Are you looking for a quick way to start a business? Maybe you want to expand your retail store.
Selling online is the way to go. You may be hesitant to take your business online for a number of reasons. Excuses like you don’t know how to build a website or you don’t know where to start are common obstacles.
There are many advantages to selling online that you should consider. They will help you get over your excuses and get inspired to begin. Are you ready to learn more about selling online?
Let’s get started!
1. Low Overhead
Weigh the costs of starting an online business vs. having a retail store. The differences are amazing. You don’t need to hire employees, because your store is available 24/7.
You don’t need to pay for commercial real estate, either.
Online, you have to pay for a website, hosting, marketing (or DIY), and for inventory.
2. You Can Choose Distribution Channels
When you sell online, you have a lot of options to sell your products. You don’t just have to build a website. You can sell products as a third-party vendor on Amazon or through Wal-Mart.
Many online sellers choose to do both because it widens their reach.
3. Low Barrier to Entry
It costs less to run an online business than a retail store. The startup costs are much less, too. The specific number is going to vary depending on your industry.
It’s a safe bet that you can start an online business with $2,000 if you DIY everything and have money left over for marketing. Try to do that with a retail store.
4. Detailed Customer Data
How much can you possibly know about your retail customers? Unless you are a sophisticated operation that invested a ton of money in apps and customer incentive programs, not much.
Selling online gives you a treasure trove of customer data. You’ll know exactly what is selling when people are buying, where they’re visiting from.
You can use other marketing insights to find out how your customers are finding your online store. Analytics are readily available to help you find what marketing messages are working and which ones aren’t
5. People Shop Online
Black Friday isn’t what it used to be. Brick and mortar stores are fighting for attention because they need to hit sales numbers during the all-important Christmas season. So, they start Black Friday right after Halloween.
The reason why is because people are shopping online. Customers spent a whopping $7.4 billion on Black Friday 2019. Retails sales dropped by more than 6%.
In other words, if you don’t sell online, you’re missing the boat. It’s more of a necessity to sell online.
6. You Don’t Need to Be a Technical Genius
Are you afraid of dealing with websites and programming? You will be thrilled to learn that you don’t need to be a technical guru to build an eCommerce site.
You can just learn how to set up Shopify store. This type of platform takes the programming out of the equation and lets you set up a store with very few headaches.
7. Make Sales While You Sleep
You don’t want to have to drag yourself to a retail location at all hours to make sales. You don’t want to work weekends, either.
You can make money while you sleep when your site is set up and your marketing campaigns are working. The sales will roll in whether you’re at the computer or not.
Your job is to fulfill the orders quickly and provide world-class customer service. That’s how you build a great business reputation.
8. Gain a Competitive Edge
Selling products or services online can give you a competitive edge. Your competition may have offerings online, but they have their marketing all wrong. That won’t turn into sales.
Building a powerful online platform will enable you to crush your competition.
9. More Powerful Ways to Market Your Business
One of the best ways to market your business is through content marketing. Content marketing is the use of blogs, email marketing, and social media to drive highly targeted traffic to your website.
Content marketing campaigns can build relationships with your customers. When you have the right customers, they become loyal customers who will spend more than anyone else.
It’s a natural fit with online stores. You can drive traffic to your site that is ready to make a purchase at that moment.
10. You Can Serve Very Small Markets
The best thing about selling online is that you get to choose your market. With a retail store, your market often chooses you because they happen to be walking by. You also have to have a broad range of products to serve a number of needs.
Online, you can niche down to serve a very specific audience. You can then create another online store to serve another niche.
The tighter the niche, the more sales you’ll have. You can pick a niche that’s profitable and exciting to you. You can sell nothing but grills and grill supplies, or you can sell products for birdwatchers and wildlife photographers.
The Advantages of Selling Online
If you want to start or expand your business, you need to be online. The advantage of selling online is that it’s where your customers are researching and buying products.
They love the convenience of buying online and they often trust online providers over big-box retail stores. That puts you in a position to be successful.
The advantages of selling online are plentiful. You don’t need to be a tech expert to set up your online shop and the costs are low. That will help you increase your profit margins by selling online.
Do you want more ways to start selling online? Check out this site often for more business articles.
