Traditional buyer journey was quite predictable. It used to have clear cuts which most customers followed – you could actually draw a linear line in between their needs and final conversions. From awareness stage, to consideration and final decision all they needed was information.
The rise of the internet completely transformed entire buyer journey, creating research driven individuals who have a completely non-linear and unpredictable path to you. Suddenly the fact that there are no information about your business or that your products can’t be ordered online makes much difference for a massive part of buyers – online shoppers. After everything we learned about how people interact with internet before finally making that buying decision, it’s almost business suicide for any retailer not to sell online.
Photo credit goes to econsultancy.com
If you are a business owner with a basic technical knowledge, all these information such as: payment gateway, domain, hosting account, SSL certificate, SaaS, Magento, SEO, AdWords, campaigns etc. may seem a little bit overwhelming. Rest assured, almost everyone started from this point. The fear of not understanding should not be an obstacle for your potential online success.
That’s why it’s very important to properly choose an eCommerce agency that can help you with all these things.
Whatever you are selling, one thing is sure – your buyers are waiting for products like yours online and your competitors are already establishing themselves.
1. You already have an acomplished business
Maybe you are running an old family inherited business. You are doing just well and your current state of mind could be described as “if ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. You have regular customers and you are really sure that they wouldn’t even be buying online.
The thing is, your customers are already here. They might still frequently visit your traditional store, but with online store you will be giving them better consumer experience as they will have an opportunity to research products before buying.
Secondly, you will be able to offer them better customer service as they will have all important information which they could access even outside your store working hours. When we talk about working hours – you would be allowing your customers to view and purchase your products whenever it’s most suitable for them. No more crossed arms, nervous spouses hurrying your precious buyers up.
2. You’ve noticed your competitors are (not) selling online
According to Google, one in three smartphone users have purchased from a company or brand other than the one they intended to because of information provided in the moment they needed it. When people reach for their smartphone for an action or information, this is your chance to deliver either of that.
If you are not there, you are losing your chance to shine in a so called consumers micro-moment. Although there are a billion of those in a day, without showing your brand in a today’s consumer journey, you won’t get a chance to address potential customers needs when the conversion moment comes.
Can you afford to lose every third potential customer?
3. You are focused on B2B
Yep, it is important to have a well-educated sales rep that will push your sales towards different businesses – but B2B web store will make them even more efficient.
They would have instant access to all product information, prices and inventory data as well as order history which would allow them to make better on sight decisions. The greatest benefit is the fact that your sales rep will be free of repetitive administrative work and they will be able to spend more time nurturing relationships with your buyers hence dramatically increase sales revenue.
Skipping manual order processing is a great time saver and a great way to minimize risk of miscommunication. If your clients would have a possibility of placing orders directly in your sales portal, which is ideally integrated with your ERP, they would always have direct insight into accurate inventory levels and customer-specific information.
But hey, if you want to talk numbers, according to Frost & Sullivan, the B2B online retail market is expected to reach double the size of the B2C market, a <href=”https://ww2.frost.com/news/press-releases/global-b2b-e-commerce-market-will-reach-67-trillion-usd-2020-finds-frost-sullivan/” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”> generating revenues of 6.7 trillion USD by 2020.
4. Right now
eCommerce is growing rapidly. Actually, according to Statista, e-retail revenues are projected to grow to 4.48 trillion US dollars in 2021. In a short time range (2014-2021) it is expected that the number of people buying online will almost double. In 2021, over 2.14 billion people worldwide are expected to buy goods and services online, up from 1.32 billion global digital buyers in 2014.
The prevalence of eCommerce continues to grow and shows no signs of slowing down. While brick and mortar still makes up the majority of sales, eCommerce sales are growing faster. eCommerce and traditional storefront retail will continue to grow together, for better or worse.
Still not convinced that selling online is for you? Share with us what your business is about and let us show you specific benefits of online selling for you.
