5 Direct Benefits of Starting an E-Commerce Business

Technically, e-commerce is essentially a business arrangement of buying and selling of products/services online. E-commerce transactions take place in en e-commerce website which acts as a virtual storefront that allows customers to purchase what they want from their desktops, laptops or mobile devices. Even though physical stores may be operated through e-commerce websites, many e-commerce businesses practically operate solely online. It is through these websites that all B2C, B2B, C2C, C2B e-commerce business transactions take place. As e-commerce businesses become increasingly popular, there are a number of business benefits derivable from starting an e-commerce business, the most significant of which are: 

1. High Flexibility for Customers: In these days and age, many customers are notoriously very busy. The reason they often lack the time or desire to drive to do physical shopping in shopping malls to purchase their daily needs. This is where e-commerce stores become quite relevant. To save time, many customers usually turn to businesses that can serve them through an e-commerce website where they’ll be able to make purchases whenever they want, from the comfort of their own home, office or anywhere with an internet connection. This is practical shopping flexibility. Such flexibility can lead to happy and satisfied customers who like to make repeat purchases and even refer friends and family to the online store.

2. Ability to Reach a Broader Audience: E-commerce stores have no limitations of physical space. You can do business out of these stores 24/7 and in anywhere around the globe where there is internet services. This means with an e-commerce store, you don’t have to limit your customer base to where you’re present and physically located. Even if you’re in some remote corner of the world, provided there is an internet service, you can leverage the power of the internet to reach a very broad customer base across the world. This broader reach can help the e-commerce store to make more sales and consequently, more profits.

3. Low Overhead Costs: When compared to running a brick-and-mortar physical store, an e-commerce website is often more flexible and affordable. If you operate an e-commerce store, you save up on many overheads costs particularly rents for store space and utility bills. The only investment you really require to run an e-commerce store is to register a domain name, web hosting, inventory and digital marketing all at minimal costs.

4. Unlimited Access to Customer Data: Most e-commerce businesses typically allow you to collect valuable customer data real time. With onsite analytics data, you can gain valuable insights on your customers’ buying habits and demographics. Such data will in addition, allow you to have a better understanding of demand, valuable info you need to manage your inventory efficiently so as to be able to effectively reduce the risk of under-stocking or overstocking at any point in time.

5. Easy Scalability: As most business owners easily admit, it is much more difficult to grow a business with physical storefronts than one that operates online. If you operate an e-commerce store, your business growth is not limited by any physical factors making the business really very easy to scale. Your website and store can grow in tandem with the growth of your business with no limitations whatsoever in terms of more physical stores, shopping space and all that. Easy scalability is therefore a very significant benefit of running an e-commerce store.

10 Ways to Build a Viable Social Commerce Strategy

As more and more people take to shopping online, so is the increase in e-commerce business. With the huge popularity of social media platforms, many e-commerce businesses are leveraging the platforms for effective social commerce. E-commerce business owners who are keen on being beneficiaries of the rapidly growing social commerce landscape must endeavor to build a robust social commerce strategy. Here are a few tested ways they can kick start the process

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1. Set Clear Goals/Objectives: First and foremost, you must clearly define your social commerce objectives. That is imperative. Just put down what you aim to achieve. Are you aiming for increased brand awareness, higher engagement or more sales? Which? Technically, setting clear goals will help you measure your progress and fine-tune your strategy as needed from time to time.

2. Know Your Audience: You cannot successfully market to an audience you do not understand. The reason you must endeavor to understand your target audience. You get to know your audience by analyzing their demographics, preferences and social media behavior. This vital knowledge will guide your content creation, platform selection and overall social commerce approach that will enhance your marketing.

3. Optimize Your Profiles: It is not enough to create a fantastic social media profile. You must make sure your social media profiles are optimized for social commerce. This you can do by using high-quality visuals, engaging bios and relevant keywords on your content to attract and retain customers.

4. Select the Right Platforms: For better exposure, you must endeavor to choose the social media networks where your audience is most active. As each social media platform has its unique peculiarities, so it caters to different audiences and offers unique features. You must therefore familiarize yourself with these platforms and tailor your content strategy accordingly.

5. Consistently Create High-Quality Content: Try to consistently create high quality and unique content which captivates your readers. Creating captivating content that resonates with your audience and showcases your products effectively is a great way to attract valuable traffic. For effectiveness, you can leverage visually appealing images, engaging videos and compelling descriptions specifically to capture attention and drive sales.

6. Directly Engage and Interact: Social media is all about connecting. Every social media marketer leverages its huge popularity to get this done. You must therefore be quick to respond to comments, messages and tags. Directly engage in dialogue, answer queries and show gratitude for feedback. If you succeed in building these connections, you’re fostering loyalty and encouraging repeat business. That’s good for business.

7. Utilize Paid Ads: If you have the resources, you can consider using social media paid ads to broaden your reach and target specific audiences. Hugely popular social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer powerful in-house advertising tools to help you connect with your target audience and boost conversions. The ads are cost-effective even if you choose to pay for them.

8. Encourage and Utilize Social Proof: It is great for your marketing efforts if you encourage and utilize customer feedback. You can therefore endeavor to display customer reviews, testimonials and social proof to build trust and credibility among potential buyers. You can incorporate user-generated content and success stories to showcase the satisfaction of real customers.

9. Leverage Influencers and User-Generated Content (UGC): You can arrange to team up with influencers and inspire user-generated content to extend your business reach and bolster its reputation. If you work closely with influencers who resonate with your business’s values, it can spark more customer participation through exciting challenges and campaigns. This can create a powerful ripple effect for your business.

10. Measure, Analyze and Optimize: You need real time metrics to measure the performance of your marketing campaigns. You must therefore endeavor to keep a close watch on your social commerce performance by using platform analytics. Suchlike metrics as engagement, reach, conversion rates and customer lifetime value should always be routinely measured and analyzed. You can then use the data from such insights to tweak your marketing strategy as needed. Such data can help you to improve your content and ultimately help to boost your social commerce success.