Afraid to sell online? If you're a business owner, you already know how.

One of the most common concerns I come across from business owners day-to-day is the nervously whispered line, “I do great offline, but I’m not sure how to tackle the internet.” Others believe that “there’s no market for my product online” or even go so far as to suggest that they have no interest in eCommerce whatsoever.

The truth is: if you’re a business owner, and doing well offline, you already know how to tackle the internet. There’s also a market for your product online, and if you have no interest in eCommerce then you have to ask yourself a simple question: are you really looking for your business to grow?

Opening an online store follows exactly the same thought process as opening a high street shop. You put careful planning into choosing a building (eCommerce platform), you spend time and money buying and developing the property (constructing your new website) and delicately plan out your shelving arrangements and layout (designing your front-end). Once launched, you get the word out on the radio/local papers (SEO/PPC) and drive customers (traffic) into your store. Once you’ve got them in the shop, you interact with them (user experience) and respond to feedback (A/B testing) in order to improve your sales (online conversion rate). The logic process is identical, all the changes is the terminology.

And whilst no one in their right mind would try to skip any of these steps when opening a high-street shop, many do when approaching eCommerce. Some decide to set up shop on a free, DIY platform like Wix or Shopify (the equivalent of turning down a high-street property in favour of a small hut on the edge of an industrial estate) and then wonder why it doesn’t perform? Others don’t believe they have to do any marketing at all - a bit like opening a shop and not cleaning the windows or putting your name on the shop-front. When you think about these steps in a real world context, it seems ludicrous to believe that these corners could be cut and hope that your products fly off the shelves.

The second concern that “there’s no market for this product online” is a curious one. If you’re selling B2C offline with success, there’s very few markets where you cannot upscale and sell nationally or internationally. The market may be more competitive, but if your business can compete against your rivals in terms of price, shipping and quality, then you’re well placed to start your assault on a global market.

There’s only really one argument for not moving your offline business online in some way: you have no interest in doing so. It’s certainly not a particularly compelling argument, nor one that stands up to much scrutiny, but it’s definitely your right not to have any interest in selling online.

That said, eCommerce and online retail continue to grow each year. It’s never been a more lucrative market. It’s true that it’s more competitive, and arguably more difficult to break into the sector than before. However, just like you wouldn’t open another pub on a street full of nine identical pubs, you need to find your market niche and make a move. Give yourself a development budget, give yourself a marketing budget, find the right agency to support and help you grow, and you can make tremendous gains through eCommerce.

If you're interested in exploring eCommerce options, or reassessing your current sales strategy online, feel free to have a chat with me or anyone from Visualsoft.