In an age when people rely on the Internet for everything from socializing to entertainment and shopping, it's a wise idea to start a website for your business. More than that, allowing consumers to buy from your business online will have more positive effects on your business than negative.
Staying Competitive
It's a fact: people prefer businesses with websites. This is true whether the person in question wants to buy from your business or become part of it. The Internet allows people to learn more about you and the product or service you offer before they invest the time in visiting your business location. If your business doesn't have a website, you lose a valuable opportunity every time someone searches for you online and doesn't find you. When they do find you online, having an ecommerce system in place increases your likelihood of making a sale.
Larger Customer Base
Even if you own a small local business, do not discount the number of people outside your local area who may find your website -- after all, unlike a brick-and-mortar business location, the Internet has no geographical boundaries. While geography might dissuade a long-distance visitor to your website from doing business with you, an online shopping solution benefits both him and your business. Your business may earn more than one new customer if he tells others in his area, or online, about his positive experience with your business.
Stronger Ties with Current Customers
Your ecommerce site isn't only a place where prospective customers can find your business, as current customers may also take advantage of the convenient online shopping feature. You can then track your customers' online buying patterns based on location within your city, for example, and gain insight into what attracts various types of buyers to your business. Also, because no website is complete without a contact form, you provide a forum for customers to share their opinions about your business with you anonymously, unlike in a brick-in-mortar store. Use this information to improve your product or service.
Need to Invest More Money
One of the disadvantages of taking a business online is the cost. People prefer not only businesses with websites, they prefer businesses with attractive websites, which means you should consider hiring a web designer if you don't have the necessary skills. A web designer may charge several hundred to more than a thousand dollars to design a small website, but the results are worth it for your business. Almost 40 percent of all online purchases are impulse buys, and the leading cause of the trend is sharp website design, according to User Interface Engineering.
