The Internet has revolutionized our lives like never before. It most certainly has changed business dynamics and given a sense of freedom to every individual that has perhaps never been felt before.
Citizen activism, speaking your mind, connecting to the rest of the world, the power of expression and the power of choice are all advantages that have come along with a globalized and connected world. It has also probably spawned the greatest era in humankind of entrepreneurship.
E-commerce solutions have brought about an array of opportunities especially for small businesses. The ability to connect vendors, consumers and service providers all on one platform has been the biggest advantage. Online shopping is very popular in many parts of the world and is fast catching up as it saves time, makes comparisons easier, delivers at your doorstep and allows consumers to make remote decisions.
But when choosing an e-commerce solution for your business, there are definitely some parameters that you should look at. The two broad options you have is use already available platforms offered by established online players or create your own website.
When choosing a customized website, look at a few factors that will affect you:-
- Can you scale up as your business expands?
- Does the platform give you enough flexibility to modify the interfaces and back-end software as per your business dynamics?
- Do you have the ease of constant customer support for any technical issues?
- Is the platform able to handle high volumes of traffic?
- Are payment options secure and there are enough privacy and confidentiality norms to protect both your interests as well as those of your customers?
- How can the interface set you apart from your competitors? The online space is cluttered with so many players, that the browsing and shopping experience that you can provide to your consumers should be able to stand apart. The carts for different products and the ability to provide product details, shipping details and complete billing details is definitely a must.
- You must be able to secure appropriate names for your websites and adequate information for your consumer to allay any fears, see testimonials and links to other important aspects of your business to make their shopping decisions faster, smoother and wholesome.
- Get digital marketing campaign options to advertise your small business to be able to attract more consumers and retain them. Choose a partner that can help you with designing, content, search engine optimization along with managing back-end interfaces with merchants and inventory support.
- How much are you willing to pay and what is the control vs. price threshold that most suits you? Standard offerings may be inexpensive, but customization will differentiate your business.
- Are you able to get insights about clicks, shares, visits, likes, browsing times and other customer related data that can help you develop better products and services?
They’re easy, fast and economical – use e-commerce solutions to see your small business zoom past your expectations.
To know more about e-commerce solutions please click here.
Photo credit: Swiss E-Commerce Award
