Is eCommerce right for your business?

eCommerce software offers more than the ability to sell directly from your website. It can also provide an overview of your entire sales operation, help create an online shopping experience that is unique to your brand, and ensure your customer’s data is protected.

With that said, the prospect of digital adoption can be daunting. Fortunately, we have a comprehensive list of the positive impact that eCommerce practices can bring as well as the considerations small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should factor in.

The successful adoption of eCommerce software can have a huge impact on the growth of small businesses through the following benefits:

1. Instant access to all your sales, orders, and site traffic.  A sales dashboard of your entire retail operation gives you greater insight into your business, which can help you to make smarter, more informed business decisions.

2. Build customer profiles. By learning more about your customer’s shopping habits, you can better target your products, website, and marketing.

3. Get real-time inventory updates. Automatic updates help you keep on top of your stock levels, including when certain products are likely to sell out or if a promotion is needed to advertise slow-moving stock.

4. Access data quickly. Having easy access to your data, such as sales reports, can help you keep tabs on your business’s financial health.

To assess the impact of eCommerce practices, we will look at three key areas of business: sales, marketing, and security.

Every business has a different way to sell a product and eCommerce tools should be tailored to an organisation. If your approach is to sell lower volumes of high-value bespoke products, eCommerce software still benefits your business. For example, the ability to add detailed product information – including multiple photos and descriptions – for each item at no extra cost.

Conversely, if your business is mainly service rather than product-based, software can still help you track your customer relationships and sales. Through a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system you can access an overview of your sales, generate financial reports quickly and easily to assess your business’s health.

It’s important to note that eCommerce software will charge you a percentage or fee on transactions in addition to the cost of buying the software.

In terms of business marketing, eCommerce software can include valuable features that help customers easily find your website, via search engines and social media. Once visitors are browsing your site, other tools, such as discount codes, help to encourage both sales and loyalty.

Features that eCommerce software can offer include:

• Built-in search engine optimisation (SEO) tools. SEO tools make it easy for engines such as Google and Bing to find your website and recommend them to users.

• Integration with social media channels. Link your social media platforms to your website, such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

• Shopping basket recovery. A handy tool helps to recover potential sales by emailing customers who leave your site before completing their orders.

• Discount codes. Automatically generate targeted discount codes, such as free delivery and special offers, to boost sales and promote loyalty.

Of course, once customers are interested in your products, they should be able to use your services safely. As a result, most eCommerce software includes security features to manage your information securely, for example:

• SSL certification. An SSL (Secure Lockets Layer) certificate authenticates a website’s identity and enables customer data to be encrypted. This keeps all the information transferred from customers’ devices to business websites secure.

• Protection against cyber-attack. Built-in security solutions, that include automatic updates, protect your website against cyber-attacks. These include firewalls (to protect against malicious attacks) and anti-malware (that detects and deletes virus and other harmful programs).

• Integrated payment solutions. Trusted payment processing services, such as Worldpay and Apple Pay, help give customers peace of mind and protect cardholders’ data.

Evidently, with the right strategy, the leap to digital can raise the profile of businesses and generate more custom. Nonetheless, it is vital to make sure that digital customers can purchase product safely and securely.

For those who have seen high street footfall decline, eCommerce can often be an exciting way to touch new markets. However, investing in new technologies should be done with a clear plan in mind.

One way to create a plan for the future and find out what digital investments are right for you, is through the Help to Grow: Management Course. The course gives SME leaders insights from business experts on topics such as digital transformation, strategy, and exploring new markets.

You can find out more about the Help to Grow: Management Course here.