Not surprisingly, many small businesses feel a little overwhelmed when thinking about selling to customers online. Traditionally, ecommerce was something only achievable by big companies with big teams and big budgets. Fortunately, this isn’t the case any more. As a recent blog post from the Huffington Post points out, ecommerce has undergone “democratization” in recent years. Tools and technologies now exist that allow even the smallest businesses to set up an online store quickly and with very little cost.
If you have been thinking about selling to customers online, the blog also includes five helpful tips to consider as you get started with ecommerce. Based on the experiences of other small businesses that have been successful selling online, the post makes several important points. The most significant of these is that ecommerce is no longer just a novelty to serve the odd few customers. More than ever before, ecommerce opens up groundbreaking new revenue streams for small businesses.
Ecommerce can also be an inroad to getting a business idea off the ground. While many may have aspirations to open a retail location of some sort, starting as an ecommerce business provides an affordable way to test your ideas and see if your products can attract a market.
The post also points out the importance of social media and mobile marketing as essential ingredients for making ecommerce work. But that will probably come as no surprise to regular readers of this blog!
What Next:
For ideas on how to make your ecommerce campaigns successful, read our post analyzing the top 5 mobile commerce QR campaigns this year and find out what they did right!
What about you? Are you planning to sell to customers online in the near future? Which of these tips did you find most helpful?
