As the world has moved into a digital era, every device we used to use, such as the phone book or the newspaper ad, is being phased out of common use. Now when someone needs to look up a business, they use their smart phone. This can give them your business’ name and address, but in this digital world in which we live, people are shown to shop based on what they can see on the internet. This means that simply having a listing of your business available online through the yellow pages is not going to cut it anymore.
You live amongst a sea of online shoppers and people who would rather see precisely what a business has to offer and how much a product is, rather than go—in person—to a store only to discover that your product isn’t exactly what they want.
Perhaps you think that your business is very small and that your customer basis hasn’t changed. This may be true now, but what about 2-5 years from now when your small store is another gravestone in the cemetery of brick and mortar stores? Superstores continue to outshine the small guys and online stores are becoming the largest intangible shopping centers in the world. This being said, you’ll want to do something to make your store and your products stand out in the ever-changing world.
Displaying Your Products Across The Globe
Having a website doesn’t mean having to operate something confusing that will add time to your full schedule. A website can provide a platform on which to display your products, your business ethic, and even your store. This allows people to feel familiarity with you and trust in what you’re selling. Even more importantly, this allows for you to reach a whole new customer base that you would not have reached otherwise. EVERYONE uses the internet. Thirty-something new business owners who need what you sell—but live in Bulgaria—use the internet. This means that having your products online can provide a new way for you to get customers that will pay for you to SHIP their products across the globe.
Economical Shift In The Digital World
Let’s think for a moment about today’s economy and the state in which the average worker is in. As the world shifts and people begin to demand what the formerly wanted but knew they didn’t need, something happens within small, medium, and even large businesses. Products must be produced to satisfy the super-consumers. This means that when your business is invisible to digital society, they go elsewhere to get what they MUST have. They go to Lowe’s, they go to Wal-Mart, or they go to Amazon.com and call it a day. Your business is up against those who can provide and perhaps you are saying, “But I can provide. I have higher quality products and similar prices as the big guys.” I am sure you do. But the key question is: does the customer know this?
Back to economics: it is important in this day and age to make note of what you have coming in to your business and what you could have coming in. If you are perfectly happy with your sales figures and you live a decent life, fine. However, you’re letting your business come to a screeching halt once you’re done with it. OR you’re leaving it with someone who will have a difficult time bringing it into the new era. They’re going to need a time machine to get you up-to-date. The current state of the economy makes it so that most workers have no offered retirement benefits. This is something to think about for you and yours. If your business went “global,” by becoming an online fixture, you would see how your sales would increase and your products would be competing and winning out against the big guys’ products. Some extra marketing of your brand and your name would mean some extra savings for you future. It could also mean putting money back into the business for when your children or partner takes it over. You’ve worked so hard to build your name, why not make it worth a pretty penny?
