The majority of modern shoppers are turning away from in-person stores and doing their shopping online. You can buy just about anything online nowadays, from exotic vacations to your weekly groceries.
This rise in online businesses is a natural shift in the marketplace, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple to transition your in-person business online. Here’s a guide to transitioning your business online that won’t lose you any customers!
Why Move Your Business Online?
In today's market, everything is online. It’s not enough to have a brick and mortar store. People want to be able to shop 24/7 and without worrying about holidays or store hours.
An online business never takes days off. It doesn’t have to hire a store clerk or a cashier. There’s a lot of upfront work when setting up the website, but once you’ve established the right platform it’s smooth sailing as long as you have the right marketing strategy.
You might need to outsource your online marketing work, and with a good reason. This free Google AdWords PPC wasted spend calculator tool by Fang Marketing shows just how much of your marketing budget you can waste away by putting it to a bad use. As you transition online, you cannot afford such wasting, so it’s a smart choice to actually find a professional to help you.
One more reason is having your stuff out of the office and working online as a way of taking down the overhead costs. Sure, some may decide to still go to a coworking space but those costs won’t come near the downtown shop with office space for all employees. Just keep in mind that some cities may observe local holidays and you should make sure to find a strategy to keep your shop open without breaking any labor laws.
Choosing a Platform
The backbone of your e-commerce business is your platform. Luckily, you have a lot of options in 2018 when it comes to choosing the right platform for your needs. There are preestablished platforms like Etsy and eBay which already have a customer base. These might be a good fit for smaller businesses with a product selection that fits one of these established platforms.
Your other platform option is to build your own website. It’s easy to integrate a store within your own website by using a tool like Shopify for WordPress. This does all the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on populating your website with the best products. No matter the platform you choose, make sure your website is easy to navigate.
Checkout Process
Just like how chip and pin machines replaced swipe and sign, quick checkouts are replacing the old, lengthy process. Amazon changed the world of e-commerce when it introduced one-click checkout. Now, other businesses need to meet this need for quick shopping and quick checkout. The faster your buyers are able to enter their credit card info, the less abandoned carts you’ll experience as a business.
People are naturally impulsive shoppers. They choose products based on emotion, and the longer they wait before checking out, the more likely that logic will catch up to them. CustomerThink.com explains how people make 95% of their buying decisions based on subconscious feelings. Take advantage of these feelings by optimizing the buying experience.
Current Customers
If you already have a brick and mortar business, you’ve already done a lot of the hard work. You have an existing customer base who is interested in your product! Give your current customers what they want by making their lives even easier with an online shopping experience they won’t forget! Promote your new e-commerce website to your current customer to increase sales.
Transition Online
The trends are clear. E-commerce businesses are here to stay.
It’s up to brick and mortar businesses to transition into the digital space if they want to keep up with the unchanging trends. Who knows how many in-person stores will exist in just a few years if things keep progressing as they are? Meet these trends and find business success with these tips above!
Statistica reports the number of online shoppers has been drastically on the rise since 2009! You want your business to get a piece of that profitable e-commerce pie.
This rise in online businesses is a natural shift in the marketplace, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple to transition your in-person business online. Here’s a guide to transitioning your business online that won’t lose you any customers!
Why Move Your Business Online?
In today's market, everything is online. It’s not enough to have a brick and mortar store. People want to be able to shop 24/7 and without worrying about holidays or store hours.
An online business never takes days off. It doesn’t have to hire a store clerk or a cashier. There’s a lot of upfront work when setting up the website, but once you’ve established the right platform it’s smooth sailing as long as you have the right marketing strategy.
You might need to outsource your online marketing work, and with a good reason. This free Google AdWords PPC wasted spend calculator tool by Fang Marketing shows just how much of your marketing budget you can waste away by putting it to a bad use. As you transition online, you cannot afford such wasting, so it’s a smart choice to actually find a professional to help you.
One more reason is having your stuff out of the office and working online as a way of taking down the overhead costs. Sure, some may decide to still go to a coworking space but those costs won’t come near the downtown shop with office space for all employees. Just keep in mind that some cities may observe local holidays and you should make sure to find a strategy to keep your shop open without breaking any labor laws.
Choosing a Platform
The backbone of your e-commerce business is your platform. Luckily, you have a lot of options in 2018 when it comes to choosing the right platform for your needs. There are preestablished platforms like Etsy and eBay which already have a customer base. These might be a good fit for smaller businesses with a product selection that fits one of these established platforms.
Your other platform option is to build your own website. It’s easy to integrate a store within your own website by using a tool like Shopify for WordPress. This does all the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on populating your website with the best products. No matter the platform you choose, make sure your website is easy to navigate.
Checkout Process
Just like how chip and pin machines replaced swipe and sign, quick checkouts are replacing the old, lengthy process. Amazon changed the world of e-commerce when it introduced one-click checkout. Now, other businesses need to meet this need for quick shopping and quick checkout. The faster your buyers are able to enter their credit card info, the less abandoned carts you’ll experience as a business.
People are naturally impulsive shoppers. They choose products based on emotion, and the longer they wait before checking out, the more likely that logic will catch up to them. CustomerThink.com explains how people make 95% of their buying decisions based on subconscious feelings. Take advantage of these feelings by optimizing the buying experience.
Current Customers
If you already have a brick and mortar business, you’ve already done a lot of the hard work. You have an existing customer base who is interested in your product! Give your current customers what they want by making their lives even easier with an online shopping experience they won’t forget! Promote your new e-commerce website to your current customer to increase sales.
Transition Online
The trends are clear. E-commerce businesses are here to stay.
It’s up to brick and mortar businesses to transition into the digital space if they want to keep up with the unchanging trends. Who knows how many in-person stores will exist in just a few years if things keep progressing as they are? Meet these trends and find business success with these tips above!
Statistica reports the number of online shoppers has been drastically on the rise since 2009! You want your business to get a piece of that profitable e-commerce pie.
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