Time to surf the ‘internet of things’
ONLINE RETAIL: BOOST YOUR SALES
No sales reps, no human resources hassles, no storefront decoration, instant payment and absolutely no strikes. Sounds like online sales are a no brainer, but don’t think that means you don’t need to think hard first.
Driving sales has to be one of the more important functions in a business because nothing happens in a business until you generate income. And to that effect you, as an entrepreneur, have to find quick, effective and easy ways to sell your product to your customers.
Most businesses simply by their existence practice the conventional way of selling, which is when their customers walk into the store, make a purchase and walk away with the product.
Customer-less sales?
But are there other ways to sell your product that don’t necessarily need customers to come to your store? The answer is a resounding “yes” – and comes in the form of online sales.
Online sales were born out of the mail order business. Remember those days when you used to receive a magazine or catalogue with a company’s products in your mail box? You would then pick your desired product from the catalogue and then make a 0800 toll free call to the company to place your order, which the company would deliver to your doorstep?
Well, online sales use an almost identical system and have been fuelled by the exponential growth of the internet. In essence, online sales occur when a business uses an online platform, such as its website or even a third party website, to sell their products directly to customers.
Unlike mail orders, online sales showcase their catalogue of products online allowing the buyer to browse through their range. If successfully tempted, customers place an order online, make the purchase through internet banking, provide the shipping address and in a few days the product is delivered to their homes.
All this occurs without any human interaction – unlike the traditional mail order system in which customers had to make a call to place an order. This is the biggest difference between the two.
Online sales are fully automated which does wonders for a business from a cost-reduction standpoint.
Therefore, as a small business, it makes financial sense to incorporate selling online to your existing store/outlet sales. Why? Because online sales allow you to sell to more people that are unable to reach your physical store.
Cup and lip
Yes, there are many technicalities to it and most entrepreneurs shy away from online sales because of the many moving parts that have to go right.
An online retailer risks losing a package en route to a customer and payment might not reach her/his account after a customer says they have made payment.
That is why, next week, I will focus on the correct methods of executing an online sales strategy.