How often do you order food or make purchases online? How many times every week do you search for a restaurant near you on Google? Or look for store details like the operating hours or location? If you think about it, you may notice our day-to-day life cannot be separated from the online world. Clever business owners and marketers are always on the lookout for opportunities to make their business available online.
In this article, you will explore the opportunities that can come from getting your business online.
- You will get larger audience base
These days, you don’t have to worry if your store is located downtown where the size of the parking lot becomes a limiting factor for your shoppers to reach you. Depending on the nature of your business, bringing your business online can help extend the reach from your business from your local town to a larger city, and even internationally. Just like SHEIN app that sells fashion items globally or GrabFood that helps restaurants fill up gaps so that consumers can order online and get the food delivered right to their doorstep. - You can make sales anytime, anywhere
Unlike traditional bricks and mortar businesses that usually have fixed operating hours, online businesses run 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. That means your potential customers no longer need to queue up and squeeze in to shop at your store at a certain time. When you have an online store, your customers can always enjoy shopping with you regardless of when and where they are – they can even place orders in the middle of the night! This convenience will eventually help to improve your sales.
Also, an online store can integrate with various digital payment gateways like credit card payment, FPX payment and e-wallet payment. Some of these payment methods also come with finance options for a purchase like Buy Now Pay Later or a 0% Easy Payment Plan. These methods, which lower barriers to more expensive items, allow you to reach a higher purchase rate.
Contact our specialist today to know more about all payment solutions you need in business. - You can lower your operational costs
The cost of having a hybrid model of online plus physical business is much lower than physical business with a number of different branches. This is because for every physical store to be set up, you need to pay for the store rental, the utilities, the renovation, the furniture and the workforce who can help you serve customers and manage the store. However, the more you put your business online, the more you can reduce the operational costs mentioned above. - You can work flexibly to operate from anywhere
Not only can your customers conveniently make their purchases from anywhere, putting your business online also enables you to work and handle your store from any corner of the world. All you need is a stable internet connection. With the help of a digital automation system, you can streamline various vital functions by using online service providers to manage purchasing, billing, order fulfillment, and payments for your online business. - You can build brand reputation via online reviews
How many times have you read online reviews of a restaurant, hotel, or business before you consider taking up their service? From retailers to suppliers, every business is affected by online reviews, which ultimately translates to sales. Having your business presence online means you are taking up the opportunities to demonstrate your credibility and gain customers. Especially for online stores, reviews are a fantastic way to build trust and encourage sales. - You improve customer retention with loyalty programs
A successful business not only brings in new clients but is also able to retain existing customers. The relative cost of acquiring new customers is often higher than retaining existing customers. With digital loyalty programs, customers are able to receive the latest promotion updates, check on their membership or points from time to time and stay connected and engaged with your brand. This is an effective way to improve your relationship with customers and it is geared toward bringing customers back to engage with your business.
Do you know what type of loyalty programs suitable for your business? Read article: 8 Types of Loyalty Programs That Work for Your Business - You can deploy effective online marketing
From email marketing to social media marketing, there are so many marketing strategies you can implement when you have an online presence for your business. An online store is the final destination where you can showcase your brand and products via digital marketing to help you spread brand awareness, reach customers and increase sales more cost effectively than traditional marketing methods. - You can capture customer data easily
A good data capture strategy collects customer data like contact number, birth date, gender, job, purchase preference, how much they spend with you, when they place their order, and so forth. Capturing quality customer information allows you to better understand your customers in order to make better business decisions and develop customer relationships. Good data collection is a game changer to reduce cart abandon rate and improve your sales. - You can provide better customer support
A website is a great place to showcase your product information to potential customers. You can even publish your contact information or set up a customer support chatbot to allow your customers to connect with you whenever support is needed.
To save time for both you and your customers, create videos, product spec sheets or frequently asked questions (FAQ), and you can direct clients to that information when they search for the keywords of the issue they face. Clients and prospects usually look for informations when:
– They looking for information to buy your products
– They have a problem with an existing purchase
– They are researching alternatives before making a buying decision
So, make sure you create instructions or guides that are easy to understand and truly able to help your clients and prospects. This will be one of the most important ways to connect with your audience and leave them a positive impression and excellent service.
Conclusion
These are just some of the best reasons you should start taking your offline business online. Whether you are running a business that has to be in a certain location or has the flexibility to turn bricks and mortar to a digital presence, leveraging online tools and having an online presence can effectively increase return on investment by improving your reach to high quality prospects as well as providing better service to your customers.
So what next? If you are keen to bring your offline store online, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team of experts at DCR to find out all you need, from listing your store with us, to installing a buy now pay later service to your store, or deploying an effective loyalty program solution.
Source: https://dcr.com.my/opportunities-your-offline-business-will-get-with-an-online-presence/
Dynamic Creative & Resourceful (DCR) Marketing Sdn Bhd is a 15 year old company. We focuses and specializes in Marketing, Rewards Loyalty, Usage & Redemption Programme with most of our clients are from the Financial & Corporate sectors (Local & International).