The question “how do you usually decide what to buy” would have had a drastically different answer a decade ago. Most consumers would have come across an advertisement they saw on the TV or a magazine that made them want to try out a product. Helping your brand reach an audience and convert them into consumers used to be an extensive process with carefully placed ads, billboards, slots on radio shows, and every other conceivable medium, all working in cohesion to help your brand gain market visibility and move up those competitive sales rankings. In the year 2021, however, the process can be boiled down to two simple words- “The Internet”.
The world is online and business opportunities have never flourished as much as they have since the “Social Media Age”. It connected everyone these which makes it that much simpler to market your products directly to an audience. The simplest and most effective way to take your business online and establish a strong foothold in the market is to set up an e-commerce website.
Here are 5 reasons your business should have an e-commerce website:
1. Makes Customer Retention Easier
In a world without technology, the only time a seller would have contact with their buyers is for the duration of the transaction. The possibility of retaining them as customers would be entirely contingent on the quality of the product and efficacy of your selling technique.
With an e-commerce website, however, retaining customers becomes much simpler as the website collects important data (like email addresses) and allows you to reconnect with your consumers in an easy and speedy manner.
When you have your customers’ contact details, you can send them email marketing promotions, discount alerts, product announcements, and more, directly to their devices, saving you the labour (and cost) of having to run an extensive customer retention campaign.
2. Helps You Harness the Power of Data Analysis
In a world that is rapidly digitizing, data is king. Data can help predict patterns of consumption, market trends, price fluctuations- the list is practically endless.
The data gathered through an e-commerce website helps refine and fine-tune an organization’s selling technique down to the most minute details. It answers the 4W1H of a consumer decision with accuracy and precision. Not only do you know who has bought what from you in the past and when, but you also know how much they spent and why they were interested in that item.
This information can get used to make smart suggestions to the consumers that will ultimately help you make more sales.
3. It Makes Your Brand Unique
When you sell your product in the marketplace or through a third-party website, it puts multiple filters between you and your customer and your brand’s identity might get lost in the mix. In order to increase brand awareness and ensure that your brand’s message reaches your audience, an e-commerce platform is essential.
It gives you the freedom to personalize the consumer experience, from the way your website looks and functions, down to the packaging of the product, all while creating a lasting bond between the buyer and the brand.
Simply put, an e-commerce website helps amplify your branding efforts to where customers associate your brand with the product category it caters to.
4. It Saves Money for All Parties Involved
Having a physical market presence can be extremely costly for store-runners. Many store-runner has put out of business for not being able to pay the rent for a month, let alone managing overhead charges.
With an e-commerce website, however, the physical requirement of a store get eliminated. All your products are available for the customer to assess at the click of a button.
E-commerce websites are a boon for customers as well. With changing patterns of consumption, more people prefer to order things from the comfort of their homes than spending money to travel to the marketplace and spend hours making a decision.
E-commerce websites are, in this context, saviours of time and money for all parties involved.
5. E-Commerce is The Future
The digital era has seen several daily activities transition from a face-to-face basis to an online medium. More people converse over cellphones and through messaging applications today than in person. It is only a matter of time before the consumer experience itself shifts online, mostly.
The coronavirus pandemic exposed many shortcomings of the global pattern of consumption but also gave a platform to e-commerce websites to flourish- and flourish they have.
E-commerce website sales were up by 44% in countries like the US in the year 2020. The Indian e-commerce market is projected to grow into a 200-billion-dollar juggernaut by 2027. Mobile purchasing is here to stay.
In fact, that is not the only way in which e-commerce websites help improve a company’s standing in the market. Reviews, feedback forms, and customer interactions enabled through these websites give insights that lead to innovation and invention- the two pillars of a thriving market.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
There is a general rule-of-thumb that successful entrepreneurs and business owners abide by, ‘Keep up with the times, lest you be left behind’. An industry that does not change is an industry that will not grow, and with e-commerce, the potential for growth has no hard ceiling.
If you’re ready to venture out into the world of e-commerce but are unsure of how to go about doing it, put your worries to rest. There are many up-and-coming names in the web development and designing industry, such as Creaa Designs, that will help you set up an e-commerce website with an unparalleled web presence. This Mumbai-based company offers integrated web solutions for all your e-commerce setting up needs and is the perfect partner to help you take the first step in this journey.
