As the recent innovation of Amazon’s drone shipping network shows, your customers can now utilize the Internet whenever they desire to buy and ship any type of products that tickle their fancy. The U.S. Department of Commerce notes that Internet shopping has grown so popular that the third quarter of 2013 saw no less than $67 billion in sales. Companies that lack an online outlet may find that their brick-and-mortar stores can no longer provide satisfactory sales. How can your business launch an e-commerce platform?
Create a Plan
Starbucks sells coffee, Microsoft sells computers, a plumber sells you the service of making your pipes work. Trim your business plan down to the bare bones and determine how to incorporate the Internet. There’s no need to hurry, so take your time: the World Bank reports that the United States lets you start a business in as little as five days and can do so with greater ease than most other developed nations. Get the statistics on market exposure, inventory, payroll and taxes to develop an e-spending strategy over the first weeks, months and years.
Take Stock
Find out what you’ve got on hand in your real-world warehouse so that your e-warehouse never goes empty. By using a payment capture system, business owners can track their in-store sales and keep steady track of how much goes out compared to how much comes in. An Intuit credit card reader lets you turn your existing digital sales into e-sales by providing mobile solutions rather than relying on cash registers. 3Dcart.com helps you understand how to empower your business using point-of-sale solutions once you put your company’s cash flow onto an e-reader.
Thoughtful Site Design
How many visitors will your site need to maintain? How many graphics will be necessary to draw customers in, click on videos, browse through inventory and proceed to the e-checkout? Nielsen Consulting suggests you have as little as 10 seconds of a browser’s attention to pitch your logo, brands, services, sales and deals and steals. When it comes time to building the webpage itself, get professional help with all aspects of content and presentation. Determine how much you’re willing to pay for higher bandwidth and lower downtime. Remember that 99.9 percent uptime leaves about eight minutes per month where your website cannot be used.
Go Forth and Be Fruitful
A business that spent millions to build a parking lot, stock shelves and hire workers still needs customers walking through the door each day. How can you drive traffic to your new e-commerce platform, retain existing customers, spread into new niches and gain a larger following? Digital media will drive more and more of your marketing dollars, with eMarketer reporting that digital media will develop into more than 30 percent of U.S. marketing expenditure by 2017. Expect the trend to rise for as long as mobile phones, tablets, laptops and desktops have the ability to connect customers to your business.