The Growing Imperative to Transact Online
We all know things are different. Now is the time to review every aspect of your service delivery and learn to accommodate the needs and preferences of your customers. Do this right and it will provide you the added bonus of tapping new markets and revenue sources.
If you lead a small business or run a microbusiness, you either have eCommerce, will find a place to add eCommerce to your options, or eCommerce will find it’s way onto your website before competitors lure too many of your clients away with innovative and rewarding online provisions.
eCommerce is increasingly deployed in facilitating the delivery of services, and no products are off limits to electronic transactions on the internet. You can easily buy a car online and have it delivered, and now it’s common for houses to be purchased completely online without showings. If your customers prefer to shop and pay online, it’s your job to give them the goods.
Simple eCommerce Examples
A great way to enter the world of eCommerce is incrementally. You can start with one or two products and build out from there. A few of our clients have done so.
- A photography school recently added prerecorded classes for sale online, opening the doors for more amateur and professional photographers to learn skills & techniques that make them better customers at the online camera supply company that owns that photography school.
- An auto parts supplier that excels in telephone sales & service also offers customers their searchable inventory for sale online, making the processing of small orders almost effortless. Setting up a linked eBay store was a readily available solution that works well for them.
- An industrial netting supplier that specializes in custom-engineered netting solutions is adding over a dozen new products in a new online store to go head-to-head with a competitor in the online consumer market. After determining they can match a competitor’s prices and offer a superior product, the plan is to grow their direct to consumer business.
Now that snow is flying, ski areas are rushing to provide convenient, online ticket sales and touchless RFID card scanning systems that replace wearable tickets. The resorts that make the process easiest for skiers & snowboarders will end up serving the most guests.
“I wish I had eCommerce!”
Rocket Science is for Astrophysicists, not Online Shoppers!
Start simply and keep it simple. An easy toe-dip into eCommerce might be to provide an option to prepay for a defined service package using an online payment portal with auto-responder notifications.
Doing business online doesn’t have to be rocket science. A rule of thumb is, keep it simple for both your customers and your fulfilment team. Grow your eCommerce offerings as you gain experience.
If you would like a complimentary workbook that takes you step-by-step in how to set up your eCommerce store successfully, click here and type “e-commerce workbook” in the message field.
