All business owners are customers too. But not all business owners seem to remember that. When coming up with strategies to increase sales and grow customer bases, some entrepreneurs forget about the impacts their ideas may have on the people they’re looking to gain support from. For example, a business owner who prefers to sell his/her products only at a physical store location is forgetting the ever-increasing popularity of online shopping.
Instead of thinking about the costs that may be incurred (for such things as setting up the online store or purchasing packaging inventory), a business owner should consider the points of view of their customers. They will get the opportunity to visit a website to buy the same goods that are available in-store. And this provides a long list of benefits that all business owners should seek to provide.
It makes things super convenient! “The convenience is the biggest perk,” insists Anamika S. Jain on HubPages.com, “Where else can you comfortably shop at midnight while in your pajamas? There are no lines to wait in or shop assistants to wait on to help you with your purchases, and you can do your shopping in minutes. Online shops give us the opportunity to shop 24/7, and also reward us with a ‘no pollution’ shopping experience.”
This is especially true during the end-of-year holiday season. At no other point of year is there heavier congestion in the malls and harder times finding spots in parking lots. Online shopping makes life easy all year round. But when the holidays come back around, your customers will richly reward you for giving them the most convenient and stress-free way to locate holiday gifts for their loved ones.
It makes your brand a go-to gift destination! Remember that people don’t have to wait for the holidays to buy gifts. There are plenty of reasons to buy gifts all throughout each year. Take the upcoming Valentine’s Day, for example. Just ask any flower shop owner what his/her busiest day of the year is and you’ll know that February 14th is a great day for business. Now, ask those same flower shop owners if they sell their flowers online.
Those who do are practically guaranteed to outdo their competition in the flower-selling game. As Jain points out, when business owners offer their customers the option to buy online, it makes the sending of gifts so much easier. “Sending gifts to relatives and friends is easy, no matter where they are,” she writes, referring to another online shopping benefit, “Now, there is no need to make distance an excuse for not sending a gift on occasions like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Valentine\’s Day, Mother\’s Day, Father\’s Day, and so forth.”
It removes anxiety over making discreet purchases! Perhaps, you own the type of store where purchases are best kept private. Selling your items online will make your customers very happy, if that’s the case. “Some things are better done in the privacy of your home,” says Jain, “This enables me to purchase undergarments and lingerie without embarrassment or any paranoia that there are several people watching me.”
Remember, it’s important for you to consider the customer view of online shopping. It makes life so much easier. And doing that will make your business so much more successful! For more information on the e-commerce solution provided by Canadian POS Corporation, call us at 1-877-748-2884 or email us at info@localhost.