What happens when you go online
- CS
- Mar 10, 2017
- 2 min read
You have a physical store and want to go online? Probably you have heard a lot about how helpful it will be for your business and how you can monitor specific things like conversions. Eshops are not always a panacea. Take a look at the list below – it looks long, but it is only the essential stuff, that you should have in mind.
Let’s start with the good stuff!
Branding! It is up to you to promote the identity that you want to be perceived as. Branding activities are entirely dependent on the processes of meaning making and sociality of consumers as they not only buy but also live through the brand. (Hearn,2010)
End of sweethearting! Companies can avoid sweethearting, which refers to an employee giving a customer unauthorized discounts or free merchandise or services (Ubbels,2015). Of course, it applies mostly in the food and beverages industry, but it can be found in other industries as well.
Impulse buying! Customers may purchase more than they actually intended to out of impulse. The automatic recommendation systems based on other buyers’ choices may prove to be helpful.
Positive word of mouth! The positive reviews can be used as your brand ambassadors.
Control! You can easily keep track of your inventory and the success of your products, whereas in a physical store it is more difficult.
Analytics is our friend! The best part is that you can tell exactly what happens in your virtual store. Customer profiling, conversions, page statistics are all in your hands!
Let’s continue with what you have to think about!
Returns! Unfortunately, it is very easy to keep track of the amount and cost of deliveries, but it doesn’t go the other way round. The cost of returns cannot be measured correctly, so loss may occur.
Criminal behavior! Unfortunately, this is a coin with both negative sides.
Bad and fake reviews! Bad reviews are the result of your product, which is something you can easily fix. But, you can’t avoid or do anything about fake reviews. Unhealthy competition is and will always be here, so the only thing you can do is reinforce the positive ones.
Competition! Besides the reviews mentioned above, competition among the products exist, so the customer has an abundance of choices to choose from, so it is hard to stand out!
Copycats! In the era when everything moves fast, there is no time to invent the wheel. So, in case your website rocks, be prepared to see very similar websites or practices around.
Take this piece of advice and make the best out of it. Always, take care of your clients. In case you want to gain insights from the consumers’ point of view, take a look here.
Sources:
Hearn, A. (2010). Structuring feeling: Web 2.0, online ranking and rating, and the digital ‘reputation’ economy. Retrieved from: http://www.ephemerajournal.org/contribution/structuring-feeling-web-20-online-ranking-and-rating-and-digital-%E2%80%98reputation%E2%80%99-economy
Root, G. (2017). The Disadvantages of Doing Business on the Internet. Retrieved from: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-doing-business-internet-4061.html
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