Benefits of Selling Online
published on 29.10.09 by J Corn
Selling products and services online can have major advantages for businesses, leading to increased profitability and lower costs.
This guide tells you about the advantages of selling online, what you need to consider when creating an online shop and the consequences of getting it wrong. If you choose to work with a third party to build your online shop, this guide will help ensure you ask them the right questions.
The guide also explains some legal requirements and the pitfalls that you should be aware of, as well as how to make sure that customers can find your shop on the web.
Selling online has a number of advantages over selling by conventional methods, including:
• Making savings in set-up and operational costs. You don't need to pay shop assistants, rent high-street premises, or answer a lot of pre-sales queries.
• Reducing order-processing costs - customer orders can automatically come straight into your orders database from the website.
• Reaching a global audience, thereby increasing sales opportunities.
• Competing with larger businesses by being able to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Being able to receive payment more quickly from online transactions.
• Attracting customers who would not normally have investigated your type of high-street outlet.
• Improving your offerings using the data gathered by tracking customer purchases.
• Using your online shop as a catalogue for existing customers.
Online selling will work best for you if you have:
• well-defined products or services that can be sold without human intervention in the sales process
• fixed prices for all types of potential customers
• products or services that can be delivered within a predictable lead time
Many businesses can run pilot e-commerce sites without significant investment. However, a fully automated online shop tailored to meet your precise requirements could be expensive. Whatever form of online shop you choose, take a strategic view. If you launch a website that disappoints your customers or is overwhelmed by traffic, you risk damaging your reputation and losing sales.
Original article posted at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
Selling products and services online can have major advantages for businesses, leading to increased profitability and lower costs.
This guide tells you about the advantages of selling online, what you need to consider when creating an online shop and the consequences of getting it wrong. If you choose to work with a third party to build your online shop, this guide will help ensure you ask them the right questions.
The guide also explains some legal requirements and the pitfalls that you should be aware of, as well as how to make sure that customers can find your shop on the web.
Selling online has a number of advantages over selling by conventional methods, including:
• Making savings in set-up and operational costs. You don't need to pay shop assistants, rent high-street premises, or answer a lot of pre-sales queries.
• Reducing order-processing costs - customer orders can automatically come straight into your orders database from the website.
• Reaching a global audience, thereby increasing sales opportunities.
• Competing with larger businesses by being able to open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
• Being able to receive payment more quickly from online transactions.
• Attracting customers who would not normally have investigated your type of high-street outlet.
• Improving your offerings using the data gathered by tracking customer purchases.
• Using your online shop as a catalogue for existing customers.
Online selling will work best for you if you have:
• well-defined products or services that can be sold without human intervention in the sales process
• fixed prices for all types of potential customers
• products or services that can be delivered within a predictable lead time
Many businesses can run pilot e-commerce sites without significant investment. However, a fully automated online shop tailored to meet your precise requirements could be expensive. Whatever form of online shop you choose, take a strategic view. If you launch a website that disappoints your customers or is overwhelmed by traffic, you risk damaging your reputation and losing sales.
Original article posted at http://www.businesslink.gov.uk
