E-commerce

When I was younger my family used to live in this neighborhood that seemed to have everything that one would need to buy to live well. You needed to buy fancy shoes for a special occasion? Go to this place! Regular shoes to be used daily is what you need? Go to this other place! Clothes? All styles were available! Drugstores, bookstores, flower shops, pet shop, they were all there for you to choose from! Restaurants? Wow … name a cuisine … Italian, Indian, Chinese, Brazilian Churrascaria, French, Germany, Vietnamese, Thai, and so on! Plenty of choices! Bon appétit!

Meanwhile, several years ago, the way people buy and sell products and services started to change. Having a personal computer at home became as necessary as having a fridge. On top of that, the massive use of smart phones allowed people to have full access to the internet. The e-commerce become more and more relevant, drastically transforming the online trades and businesses around the world. The same diversity once available to my family in that privileged neighborhood, is now literally at your fingertips, no matter where you are. To be more accurate, not the same diversity, but more, much more!

Business owners are well aware of this scenario. On one hand, their potential customers are not just the ones in their area or the local community; they could be everywhere, which is great. On the other hand, the same goes to your competitors, meaning they can sell to those who were your ‘captive customers’ in the past. The situation can become tricky at this point … if you are not properly using e-commerce or not using it at all, here is the bad news … your competitors are.

Typically, depending on what you sell, there are some parameters that you need to consider in your e-commerce strategy and when choosing a program for that. Here are some of them:

1. site design – it should have a user-friendly interface. The site must be clear, clean and easy to use. Try to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and think of what the needs are, how you can make it easier to choose from different options of products and on how to pay. It is incredible how some sites make it almost impossible for the customer to pay. It is almost like the person has to own a Ph.D. degree to navigate in that website. Guess what … some customers decide to give up on the purchase, even after having done all the hard work. In addition, you will need to have a top-notch customer support in place as well as a thorough FAQ session on your website;

1. safety – your program has to offer fraud protection and encryption. This is for your customers’ protection and yours as well. The encryption technology should make it possible to send online payments securely and it is a must-have;

1. sales cap – some programs put a cap on the sales whereas others don’t. This is a delicate matter for you to decide, but the best e-commerce platforms will let your online shop sell without limitations.

Some of the best-known e-commerce programs are presented below in alphabetical order, no ranking whatsoever. A few pros (+) and cons (-) are listed too:

1. BigCommerce – (+) highly customizable platform that allows different ways of payment and charges no transaction fees. (-) sets a maximum annual sales limits and offers limited free template options;

2. BlueHost + Woocommerce – (+) ideal for small businesses seeking a simple, affordable shopping cart solution. (-) not fully scalable for large enterprise businesses;

3. Shopify – (+) simple and fully customizable website design, offering more than 100 design templates and 70 international payment gateways. (-) add-on apps can be expensive and not the most innovative blogging software;

4. Shopping CartElite – (+) no limit on website orders and deep reporting for customer metrics. (-) a higher price than traditional platforms with pricing based on employee count and complicated support;

5. Volusion – (+) affordable plans and no transaction fees. (-) support resources aren’t always helpful and overage fees may apply;

6. Wix – (+) more than 500 professional templates and affordable pay structure. (-) not ideal for complex e-commerce sites and occasional customer support overload.

In order to have an optimal e-commerce solution, the challenge is to balance high-tech and high-touch. From the several programs available in the market, you need to choose the one that better fits your business strategy and your portfolio of products or services. Besides, you need to incorporate that special warm human touch in the ‘cold technology’. Your customers need to feel that they are important to you not just as the motto or the message of your company say, but especially because of the loving care, respect and attention to details that they experience during the visit to your online shop.

The best of luck with your sales!

For additional information about e-commerce please check the following links:

1. investopedia.com/terms/e/ecommerce.asp

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-commerce

This article is for general, indicative purpose only and should not be considered investment advice. Florida Connexion is not liable for any financial loss, damage, expense or costs arising from your investment decisions based on this article.

At Florida Connexion our multidisciplinary business brokers can assist you in identifying the right business for you and the right buyer for your business.