eCommerce only seems to have got a boost during the pandemic time with majority of the people preferring to shop online. It includes just about everything ranging from day-to-day consumer goods to electronics, apparel to luxury items, etc. The choice is simply limitless. Mere website design is not going to help with the transformation to becoming a successful online business.
5 Effective Ways To Transform Offline Business To Online Business
1. Identify appropriate eCommerce platform:
Develop a system that will help execute all essential online functions. What you need is a comprehensive content management system. Choose a platform to take your products online effortlessly. It should include website development, payment gateway integration, front and back-end management, security and performance.
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- Identify business needs.
- Consider functionalities desired to offer to your shoppers.
- Develop comparison table between shortlisted eCommerce platforms.
- Explore those eCommerce platform offering similar features.
- Calculate available resources and spend.
- Avail free trial before investing in full store setup.
2. Domain name:
On selection of eCommerce platform, choose a domain name for your website. It can be similar to that of the offline store you own. It should be easy and simple enough for consumers to remember it effortlessly. This way, consumers can know where to find you and how to make purchases. To have digital presence do the following:
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- Keep brand same both offline and online.
- First preference should be .com since it is used widely as well as a strong domain extension.
- Do not use trademarked domains since you might only fall in trouble.
- Eliminate using hyphens and numbers.
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3. Identify products desired to be sold online:
Do market research and find out what products are in demand in the market and what you can offer. Do audit carefully and thoroughly your product catalog. Get to know your target audience requirements and frequent online purchases. Identify your competitors offering similar products. Check out Google trends to know what shoppers seek online. Also do go through other businesses belonging to same industry. Find out what they deal in. Identify top selling products at your offline business.
4. Plan product inventory and take stock of it:
On having identified the products that you desire to sell over the web, plan your inventory and take proper stock. In case your products are present in your offline site, then smart inventory planner can help track both offline and online sales. It also helps sync data while being on top of products available. You should also incorporate products and services rendered in your website design to provide your consumers some idea. If the plan is to dropship, manufacture or outsource products, define clearly the partnerships and inventory availability before selling online. Develop centralized records of offered products. Check on inventory if present in multi-locations. Count regularly your inventory. Do avail inventory management system, schedule time for reviewing sales data.
5. Plan site design and content:
Find out how products are arranged in your physical store. Several factors are considered to place and categorize products. It includes items you want consumers to instantly notice, new arrivals, those that are put up on sale, etc. The same is to be incorporated into site design and content. This is vital to ensure proper digital presence.
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- Ensure having mood board to present your brand as desired.
- Choose a theme to offer across all pages with easy customizations.
- Ensure evaluating both premium and free themes for templates and functionalities.
Thus, you need to undertake proper market research to ensure you reach your target audience online. But then, transforming your offline store into an online one will require expert assistance. Do consult the professionals.
