How do you decide between selling online or offline?

1 Online selling benefits

Online selling allows you to access a wider and more diverse audience, reduce your operational costs, and offer more convenience and flexibility to your customers. You can also leverage digital tools and platforms to market, communicate, and analyze your online sales performance. Online selling is ideal for products that are easy to ship, have a high demand, and require minimal customer service.

2 Online selling challenges

Online selling also comes with some challenges that you need to overcome or mitigate. You have to deal with more competition, lower margins, and higher customer expectations. You also have to ensure that your website or platform is secure, reliable, and user-friendly. Online selling may not be suitable for products that are bulky, fragile, or highly customized, or that need a lot of personal interaction or demonstration.

3 Offline selling benefits

Offline selling enables you to build trust and rapport with your customers, showcase your product features and benefits, and create a memorable and engaging experience. You can also leverage your location, network, and referrals to attract and retain your customers. Offline selling is ideal for products that are complex, expensive, or unique, or that require a lot of consultation or negotiation.

4 Offline selling challenges

Offline selling also has some drawbacks that you need to consider and address. You have to incur higher fixed costs, such as rent, utilities, and staff. You also have to deal with limited reach, inventory, and hours. You also have to cope with changing customer preferences, behaviors, and expectations. Offline selling may not be effective for products that are simple, cheap, or standardized, or that have a low demand or awareness.

5 How to decide between online and offline selling

When deciding whether to sell online or offline, there is no one-size-fits-all answer. You must consider your product, market, goals, budget, resources, and capabilities. To help you make the right decision, ask yourself questions such as: who are your target customers and where do they shop? What are your unique selling propositions and how can you communicate them? What are your sales objectives and how can you measure them? How much can you afford to invest and what is your expected return? Lastly, consider the risks and opportunities of each channel and how you can manage them.

6 How to combine online and offline selling

You don't have to choose between online and offline selling. You can also combine them to create a hybrid or omnichannel strategy that maximizes your sales potential and customer satisfaction. You can use online channels to generate leads, increase awareness, and provide information, and offline channels to close deals, offer support, and build loyalty. You can also use online and offline channels to complement each other, such as offering click-and-collect, in-store pickup, or online returns. The key is to align your online and offline selling efforts and provide a seamless and consistent customer journey.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?