Does your online business need an Ecommerce Website?
6 Tips For SMEs to Win Digital Marketing Game
February 5, 2022Many small businesses (especially women-led) are really struggling to find a reliable ecommerce website development company and work with them in their budget. Generally, women entrepreneurs are not tech-savvy hence their struggle is real and hard!
I have been working with women-led businesses for the past four years under n-square. Although we provide all services with quality work we also try to extend our support by providing guidance and consultation whenever possible. Some of you might have seen me talking about ecommerce in some of the Facebook groups and my social channels where I try to post short/long informative posts for learning purposes mainly. This blog is one of those efforts to help you make a decision if you and your business need an ecommerce website right now!
When I say if, I truly mean it! Sustaining an ecommerce website needs time and money in order to give you long-term benefits so it’s really important that you evaluate your business revenue and certain factors before jumping on the bandwagon.
You will find many resources to build your ecommerce website on your own or even freelancers and agencies if you’d want to get it made professionally. However, selecting the right platform, freelancer or agency is a crucial decision in your ecommerce website building journey. And that’s the agenda of today’s blog!
You see businesses come to us with a variety of challenges (budget, time etc) and I personally believe in providing information to the clients so they make informed decisions of their own will. So this checklist is a sum-up of the general challenges small businesses face and it’s my recommendation to build one at this stage! Based on my experience in all these years, I have realized that people who are not tech-savvy do not realize how a digital system can affect(in a good way) their businesses. Ecommerce Website is not a fancy display of your business it’s much more than that. BUT since it has multiple costs (one time and ongoing) attached hence it’s essential for a business to identify the right time to make such an investment.
Having a website just not only represents how seriously you take your business but it also helps you manage your business efficiently. Eventually, It gets you more leads/sales and customer satisfaction especially for businesses that are expanding or planning to expand.
If you still feel like Nah-Nah even after reading and processing my checklist – then it’s certainly not the time for your business ecommerce website, yet! 🙂
However, let’s get to the point!
Checklist to find out if you really need an ecommerce website:
- Always scared of losing your Facebook/Instagram account for no apparent reason?
- Does not have any organized customer database in case 1. happens?
- Taking orders via inboxes and google forms is messing up (missed/wrong/delayed) orders?
- Manual Courier Booking is another time eating operation on your plate?
- Social media ads are not yielding good and sustainable results which can help you in the long-term?
- Do you run out of stock of your bestseller before you could restock timely?
- Is tracking order also a manual hectic task for each customer?
Do customers ask if you have a website so they can check prices and in-stock items and place direct orders?
- Do you want to reach an international audience?
- Order management, dispatching, replying to inboxes/comments to actually make a sale taking up all your time? This means no time and energy is left for new exciting product launches and marketing strategies you had been thinking to do, is it true for you?
Please note that fixing any of the mentioned challenges may not give you immediate results but making a website to achieve your long-term goals is the best way to go!
If your answer to any of the three questions is YES, then you do need an ecommerce website buddy! AND it’s time to move forward my friend!
You can design your ecommerce website on your own using youtube videos or hire a freelancer or an ecommerce website development company as well, whatever fits your budget! But do remember that, the ecommerce website is not a one-time investment, it is an asset you will have to maintain to get returns on investment. So make sure you invest it correctly and timely!
