With the rise of fast internet connections, instant messaging apps, and mobile technologies, customer demands have changed. They expect brands to be online and deliver seamless user experiences.
If you still believe that your offline store does not need an online presence, here are a few facts that will make you think again!
1) IMPROVING YOUR BUSINESS’ IMAGE
Your e-commerce website is your company’s ID in the digital era. Use it to familiarize customers with your company culture, values, and team.
With an e-commerce website, you can write detailed product descriptions, add customer testimonials, and publish high-quality visuals. They will build trust with your target customers and entice them to purchase faster.
Social networks also benefit your brand image. You can use these channels to attract social media users and sell your products directly via your social media accounts. Most importantly, you can invest in word-of-mouth marketing and user-generated content. Today, customers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Influencer marketing is another way to increase business credibility. Collaborate with influential people in the same or related industries. By getting them to promote your products or services, you will expand your brand reach and gain trust with their significant follower base.
2) BOOSTING BRAND VISIBILITY
If you do not have a thorough digital presence, do not expect your prospective customers to take your company seriously.
Having an e-commerce website increases your reach and drives website traffic. It also maximizes offline store visits. According to research studies, most local customers visit brick-and-mortar stores after online research.
To use your e-commerce website to boost brand visibility, invest in local SEO. If you are a local store, you can optimize your store for local keywords and use Google My Business.
Paid ads can also help you boost the exposure of your e-commerce website. Unlike SEO, they will show up for your target keywords as soon as your PPC campaign is approved.
3) EXPANDING YOUR AUDIENCES
With your physical store, you are limited to local customers who can visit you. With a well-optimized e-commerce website, you can expand your reach and target wider audience groups.
To attract global audiences, you can also register on global industry-specific platforms that support businesses like yours. For example, if you are a local fashion designer, you can sell in an online moda district and attract international customers.
Apart from focusing on customers’ location, you can also consider other demographic or psychographic factors, such as their age, gender, education, income, preferences, needs, purchasing behaviors, etc. That way, you can create highly personalized and relevant marketing campaigns for customers interested in your products.
If you plan to expand your reach to the international markets, you will need to optimize your website for their specific requirements. That includes updating your marketing and branding campaigns, such as their translation and localization.
4) DELIVERING HIGHLY PERSONALIZED USER EXPERIENCES
Traditional marketing techniques, such as TV commercials, billboards, or guerilla marketing campaigns, work on a one-size-fits-all principle. The goal is to cast your net wide and grab the attention of various customer groups.
Digital marketing, on the other hand, allows you to narrow down your reach and focus on customers interested in buying from you.
Use various personalization methods on your website. For instance, you can leverage intelligent product-detail page commendations to show customers similar or complementary products to the ones they viewed or purchased.
Email marketing segmentation is another way to personalize customer experiences. Collect customer demographic and psychographic data and, based on it, break your email list down into narrower segments. That way, you can provide them with more relevant content and drive sales.
PPC campaigns are also a proven way to deliver meaningful e-commerce experiences and boost conversions. With both Google Ads and social media ads, you can target customers based on their locations, interests, languages, preferences, previous purchases, etc.
5) PROVIDING 24/7 CUSTOMER SERVICE
Online retail allows you to strengthen your customer support. You are not restricted to unreliable phone systems anymore. You can now use website forms to collect service tickets and provide faster feedback.
Integrating live chat with your e-commerce website is also a great idea. It allows you to humanize customer support and make it more natural.
Chatbots on your e-commerce website and social media accounts automate customer service and provide 24/7 support. They can handle repetitive customer inquiries, freeing up your agents to focus on more challenging interactions.
OVER TO YOU
The internet is a powerful tool to expand your reach, establish a brand image, and improve customer support. Most importantly, you will gain credibility and stand out in the competitive market in the long run.
These are just some of the numerous reasons you should take your offline store online.
How does e-commerce benefit your offline business?
