Offline sales are quickly becoming a thing of the past and are being actively displaced by e-commerce. They are considered just one of many secondary tools in modern e-commerce business. This has long been known to the developers at https://dinarys.com, who help transition offline stores to online operations.
Advantages of e-Commerce
Owners of small retail outlets are wary of transitioning to online business. They are intimidated by the high competition created by large marketplaces and retail chains, as well as their dependence on digital technologies. It’s no surprise, as any technical failure or interrupted internet connection can lead to the loss of profitable orders and even the entire customer base.
In addition, newcomers to e-commerce believe that customers will be hesitant to order products that cannot be viewed up close. They also fear returns and negative reviews.
However, every aspiring online entrepreneur will find it useful to know that all these drawbacks are offset by the significant advantages of e-commerce.
The main advantages of working online:
- You don’t have to pay for rent and utility bills;
- A large number of staff is not required;
- it’s easy to expand your customer base—you can take your business beyond the city limits and even into the international market (if your products appeal to foreign customers);
- There are numerous ways to promote your business;
- It is possible to provide round-the-clock customer support, regardless of the time or day of the week;
- the quality of service is easily assessed, and services can be improved.
Therefore, transitioning to e-commerce is essential. Only in this way will you quickly increase your sales volume and avoid stagnation.
Step-by-step Strategy for Transitioning to Online
Such a complex task as transitioning a store from offline sales to e-commerce can be accomplished in four steps:
- Set goals for yourself to determine the direction of your work and plan the outcome.
- Analyze the target audience. You need to create a profile of the future customer who will want to order a service or product. Thorough research of the target audience helps to create a website that is convenient for a specific category of users.
- Choose the optimal website format. If you want to first test the demand for a service or product and introduce yourself to potential clients, choose a business card website. This is the simplest option for a web platform, lacking a shopping cart and personal account. However, you can accept requests by phone and negotiate payment methods. For companies offering a large number of services, a catalog website is suitable. Its pages can detail each service and provide information about the organization, contact methods, discounts, and other details. A catalog website is ideal for companies involved in apartment renovations, auto services, cleaning companies, and manufacturing enterprises. For selling a wide range of products, it is better to choose the format of an online store, which includes a personal account, shopping cart, and integrated payment methods.
- Engage in product promotion. You can advertise products on social media and bulletin boards. It is also advisable to order contextual advertising.
Don’t stop at your initial successful sales. Continuously develop your website to ensure it generates stable profits. To do this, you need to expand your product range, publish reviews, update outdated information, and take other actions that increase customer loyalty.
