Today, it seems that most businesses in the world have either an online component or are entirely digitally based. Why is this the trend? And should you invest in an online set-up for your business even if it is a brick n’ mortar establishment? The evidence says ‘yes. We have compiled some of the major benefits that businesses enjoy ongoing online, irrespective of the type of business in question. Some of these points can even apply well if you want to convert a traditional business to entirely online based!
5 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ONLINE
Expectation– Let’s face it, most of us expect certain businesses to have some kind of online presence. It is rare to find even a mid-level firm that does not at least have a dedicated site for their products, news updates and basic information. Online presence for a business need not mean a site necessarily, it could just mean being accessible through a digital medium as well as physical. This can apply to restaurants or grocery shops. These may not need a dedicated site, but simply a way to handle online orders that can happen via services like Zomato or oneapp.
Low set-up costs- Naturally, a brick n’ mortar business has quite hefty costs associated with setting up a physical location, maintaining a store and dealing with breakdowns or technical failures when they occur. None of these costs applies to an online business or an online component of a larger business. Today, setting up an online presence for businesses is not particularly difficult. There are many services out there that allow you to form and customize your own website with a host of features like data collection and social media integration. The technical aspects of web design are already taken care of, making these quite useful for businesses with no technical department available.
24×7 for everyone– An obvious advantage of online businesses is that they need not ever really close. Hence, anything that a business puts online is always available to view by anyone on the net. This can be FAQs, product information, legal data, etc. This even applies to online shopping as even if your business does not operate 24×7, a site can still accept advance orders and handle the payment so that you have your first orders come in before the day even starts. Being online is very advantageous for increasing your customer base, while also giving you better data about specific target audience engagement on the site itself. Thus, being online can help you study your audience as well as sell to them.
Relationship building- For our purposes, businesses can build relationships with their customers in 2 ways online – good site design and social media. A well-made company site will have tools incorporated to record and solve customer complaints like suggestion tabs, chat boxes, video tutorials, or even virtual assistant-like services. This, coupled with attractive design can really help bring a customer closer to your brand. The other major way to build customer relationships is via social media. Companies have started understanding how important social media is to get your brand personality and message out there. Simply supporting certain things (e.g. pride month) on social media can make a brand seem more human and likeable, which is a practice that is only becoming more common with time.
No geographical bounds- Apart from regions where there is no internet access, work on an online business platform can be done anywhere. You may oversee the entire online aspect of your business from your phone on a couch if you feel like it, which is a very liberating work experience. Furthermore, this means that any staff that handle online enquiries, upload info to the site, or even change the site design, can do so from any part of the world. As such, you can have a greater variety of workers operate the online business aspect across regional boundaries.
Are you planning to take your business online? Contact us