Why an Online Store is the Best Way to Grow Your Business
You had your golden idea. Then you put your business plan together. You acquired your funding, got some business partners involved, ironed out your logistics, and then finally after all the years of planning and hard work, you cut the ribbon at your store.
Not many business owners even get to that stage, so opening your store is truly something to be proud of. But what if I told you that even after what feels like climbing countless mountains, just to get to this stage, the hard work is only just beginning?
According to Lending Tree, close to a quarter of American small businesses fail within their first year, with that number doubling to almost half of new American small businesses closing their doors within the first five years of operation. Small businesses are the backbone of local economies, and with the focus on socially responsible investing higher than ever these days, the best way people can make an impact with their dollars is to support small businesses.
So how can you make sure that you won’t need to shut down your business so soon after starting it?
Have an online store!
While the thought of building an online store seems daunting, especially after ALL the work you did to build a small business in the first place, we can assure you that this simple addition to your business plan can keep it from becoming a doomed statistic.
Your Online Store Never Closes
Let’s face it, even with the most generous opening hours, brick and mortar stores have to close at some point in the evening. However, if you have an online store, you will simultaneously be able to provide yourself and your employees a nice work/life balance AND still grow your business through racking in sales from your online store.
People just don’t have the time or the energy to walk into a store to find what they need. With the rise of online shopping, even if they are making purchases during the day, they are still completing the transactions from their office computers via an online store. The reality is that busy people only have time to browse for items they desire late in the evening after they’ve finished all the tasks for the day, put the kids to bed, cleaned up after dinner, etc. The rising trend of late night purchases is reason enough for building an online store, with research from the BBC indicating that the number of purchases made between midnight and 6am is steadily growing.
With an online store, you can literally grow your business in your sleep.
Your Online Store Reaches Beyond Local Markets
As a small business, you become a pillar of your local community, but in order to remain an integral piece of the neighborhood, you need to keep your sales up and your exposure high. Most small businesses are located in small towns with not enough people to provide consistent enough business to keep the operation afloat.
This is where building an online store can extend your reach to other parts of town, other cities, and even other countries. Once word gets out about your fabulous products online, there will be no stopping the amount of online traffic that can result. Instead of making customers physically come to you (which realistically means you’re missing out on the majority of the world!) YOU can find them on their laptops, phones, and tablets, making it easier than ever for them to make a purchase.
Get Your Global Reach Through Social Media
Everyone is online these days. If your business is not on social media, then you are missing out on potentially millions of customers who could be benefiting from your products.
Getting people to see your online store via social media is the fastest way to extend your customer base and achieve business growth through an online store.
Connecting your store directly to social media platforms will not only help you find new customers, but it can also increase repeat business by existing customers through learning their interest and shopping patterns.
Without an Online Store, You Will Get Left Behind
The simple truth is that not only are all your customers online, but your competitors are, too. And if you’re not putting up a fight, then your customers will easily get scooped by the competition. Having a user friendly and easily accessible online store is a simple way to keep your customers from clicking over to another business.
Through your online store, you can grow your business by nurturing relationships with your customers, just as you would be able to in your physical store. Communication via email, social media, and newsletters, lets you have regular conversations with your customers and give them timely recommendations on new products, sales, and offers.
Regularly keeping in touch and making it effortless to make purchases on your online store will keep your customers from going to another business, while increasing your business growth through an online store. Afterall, it is much easier for someone to forward a link and/or email for your online store to their friends than it is for one of the friends to find the time to stumble into your one storefront.
LincSell is the Key to Building an Online Store
It is essential to have an online store to keep your business afloat. No one wants to go through all the work to start their dream business only to struggle and close their doors so soon after opening. LincSell and the best way to exponentially grow your business with little effort.
Almost half of small businesses have under 5 employees, meaning that most of them lack the manpower and the resources to complete the transactions needed for them to make the money needed to stay afloat (this could be you!) With LincSell, you get a dedicated team to help you build your online store, manage your sales and inventory, and customize the operation to your business needs without overextending yourself or your hardworking employees. That way, you can focus on building your personal relationships with your customers in person.
Through your online store, your loyal, local customers will always have a place to shop that never closes, even from their own homes in the evening. With the online presence, you have the potential to reach new customers all over the globe, and retain relationships with them all through the integration of social media and other marketing tactics that your team at LincSell can help you grow and manage.
You know how to build a small business. Don’t let years of your precious hard work go to waste! See how LincSell can help you effortlessly grow your business today!
