever they want no
matter whether it is midnight or early morning.
7.
eCommerce Is Easier & More
Convenient
People’s lives are hectic; getting
to a physical store means taking a lot of time and effort. So, starting an online store that means you can fit into your customer’s busy lives, making the
products they want accessible when they want them.
The enjoyable thing about eCommerce
is buying options that are quick, easy, convenient, and user-friendly with the
ability to transfer funds online.
“In online shopping, your item is
always one click away as opposed to physical shopping where you may be forced
to wait for weeks or months before an item you ordered is available,” says
Heritage House, which sells boy suits online.
Thanks to eCommerce’s convenience,
consumers can save lots of time, effort as well as money by searching for
their products easily and making purchasing online.
8.
Personalize Your Shopping Experience
If there is
one of the clear advantages of having an online store is to be able to
know (and monitor) what your consumer does. Physically, it would be very
uncomfortable for a potential buyer to enter your store and you were all the
time behind him asking what he wants or why he does not buy your product.
eCommerce allows you, for example, to know at what point in the process you left the purchase halfway and even remember that you left it in the middle by sending an email. This, in addition, can help you to improve your shopping experience for another occasion: shortening the steps to complete the order or offering those buyer products with similar characteristics.
9.
Improve the Image of Your Business
Among the
advantages of having an online store, there is no doubt that it also includes
improving the image of your company. Offering a good online sales platform to
users will give your company a great corporate appearance.
Not only will it prove to be up-to-date, but it will also show interest in facilitating consumer purchases. For example, it prevents you from traveling to the physical place of sale and allows you to compare prices from home. In addition, thanks to what we have mentioned as loyalty or feedback, you can even implement improvements in your products that customers will value positively.
10. Easily Receive Feedback on Products
Have you always wanted to know what consumers think of what you sell in order to offer more or improve it? Well, the online store will allow you to receive that feedback so you can implement improvements in your business. Through star ratings, with the possibility of leaving comments.
In addition, the customer will feel heard after their purchase. There is no better way to thank you for your confidence in purchasing your company’s products. What’s more, if you offer the quality you will have nothing to worry about. Enabling a direct channel where others see what they can expect from a given asset is a great public exercise of trust in your business.
Types of Ecommerce Solutions
Operating an online store isn’t one-size-fits-all; it’s an overarching category of eCommerce software that comes in a few different shapes and sizes. Before diving in head first, take time to do your due diligence on the available options.
The following are the different types of
e-commerce platforms:
·
Business-to-Business
(B2B)
·
Business-to-Consumer
(B2C)
·
Consumer-to-Consumer
(C2C)
·
Consumer-to-Business
(C2B)
·
Business-to-Administration
(B2A)
· Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)
Business-to-Business (B2B)
A B2B model
of business involves the conduct of trade between two or more
businesses/companies. The channels of such trade generally include conventional
wholesalers and producers who are dealing with retailers.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Business-to-Consumer
model of business deals with the retail aspects of e-commerce, i.e. the sale of
goods and/or services to the end consumer through digital means. The facility,
which has taken the business world by storm, enables the consumer to have a
detailed look at their proposed procurements before placing an order. After the
placement of such orders, the company/agent receiving the order will then
deliver the same to the consumer in a convenient time-span. Some of the
businesses operating in this channel include well-known players like Amazon,
Flipkart, etc.
This mode
of purchase has proved to be beneficial to the consumers when compared to the
traditional method, as they are endowed with access to helpful contents which
may guide their purchases appropriately.
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
This
business model is leveraged by a consumer for selling used goods and/or
services to other consumers through the digital medium. The transactions here
are pursued through a platform provided by a third party, the likes of which
include OLX, Quickr, etc.
Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
A C2B model
is the exact reversal of a B2C model. While the latter is serviced to the
consumer by a business, the C2B model provides the end consumers with an
opportunity to sell their products/services to companies. The method is popular
in crowdsourcing based projects, the nature of which typically includes logo
designing, sale of royalty-free photographs/media/design elements, and so on
and so forth.
Note – the term ‘crowdsourcing’ was coined in the
year 2005 as a sourcing model that facilities individuals/organizations to
obtain goods/services from internet users.
Business-to-Administration (B2A)
This model
enables online dealings between companies and public administration, i.e. the
Government by enabling the exchange of information through central websites. It
provides businesses with a platform to bid on government opportunities such as
auctions, tenders, application submission, etc. The scope of this model is now
enhanced, thanks to the investments made towards e-government.
Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)
The C2A
platform is meant for consumers, who may use it for requesting information or
posting feedbacks concerning public sectors directly to the government
authorities/administration. Its areas of applicability include:
·
The
dissemination of information.
·
Distance
learning.
·
Remittance
of statutory payments.
·
Filing
of tax returns.
·
Seeking
appointments, information about illnesses, payment of health services, etc.
Executive Summary
Ecommerce
can be an excellent way for small businesses to stand out, offering a way to
drive sales, increase visibility on the web and meet growth goals in a way
that achieves everything you need. By choosing a dependable platform that can
accommodate current and future needs and focusing on the most valuable features
for success, it’s possible to take your business to the next level.
