In the current economic environment as the recession hits harder, people will be turning more and more to the internet to find their purchases. Initially they can look for the best bargains and then purchase over the web without even having to leave their houses. This beats the hell out of having to drive in to town, find parking space, queue for bargains and then carry the items home or wait for delivery of large products. If your company is still living in the dark ages, and you don’t have an online business then you are offering the competition sales on a plate.
In order to stay competitive, businesses need to offer their services or products online, as well as doing business the traditional way. When I was researching a purchase for one of those big American style Maytag fridges recently, I searched online for as much information about the range available and their sizes etc. It was great to find out all about them prior to making a purchase and I also found details about a product recall which was even more useful information as I then knew about which models to avoid. In the end it didn’t put me off entirely as these things have had a great built-to-last reputation for many years, and at least I found out where to go for Maytag Refrigerator Repairs in the end too!
In the end I bought it from a physical retailer (John Lewis, because it’s true they have never knowingly been undersold!) but I was able to research the best deals online before I went in and ordered it.
Businesses today need to communicate with potential customers who do business mostly online. Be smart and start today to get your company online and out in front, even if you do sell your products mainly offline.
These days just having an online presence is no longer enough. Even if you are in a very specialist industry you will still have to advertise your web pages in order to make the most of the search community traffic.
About five years ago if you operated in a niche sector you could do quite well from search engine searches simply by just having an informative website. However, this is no longer the case and in the last few years particularly even niche industries have seen some serious competition on the internet as everyone is vying for those all important top ten spots in the search results. An example of one of these businesses is my client who performs shot blasting which isn’t a sector that you would predict is highly competitive on the internet, but in fact has a lot of competition.
When you manage an online business you potentially have a world-wide audience, depending on your product or service. This means you need to have 24 hour customer access, due to the time differences around the world. Automatic systems to respond to orders will be a vital part of the website design otherwise you will need staff available working unsociable hours. In this new world, the old ways of import/export will become outdated very quickly.
When managing an online company you need to be a Jack of all trades. But communication is an essential part of all the different aspects of running a business. Email and instant messaging are efficient ways of communicating with employees, particularly when different time zones are a complication. Setting up an online conference room will save the need for physical space and travelling and will provide a forum for members to air their views, concerns and challenges.
The website home page is the first thing users see when visiting your site. To make a good impression you will need a good brand image, clear information and a user friendly process so that customer will find it easy to purchase their goods. (Don’t make it hard for your customers to find their way around the system and buy products, no matter how clever something may be.)
A web designer who can provide a CMS system and demonstrable SEO service can enable you to update your website with your latest product offerings yourself, and also get those products in front of many thousands of potential customers each week, month and year by getting pages ranked in highly in Google and the other search engines like Yahoo and Alta Vista.
Statistics reporting is another service which can give you valuable information on how many people are accessing the site, and from that information you can see if your services/goods are attracting the sales you want. If not then there is an opportunity to revamp your products or website to improve on conversion rates.
For customer satisfaction make sure your business provides excellent quality products, efficient service, and an easy to use system. Where items are good value for money, customers will be happy to recommend your company to friends and family and sales will increase.
The growth of the internet gives a whole new meaning to the world of commerce. Using ecommerce websites millions of people are out there starting new online businesses, all wanting a piece of the action, all wanting to make their millions. So make sure your business is one of the forerunners and get yourself up there on the first page on Google. Don’t wait, get started now before your competitors leave you behind. Five years from now you’ll be glad if you read this and took action.
