The world is shifting to online for almost all its requirements. Ecommerce website for business has become the need of the hour for every business which is willing to leave a mark in the market and scale itself to new heights.
In today’s everlasting competitive marketplace and convenience-focused society, consumers no longer show the desire to travel long distances and walk high streets to buy products. They like to have the access to a shopping cart right from the comfort of their home with a few clicks on their digital devices.
No matter the size and the type of business you own. Be it a start-up, a medium or a small-sized company or a well-established brand, each of them can benefit immensely from their own online store for displaying their products and services to the entire world and selling it more efficiently.
Have you yet invested in building your own e-commerce website? No? You must consider the idea because this is surely going to lift your business to new heights and give your business the competitive edge that it actually needs.
Wondering if it would be worth it to put in your time, money, and efforts into developing an e-commerce website? Well, in this article we will be discovering all the reasons you must have one!
Before we get on to the plethora of benefits an e-commerce website showers a business with, let us first understand its concept of it.
WHAT EXACTLY IS E-COMMERCE?
E-commerce refers to the process of selling products or services electronically through the mode of the internet. It is the business environment wherein you perform the act of buying and selling via the internet, rather than in a brick-and-mortar setting. The business can process orders, accept payments, manage to ship, and provide customer service, all of it without any need for physical interaction.
E-commerce has been around for quite a few years now but has experienced a boost with the increased availability of smartphones in every home and access to internet services at cheap rates.
For performing e-commerce, one has to build an e-commerce website to facilitate all the functions of e-commerce.
TYPES OF E-COMMERCE WEBSITES :
The E-commerce market is a wide platform. The number of e-commerce websites can be divided into six main categories according to the parties involved in business transactions. The six categories are as follows:
- BUSINESS–TO–BUSINESS (B2B)
A B2B business model refers to a business where both the parties involved have their own individual business entity. The transactions involved are between two business dealers. For example, A retailer buys goods from a wholesaler.
- BUSINESS – TO – CONSUMER (B2C)
A B2C business model refers to a business where one party is a business entity and another is a consumer. For example A consumer buying goods directly from an online shop.
- CONSUMER – TO – BUSINESS (C2B)
A C2B business model is where a consumer offers its product and services to the businesses. For example A freelancer willing to work with a business and provide it with his or her services.
- CONSUMER – TO – CONSUMER (C2C)
A C2C website allows two consumers to have a business transaction. For example Olx, one consumer can list the product he wants to sell and another consumer can buy the product if he is willing to.
- BUSINESS-TO-ADMINISTRATION (B2A)
B2A websites facilitate transactions between a business and an administration. For example, A business that made a website for a public institution.
- CONSUMER – TO – ADMINISTRATION (C2A)
Within this business model, a consumer and an administration is involved. A C2A provides allows the consumer to provide goods or services to a public institution. For example: Paying for a parking ticket through the administration’s web portal.
HERE ARE 7 REASONS WHY AN ECOMMERCE WEBSITE FOR BUSINESS IS IMPORTANT :
Now that you know what exactly is e-commerce and its different branches. You might be wondering why exactly your business requires an e-commerce website. Let’s dive into the benefits of it…!
- TAKE IT GLOBAL: While in a physical shop, you are restricted to that particular area where your shop lies, an e-commerce website eliminates any geographical constraints and opens doors to increased sales and marketing. You get access to a large audience to present your products and services to, the entire world is your playground. If your product and services are exceptionally good, you may even see rapid growth in your business in a short span of time. Your e-commerce website must be well-optimized and matches customer expectations. Also, you must keep in mind the search engine requirements which is an important aspect in bringing traffic to your website which further leads to revenue opportunities.
- NO-TIME CONSTRAINTS: You do not have to wake up early morning and go open the doors to your e-commerce shop, because it is accessible to the customers even when you are fast asleep. An e-commerce website can be accessed anytime by your customers. This allows a business to provide it’s products and services each second of the day to potential customers from different time zones, which further lifts up the sales figures.
- REDUCED OPERATING COSTS: For a physical store, you need to rent or purchase premises for setting it up. Furthermore, it brings with it a number of further expenses such as electricity bills, maintenance charges, internet costs, staff salaries, security costs, and much more. To have an online store, you need not have a physical space to display your products, you can directly list them on your website and your store can function entirely in the online mode. Or even if you wish to have a physical space for your customers to visit to, it need not be as large, since the major part of it is over the internet.
- ENHANCED MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES: Thanks to technology and the internet, you can now market your business with a number of tools available such as social media marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing, and SEO which helps you reach even a far diverse audience and build links and contacts.
For instance, social media marketing assists you keep your customers updated with new products and services you are launching and the platform can be used to engage with your customers and gather feedback.
Taking advantage of SEO, and using the right techniques will have your business appearing at the top results of SERPs and build credibility for your business.
- EASY AND CONVENIENT: An E-commerce website allows no chance for any kind of chaos. Customers just require a digital device to place orders, pay for it and get it delivered to their doorstep, in just a few clicks.
For providing a rich shopping experience to your customers, you must put in every detail of the product displayed so the customer has complete knowledge of what they are buying. Good payment options must be included so customers witness obstacle-free payment process. This enhances customer satisfaction and helps build a positive brand image along with significant revenue.
- SECURED TRANSACTIONS: The security of your customer must be your foremost priority. Any harm to the personal information of a consumer or their money may lead to a negative impression and even cause a number of further complexities.
Your e-commerce website must be protected with an SSL certificate which prevents any kind of data leakage and theft which will ensure your customers with peace of mind that their data and money are in safe hands all the time and they can continue buying from your e-commerce website without any worries. The increased trust of customers is directly proportional to increased revenue.
- RECEIVED EASY FEEDBACKS ON YOUR PRODUCTS: Every business wish to know what the customers think of the products and services they offer. An e-commerce website allows you to receive feedback in a completely effortless way. With a stars rating feature, and the possibility of leaving comments in the comment box by your customers, you will know exactly what your customers think of your products and services and you can accordingly make improvements in your business.
Customers love it when they know that their opinions matter. Building such positive relationships is always a plus point for an enhanced brand image.
SHOULD YOU BUILD AN E-COMMERCE WEBSITE BY YOURSELF OR HAVE PROFESSIONALS ON IT?
While little knowledge of e-commerce websites and how to make them, anyone can build an e-commerce website in a few hours. An e-commerce website must also be efficient to have traffic built on it. A professional e-commerce website development company has a skilled staff for building your e-commerce website right from scratch with new-age tools and techniques. They use the right strategies for building a user-friendly website with user-friendly features.
So hiring a professional is a must if you actually want to have a successful e-commerce business.
FINAL THOUGHTS
With all the above-mentioned benefits, you know exactly how easy, low-risk, and low-cost it is to build an e-commerce website. As long as you have appropriate products and services to offer to the public, a well-planned business strategy, and a good partnership to assist you in building your online store, there’s a high potential to take your business a notch higher and have increased ROI over the long term.