According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, 3rd quarter retail sales on the internet have grown to $34.7 billion, an increase of 3.6% from the previous quarter.*
You may think that because your business doesn't sell products you can't put in an online store or cash in on the online market. You Can and You Should.
No matter what business you're in, you need to let customers know what you do and why you do it better than your competitors. Then provide a way -- either via e-mail, phone or both -- for people to reach you to learn more and perhaps get prices. It's simply part of doing business in the 21st century.
here are the benefits of selling online:
- Introduce new products and services
- Increase sales while decreasing costs
- Potential to expand from regional to national to international markets
- Target your market, so customers most likely to need your product or service know your company
- Customers can buy 24 hours a day
How can you take advantage of all these benefits?
By creating a website that accommodates customers. The process requires some thought... in addition to having the infrastructure to handle customers, the site has to be user-friendly, reliable and credible so customers are comfortable navigating and purchasing from you.
Which leads to security. if your site is not secure, potential clients will not complete the purchase transaction and enter their credit card informaiton. You also need to condider your site reliability adn make sure that your iste will not shut down when faced with traffic increases.
You may attract internation al customers and have to make sure you're quipped to hancle them form legal (taxes, anyone?), logistical (DoesFedEx deliver to Luxembourg overnight?) and practical standpoints (should you hvae a vesion of your site translated into another language?)
As savvy as today's consumers are, some pople will have qustions and want to talk to a person. Companies like www.liveperson.com help you be there for your customers 24 hours a day.
You also wnat to remain competitive, which is why many companies offer free shipping. this is enticing for consumers, but will take a bite out of your bottom line. Is it worth the potential of more business, and hopefully retention, if you'll make less on each sales?
that's up to you . But regardless of whether you sell goods or services, teh decision about whether to put your business online should be easier to make.
