Should Small Business Use Ecommerce?

1
Should Small Business Use Ecommerce?
2

• Today, ecommerce has become the fastest growing
  sector in the world. It has grown by leaps and
  bounds in the last two decades. This clearly
  indicates why it is important to take your
  business online. The US ecommerce market is
  expected to reach 600 billion by 2021. It is on
  a steep growth trajectory, hence not being part
  of it is no longer an option.
• With the advent of Internet, there has been a
  dramatic change in the way people shop. Having a
  brick and mortar store is not enough to improve
  the revenue of your business.

3

• Online Shopping is Convenient
• Time has come for small businesses to dive into
  the waters of Ecommerce software solution. Having
  an online store is an investment that can give
  good returns for small business owners. Today, a
  majority of shoppers use different online
  channels to research, select and purchase
  products.
• Boost Brand Awareness
• Irrespective of the size of business, having an
  online presence is a must. With majority of
  population browsing the Internet for shopping,
  taking business online can play a key role in
  boosting product awareness. So if you want more
  potential buyers to know about your products,
  think of starting an online store.

4

• Increase Business Reach
• A small business with a brick and mortar store
  considerably limits your business reach. To be
  honest, your customer reach is restricted to your
  locality. On the other hand, ecommerce business
  smashes all geographical boundaries. Anybody
  having an Internet connection can access your
  site. No matter what part of the world your
  consumer is staying, he can easily view your site
  and place an order. In other words, with an
  online store, you will be in a position to grow
  your customer base.
• Boost in Business Revenue
• Increase in business reach associated with
  ecommerce will automatically translate into
  increase in business revenue. Every small
  business wants to attract more customers and
  revenue. This can be easily achieved by opening
  an online store.

5

• No Financial Burden
• Many small businesses are on a tight budget,
  hence hesitate to launch an ecommerce store. It
  is a misconception that running an online store
  is an expensive proposition. Low operational
  costs is the hallmark of running an Ecommerce
  store for small business.
• Understand Customer Requirements
• Studying customer buying habits is not easy with
  physical store. On the other hand, online stores
  provide an easy way to analyze buying pattern.
  There are various analytics tools available in
  the market that you can easily download and get
  deep insights about how your customers interact
  with your site.

6

• CRM Need of the Hour
• As far as choosing ecommerce platform is
  concerned, pick one that comes with built-in CRM
  software for small business. As we all know, a
  CRM tool is commonly used to keep track of
  customer interactions and understand their needs
  in a better way. Instead of buying CRM separately
  and then connecting it afterwards, select a
  built-in solution.
• Which Ecommerce Solution to Choose?
• If your business will be handling large customers
  (B2B), pick a B2B ecommerce software. It will
  help you to sell products to companies in an
  agile manner. To fulfill your customers B2B
  buying expectations, it is important to pick this
  type of ecommerce system.
• On the whole, with customers continuing their
  steady march online, it doesnt make sense to
  depend on your brick and mortar store to run your
  business. It is high time that you take your
  business online and sell 24/7.