Sunday, May 17, 2015

Top 10 Benefits of Selling Online: An Entrepreneur's Guide


Be an entrepreneurToday, the internet is no longer just an information library. It has also developed into a social
network platform and an online market of goods and services.

Big and small businesses have seen the perks of setting up an online shop which can reach a larger audience in a matter of minutes.
Millions of products are now being traded online and consumers are slowly shifting to shopping online.

Why should you consider putting up an online store? There are a lot of reasons but the most significant one, especially for start-up companies, is that it costs way less than putting up a physical store. Let's face it, rent is a big expense for every business.

Putting up an online store is cheap, sometimes even free! You would only need to pay for web hosting, your domain name and website designing. Also, people love shopping online! It's easy. It's convenient. It's often cheaper. It's fun.


Top 10 Benefits of Selling Online


online store

1. Reach more people

Marketing your product online allows you to target a larger audience. There are millions of internet users in the Philippines and there are billions worldwide. Putting up an online store will allow you to reach a lot of consumers who may be interested in buying your product. You can also reach a significant amount of consumers in a matter of minutes, with the right marketing tools and network of course!


2. Build your brand image

An online store can allow you to build your brand image in the consumers' minds. Do you want to be known for luxury items or would you want to be an affordable supplier of good quality products? You can easily communicate your brand image through your website and other social network and marketing tools. Customers will be coming to you based on what they think you are!


3. 24/7 online traffic

Yes, this is the most amazing part in selling online. Your website/online store would be active 24/7. Even while you sleep, customers can still access what you are selling and make an order. The only thing you would need to do is check your online store for orders. Isn't that great?

4. Online advertising 


Online advertising can be affordable, or even cheap, for your business. Most websites that offer advertising allow flexible plans that adjust to your company's budget. The great thing is that you would be able to reach a large audience every hour of the day. Facebook ads and Google adWords are some notable websites that offer flexible advertisement plans. View the following pages for more information: Google adWords and Facebook ads


5. Choose your target market accurately

There are numerous online websites and mobile apps where you could sell your product. The visitors in those sites and apps differ in class and behavior. Choosing the right medium to sell would allow you to reach the highest number possible of your target market. You can also place ads in Google adSense and Facebook ads which would automatically reach your target market. Do some research about where online traffic go and what kind of people are included in this traffic.


6. Save time

Selling online basically saves you more time since your whole store is active 24/7 even if you're doing something else. This only requires you to check your online store once in a while for orders. Because of the automatic processes of selling online, you can lay down and relax while you wait for orders of your product/s.


7. Cashless transactions

When a consumer buys your product, everything will be sent automatically to your bank account. No need to transact with real money. This saves you from the risk of losing money in store or even theft. Simply check your bank account online to see if you have been paid by the customer. An example of an online cashless transaction service is PayPal. Visit the PayPal website.


8. Expose your business to the international market

If your product is well-capable, you can expose your product in the international market. Lots of people from different countries are looking for goods that are unique and not available in their country. Through your online website you can get orders coming from around the world. Just make sure to add shipping costs.


9. Easily receive customer feedback

Let's face it. Customer feedback is very important, no matter if it is positive or negative. This tells you how customers see your product and how you can improve it so that customers would buy more from you. Selling online usually allows comment fields and emails from your customers. Most of them may send complaints or even compliments about your product. Do not ignore this important piece of information!


10. Look more professional 

Having a website will give you the impression that you are very professional. Most consumers have a belief that only established and secure companies have websites which means that having one would instantly make you look professional. Of course, your website would need to look professional too. Create professional looking websites using WordPress. Create an awesome website via wordpress.org now!


Online selling is not just an option today, it is also a requirement for any serious business. Everyone goes online now through their computers, tablets and smartphones and the best thing to do is to reach your customers on whatever platform they are using. Failing to see the benefits of online selling early can cause your business to get left behind since almost every large corporation sells online.



Keep in touch!


Terms and definitions:

Online selling - The process of selling your products online through a website.
Online store - This is a webpage in the internet where you sell your goods and services to the consumers.
Brand image - This is how your consumers see your brand as different to other brands.

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