Simplifying Your Startup: Getting Your Small Business Online

Now, when you first start dreaming up your small business, you’re likely to imagine a quaint brick and mortar store in a picturesque old town high street with stunning window displays and on-brand interior design. However, nowadays, it just isn’t profitable to set up a tangible store. Sure, the big companies might still do it. But it isn’t really a feasible option for those of us with smaller budgets. Why? Well, setting up a brick and mortar store comes hand in hand with major expenses such as commercial property rent, energy bills, security, interior design, and increased numbers of employees to keep an eye on the shop floor and offer efficient customer service. Luckily, there is an alternative out there – E-commerce. Operating solely online really does have multiple benefits alongside the sheer fact of lower cost operation. Think about it. The internet doesn’t have opening and closing times. This means that your business becomes accessible twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Many people work for the usual store opening hours of 9-5, so you may be losing a lot of potential business by solely operating in person. Selling online eradicates this problem. It also allows you to easily expand to a global market. When you set up online, your page will be accessible to people all over the world. All you have to do is to ensure that you offer international postage. You never know where your biggest market might be and E-commerce may put you in touch with your next biggest source of profit. So, if this sounds appealing to you, it’s time to get online. Here’s everything that you could possibly need to know in order to make the process as simple as possible!

Outsourcing Web Design
The first step towards setting up online is to create your website. This can seem complicated if you are unfamiliar with the process and is nigh on impossible to carry out alone – unless you have a thorough understanding of CSS and HTML coding. However, with the right help it should be simple and fast. Your best bet for a professional finish and the best navigation is to collaborate with a professional web company like www.rouge-media.com. They will be able to create an eye-catching, on-brand theme that is both navigable and accessible through multiple devices.

Using a Professional Product Photographer
The impact that product photography can have on how many items you sell is profound. No matter how perfect a product may be, you’re not going to see many sales go through if your product image is poor. Why? Well, we buy with our eyes. Especially when we’re shopping online. After all, images are all we have to go by when deciding whether to put something in our shopping basket or not. It can display not only what’s on offer but it can emphasize the quality of the product too! While you may think that you can take decent snaps with your own phone or camera, don’t forget the whole package of perks that using a professional photographer entails. They have studio space with a range of backdrops, professional lighting, high quality professional camera and high end editing software. They really can’t be beaten!

Taking to Social Media, Too
While your website should be your main point of focus, you can employ social media to help get your business online too. Let’s take Facebook as an example, as it is perhaps the most popular form of social media. With approximately 2.2 billion users active every single month it is a great place to start out if you’re looking for brand exposure. Perhaps the main benefit of Facebook (besides sheer exposure) is that you can add certain details to your page’s profile which help customers to receive the best possible customer service that you can provide. Your profile can detail your store’s physical location (including address and postcode) so that customers can make their way to your brick and mortar store without hassle. You can also add a contact number and contact email address so that they can contact you easily. Then there’s the instant messenger option that you can activate. This means that customers can easily contact you, you will receive a notification, and you can respond to them as quickly as possible. You can then use your feed to give customers updates and put out announcements, such as sales, new lines, and special events.

It really is essential for your business to take to the web if you want to experience success in today’s marketplace. So, take the above advice and establish your small business online as soon as possible!