E-commerce has completely changed the way we think about shopping. If you?re looking to make a purchase, chances are you?ll search online before you even consider visiting the shops. The convenience of the internet means that you can browse multiple items on one page, complete transactions with a few clicks of a button, and have all your goods delivered direct to your door. It?s the all-weather, any-time-of-the-day, stay-in-your-pyjamas shopping method, and it suits an increasingly large number of consumers who just don?t have time for the precision planning and exhaustive effort involved in traditional high street shopping.
So,?you?ve?seen the advantages of e-commerce from a customer point of view ? but what are the benefits if you?re the one running the business?
Anytime, Anywhere
If?you?ve?ever dreamt of trading on a global scale, e-commerce is the way to make this a reality. With billions of users worldwide, taking your business online means that you could, potentially, reach hundreds and thousands of shopping-hungry consumers across the globe. The internet removes all restrictions: with a physical shop, customers are limited by the location and hours of operation. An e-commerce site, on the other hand, is accessible from anywhere with internet access, and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The interminable rise of mobile internet gives e-commerce the added advantage of making your business accessible to anyone with a smartphone or tablet device. Increasing numbers of internet users are becoming dependent on their mobiles, which can only work in favour of online retail. Mobile users can, quite literally, take the internet with them wherever they go, the only restriction being the level of network coverage available. But unless a customer is trying to browse the web from the depths of the Amazon rainforest, this is unlikely to be much of an issue.
Save Money, Make Money
Think starting your own e-commerce is expensive and time consuming? Think again. Far from being a costly business venture, e-commerce significantly reduces or even completely eliminates the unavoidable overhead expenses of running a brick and mortar shop. Inexpensive to set up and simple to manage, an online retail site could see you saving money on business management while making money from a far-reaching consumer base ? and what?s not to like about that?
In terms of logistics, e-commerce has some very obvious advantages over its tangible counterpart. In the world of online retail, the work of several people can be done by one, cutting costs and improving the overall efficiency of your business. A good example of this is mass communication: customer liaison via a digital medium means that you are able to send a bulk email to a list of recipients as opposed to the significantly more time consuming and costly method of sending a whole load of direct mailings.
Customer Service is Key
Conducting business online is not only a great way to make business easier for you; it also allows you to provide excellent customer service. Keeping customers happy is absolutely vital to any business. Contented customers are more likely to return to your site for future purchases, whereas dissatisfied customers could leave negative feedback and deter others from using your business. Email and live chat software allows you to avoid the latter by tending to your customer?s enquiries outside of the typical working hours, so if someone sends an angry email at 8pm asking why the item they purchased arrived an hour later than the stated delivery time, you can immediately appease them before they leave that one-star review.
?Track Your Progress
Tracking the progress of any business is fundamental to maximising the success of the company. Tools like Google Analytics allow you to keep a check on how your e-commerce is doing by offering you a valuable insight into customers? buying behaviours and interests. You?ll be able to see which products or services are the most popular, view detailed statistics about the number of hits your website receives, and monitor your sales and performance, allowing you to adjust the content of your site accordingly. Keeping an eye on your progress means that your site can remain up to date in the ever-changing online world, ensuring its content is always relevant and ?pushes? the products that are making you the most money.
Increased Exposure of Your Business
Online businesses have the ability to keep in touch with what?s current. Being able to update and edit your website on a regular basis means that you?re less likely to be left behind when trends develop and change, so you can ensure that what you are offering is always relevant to what consumers are looking for. A presence on social media sites is a big part of getting your name out there, and lets you promote your brand to an existing online audience. Social media works to your advantage by allowing you to raise awareness of your business and take consumers directly to your store.
Search engines also work in your favour. How many times have you typed a search term into Google and found yourself clicking through multiple sites via links and adverts? It?s an organic process, and one that really boosts the amount of traffic online retail sites receive ? and a great way of making consumers aware of e-commerce websites they may not have even been aware of.
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The advantages of e-commerce show that online retail is increasingly becoming the way to make your business succeed in your industry. The popularity of e-commerce exploded in 2012, and looks set to continue rapid growth well into 2013. What better time to start than now? Get in touch and we?ll provide you with an effective, efficient and fully optimised online solution.
Source: http://www.ontop.co.uk/blog/ecommerce/why-your-business-needs-e-commerce-in-2013/
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