Top 6 Reasons Why your Offline Business must have an eCommerce Website

Even though it is less and less common these days, traditional brick-and-mortar business owners still ask: Why should I take my business online?

Let me clarify something first. In this article, a “traditional company” is one that has a physical location and sells in person, over the phone, or by mail; essentially a bricks-and-mortar business. Walk-in customers may or may not be available. A business that does not sell physical products exclusively online, such as an eCommerce business.

Many of the steps for setting up an online presence for brick-and-mortar businesses are similar to those for setting up an online business, however, there are some things that make an online presence for a brick-and-mortar business unique.

The phrase “doing business online” or “putting your business online” is often used. It may sound complicated or risky to many. There are many good reasons to start selling (and running your business) online. You should establish an online presence for your offline business for nine reasons:

Why you should start a business online

1. Enhancing Your Company’s Image

The mere fact that you can sell online should be enough reason to start an eCommerce business. This is an extremely important factor because without a website, blog, or online presence, potential clients may begin to wonder if you are serious about your business. All sizes and industries are establishing a successful online presence today.

If you do not have an online presence (and a professional one at that), then your prospects will not take you seriously and you will lose business to your competitors who do. Your prospects and customers expect you to have an online presence, so you need to have one.

2. 365 days a year availability

Fast-food restaurants, grocery stores, and gas stations do provide 24-hour service, but most businesses cannot. That is, without internet access. An e-commerce website allows your clients and prospects to read about your products and place orders at any time, day or night. During regular business hours or on holidays. Imagine what your business could be like if you were open 3–4 times longer.

Even if your business is an offline service provider, you can generate leads and inquiries while you are closed and follow up with those prospects and customers once you reopen. Most people will do their research after business hours when your office or business is closed, but your website can operate and your 2/47 salesperson can answer questions and generate leads.

3. Improved customer service

With the internet, you can answer questions, give sales webinars, and solve customer problems without taking any time out of your day. By creating a video, a product spec sheet, or a FAQ (frequently asked questions) section once, you can direct clients to that information for years. In addition to saving you time, you’ll also be providing better service. Prospects and clients want specific information, such as:

• Before they make a purchase
• An existing purchase has a problem that needs to be resolved
• Researching alternatives before making a purchase

By having an online presence, you can offer them the information they are looking for when they are looking for it. Fewer phone calls with technical questions mean more sales. You can spend more time on revenue-generating activities in your business and less time dealing with customer service issues.

One of the best ways to develop a relationship and increase sales is through email marketing.

4. Low startup costs

Online businesses have very low startup costs. Your company has no buildings to construct, no vehicles to purchase, and few (if any) staff to hire. Just build your site and start selling. This can be an easy transition if you are already selling offline. You just continue selling the products that you already know and have a good reputation for the supply.

Many technical tasks and even things like social media marketing can be outsourced.

Although you could spend tens of thousands of dollars creating the best website and e-commerce solution, many of your competitors will do it on a shoestring budget. Good websites can be designed for very little money.

You can build a professional site on your own using a free platform like self-hosted WordPress and a premium theme ($70 — $200). Some web hosts offer free site-building tools.

With a good theme, it is possible to design your own site almost without coding.

To start own eCommerce business on a shoestring budget, it will cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Expenses include web hosting, a WorksLeader theme, a domain name, and an email marketing autoresponder service. Once it’s set up, it can run virtually on autopilot. Regular updates can be done yourself, or you can hire someone to do them for you.

5. The Internet Is Made for Business

An online store is literally just a click away from your prospective client(s). You can now educate, instruct, and solve clients’ problems online. Orders and payments can now be received directly into your inbox.

It’s important to learn about new inexpensive and effective ways to drive traffic to your website; the more people who find you online, the more leads and sales you will get. While many people were hesitant to do eCommerce business in the past, today it is as common as swiping a credit card at a physical location.

6. Work / Live anywhere

Are you feeling down because of the long, cold winters? Are you tired of the constant heat and humidity in your area? Setting up an eCommerce business gives you the freedom to work and live anywhere you want; you are not restricted to a physical location.

While conducting your online business, you can live anywhere as long as you have a solid internet connection. Many people live on one continent, have their hosting on another, and their warehouse on another. As a result, the world has become a very small place. You could even move to the Caribbean or South America, where the cost of living is low, and do business online.

There are a few exceptions to the rule that you do not need to “be” somewhere to use the internet. Allow your business to adapt to your lifestyle instead of the other way around. There are some notable exceptions, like landscapers, surgeons, and home painters who must perform their work at a specific location.

Although this all sounds appealing, having an online business is not for everyone. There are many reasons why you shouldn’t start an online business and keep your day job or traditional business.