How Small Businesses Are Leveraging Ecommerce

Online shopping is a service most people take for granted today, and yet for small businesses, it has been a real revelation; a tool that lets them connect with customers in new ways and grow their brand globally as well as locally.

Here is a look at the ways in which ecommerce is being leveraged by smaller companies, and the implications that this has on their future prospects.

Selling goods online

First and foremost, using ecommerce is all about allowing organizations of all sizes to sell to customers and clients online, without the need for a face-to-face interaction.

Transactions of all kinds can be carried out in this way, from arranging a flower delivery to buying a car, and it is a setup that offers increased convenience for businesses and consumers alike, so long as it is handled efficiently.

One of the reasons ecommerce has enjoyed accelerated adoption recently is that easy-to-use platforms have cropped up to empower small firms and remove a lot of the technical barriers that existed in the past. From micro-business marketplaces like Etsy to fully-featured solutions like Shopify, making an online store has never been easier, no matter the scale you operate at.

Meeting customer expectations & boosting engagement

It can be argued that having an ecommerce site is not a luxury, but rather an essential asset for any business, for the simple reason that customers will expect you to have one. If you don’t, it can make your organization seem a little archaic.

Engaging customers on the digital platforms they occupy is also much easier with an ecommerce site. Even if you do not generate a sale the first time they visit it, just being able to have your site appear on Google and be linked to from your social accounts is a great way to facilitate that initial point of engagement, from which a lasting relationship will hopefully flourish. Plus, 60% of people use social media to make a purchase, so it's very important to connect all your social accounts to your website to make sure you're not missing out on any sales.

An ecommerce site is basically a marketing tool which has a multitude of uses, and while it can certainly allow you to reach out to prospective customers in areas that you could not penetrate by traditional means, it also has implications for your local success. The vast majority of people use geographically-specific terms when trying to find a shop, so your well-optimized ecommerce site could lead to an in-store sale and vice versa.

Building a consistent brand

We have already hinted at the ways in which an ecommerce store can be an extension of your business’ branding and a touchstone for its online presence outside of the usual social channels, but it is worth discussing the benefits it offers in this context a little more closely.

Strong branding is all about creating something consumers can trust, and that trust is more straightforward to foster if you have a website that represents your company.

Of course it is not simply a case of rushing to throw together a site for the sake of it, as you need to be aware of how important consistency is in this arena.

Everything from the color palette you choose to the tone of voice that is adopted in the copy on product pages will influence how your business is perceived. Making sure this is uniform and recognizable is a major step towards solidifying your brand as trustworthy, even if customers have only recently encountered it for the first time.

So as you can see, e-commerce is an indispensable way for small businesses to grow sales and put themselves on a level playing field with much larger rivals. Only those that ignore its advantages will be left by the wayside.