Every year, you hear about how online sales are at an all-time high. And as those sales increase, there’s more and more talk about how brick-and-mortar stores are going out of business just as quickly as the online sales increase.
Sure, there are many benefits of brick-and-mortar stores, like human interaction and the instant gratification of being able to see and touch a product and then be able to buy it right then. But amongst the naysayers of the survival of physical stores, could they be right? Do brick-and-mortar stores need a website to stay relevant with other successful e-commerce sites? Visit https://nuancedmedia.com/amazon-seller-consultant/ and you can learn more about the importance and benefits of e-commerce.
Most would agree.
Having a professional website for your business can boost your success at a steady rate through increasing revenue, both online and offline. Not all small businesses have websites but having one is going to help you stay ahead of the competition and make your brick-and-mortar business stay relevant by keeping up with the times and changes in demands of consumers.
There are countless reasons why you should have a website for your brick-and-mortar business, here are some reasons to begin building yours today.
Customer Expectations
Meeting customer expectations is one of the hardest things to do as a business owner simply because their expectations can change at any given moment.
One minute, they expect you to greet them at the door and ask them if they need help with anything, and the next minute, asking if they need help with anything is annoying to them. In an effort to meet their requests, you tell your store employees to ease up on their greeting and let customers find stuff on their own…
Next thing you know, you get a complaint about poor customer service because an employee didn’t ask if a customer needed help with anything! That’s extremely frustrating!
The point is that although their expectations can be sporadic and unpredictable, it’s your responsibility as a business owner to adapt and adjust to meet their needs.
Can you guess one sure-fire way to meet your customers’ expectations that won’t ever change? Creating an e-commerce website, of course! Online shopping gives customers ease and convenience to shop from the comfort of their home or when they on the go, without a store employee in their face trying to help.
Everyone isn’t always able to get to a physical store, and because of that, customer expectations for businesses is to know that and provide them a way to shop when they can’t get out or don’t have time to…
This is one of the newer expectations that has quickly become a shopping standard for customers all over the world.
Local Searches
Having a brick-and-mortar store gives you the advantage of being considered as a local business. By having a website to coordinate with your brick-and-mortar store, your business is going to have double the ranking power in search engines.
According to searchengineland.com, 82% of smartphone shoppers conduct “near me” searches in mobile inquiries. Just imagine how having a website will impact your sales for your physical store!
To speak more on local searches, think about how tourists get acquainted with their vacation destinations… the majority of them conduct “near me” searches for food, shopping, and entertainment. In their local searches, this is one way your brick-and-mortar business will benefit greatly from your e-commerce site in consistently bringing in new customers, especially during peak vacation times.
Affordable Advertising and Marketing
E-commerce sites are the beginning of powerful business marketing strategies, allowing you to boost your sales and reputation. There are many marketing methods that work to promote your business online, including:
- Email Marketing
- Content Marketing
- SEO Marketing
- Social Media Marketing
- Link Building
- Affiliate Marketing
Most of these promotion methods work for all types of websites, whether they’re personal or professional, but if executed correctly, this will generate more sales to your e-commerce site and drive more customers to your physical store!
Keep Up With Competitors
You want to be able to keep up with your competitors to be successful as a business. If you’re falling behind, that means that you aren’t keeping up with consumer demands and your competitors most likely have a website, which means you should, too.
This is when a little thing called market research comes into play. Look up different online businesses that are within your industry niche and see what they’re doing, how their site is set up, and the type of information they’re providing to their customers.
This isn’t necessarily you copying them but it is a great way to help you have an idea of the direction you need to go in with your e-commerce site.
Always Open
With e-commerce sites, you’re always open online, regardless of the time of day. This is a huge benefit to your physical store simply because customers have access to your products outside normal business hours.
What if you had a customer in California or Germany where there is a significant time difference? Not having an online store would cause you to miss out on sales. By making your business easily accessible, you’re giving your business and brand a better chance at becoming a household name.
Don’t Forget
One important thing to not forget in the addition of your new e-commerce site is that you’re going to need to update your business insurance policy. Brick-and-mortar businesses require a different type of insurance policy than you would need for an online business.
There are a number of damages a business can incur from various sources, regardless of job type. Photographers need photographer insurance, landscapers need landscaping insurance, etc, you get the picture.
With your e-commerce site, your business will need protection against the risk for fraudulent activities… There’s also the potential for libel and slanderous information about your business. In both situations, your online business is going to need just as much protection from potential risks as your brick-and-mortar business does. Not doing so could be the beginning of the end if a customer, other business, or employee seeks damages from your business.
