When a new business owner is looking for the right location to set up shop, they consider foot traffic, target audience, and rent cost. If everything goes as intended, the company quickly becomes a popular local spot for consumers to purchase certain products or services. But without an e-commerce platform, the shop isn’t reaching its full potential in sales, revenue, or brand awareness.
What Do You Need to Know About E-commerce?
Electronic commerce includes online transactions where one buys from or sells to another or transmits funds electronically. Most know of business-to-consumer transactions where a company sells directly to a customer without a wholesaler or other third-party retailer middleman. Some examples include residents buying clothes or groceries online.
However, businesses also sell to other businesses in the supply chain during B2B transactions, such as when manufacturing companies buy supplies from vendors like lumber yards. Even consumers sell to other consumers or businesses. They supply services like customer reviews, focus group participation, and influence (if they’re YouTubers with many impressionable followers).
How E-commerce Grows Small Businesses
Below, we’ll delve into B2C transactions and how they expand small businesses.
Expanding Your Customer Base by Going Global
Unlike a physical storefront that sees the same faces daily, an online presence reaches more potential customers the company would otherwise not come across. There aren’t geographical limitations online, so owners increase their customer base while reaching customers worldwide, increasing sales and revenue.
Saving On Business Costs
Some small business owners may even consider having an online store alone to eliminate the costs of a physical setup. With at least one mobile device and a Wi-Fi connection, they can work from anywhere and avoid paying rent, operating expenses, utility bills, insurance, and other fees.
Building Brand Awareness
Moreover, an e-commerce setup allows customers to do more research on a brand. Unlike in-store, where consumers take a chance on a company, consumers make a more informed decision online by reading customer reviews and ratings. Owners also show off awards, certificates, and achievements to encourage buyers to partner with them rather than a competitor.
By appeasing the Google algorithm with the right keywords and other tactics, the search engine results pages rank that small business higher than its competitors. This means a quick online search for a related product or service leads people straight to the former, further building brand awareness.
Analyzing Data for Better Marketing
While business owners track in-store sales, e-commerce tracks a lot more with analytics tools like software programs and applications that gather data. For instance, they look at customers’ browsing histories and carts to better understand product success. Owners learn more about customer activity and make predictions and decisions, such as how to fill inventory later.
Furthermore, they track marketing campaigns to determine whether their efforts are effective. If not, they can develop and test a new marketing strategy before implementing it.
With the many advantages of e-commerce, don’t be like the three out of four small businesses that don’t have an online platform. Consider one today!
