The Covid-19 pandemic may have accelerated trends on how consumers were increasingly shopping online, but it drastically changed the way small business looked at online sales. One thing has become clear for any business looking to go online: a website is a great start, but to drive business results you must focus on selecting the right e-commerce platform.
E-commerce platforms like Wix or Shopify have dramatically levelled the playing field in the online business world. These platforms have packaged complex digital tools for payments, shipping, and marketing insights that were once only for very well-resourced, technologically savvy companies and delivered them to small businesses. This has empowered small businesses and startups to grow beyond their expectations and reap many benefits, including my top 4:
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The ability to market to national and international clients, and share your value proposition/brand story more precisely with your target audience.
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Logistics, payments and inventory technology that can make online sales as easy (or even easier) than in a retail environment.
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Marketing data that will help you learn more about your existing customers and give you the insights to target the right potential clients.
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The ability to hone your customer experience. With 24/7 shopping, the ability to use a chat feature and booking calendar to book appointments, even using chatbots to answer FAQs in real time.
How do you take advantage of these benefits? The most effective approach is to have a dedicated developer or development team to build the ecommerce site using a platform like Shopify or Wix. Development needs to go hand-in-hand with a focus on managing the growth of the business and helping to improve your marketing and strategy as you grow.
Want more tips on how to bring your business online? Contact us for a free, no-commitment quote.