5 Tips To Expand Your Internet Presence

Six Billion Shoppers: A brief insight

E-commerce has paved its way into our lives like a wildfire. With online shopping, banking transactions, and facilitating services almost becoming a part of our daily lives, we cannot help but agree to and appreciate the impact of the cyber business. 

Be it last-minute grocery shopping or booking tickets to the nearest getaway, e-commerce has encapsulated almost every sphere. An e-commerce boom was, in fact, predicted and anticipated; however, 2020, in particular, has seen a soaring number of online transactions, given that the world has been rendered between four walls. And with the ever-increasing number of users finding themselves leveraging this avenue, what is stopping your business from making hay while the sun shines?

The book Six Billion Shoppers: The Companies Winning the Global E-Commerce Boom by Porter Erisman gives some great insight into the potential of the online business with several examples of successes along with its own predictions of the next e-commerce hotspot.

The book emphasizes three major reasons for the mushrooming of e-commerce, which essentially are the consumers, i.e., largely the middle class; the revolution created by the World Wide Web; and credits the businesses for their innovation which stood out on the internet and reached the consumers, thereby making e-commerce ubiquitous. 

If your business has an internet presence or is planning to expand its outreach by going online--especially if it’s based in a developing country, which plays and will increasingly play a great role in catalyzing e-commerce--then here are a few things you may consider to create and secure your place in the chaotic world of the internet:

Six Billion Shopper: An insight

Brand management

• Brand management, in other words, is public relations. For efficient and more welcoming brand management, keep your eyes on the contemporary developments taking place and align your brand campaigns or promotions with them. Moreover, give due regard to your social and ecological obligations and make sure that while you’re contributing to the economy, you don’t take away from the environment. 

Content marketing

• Marketing is the pivot of business nowadays, considering the amount of competition in the market. Making your business boom amidst the herd of others will require you to go the extra mile and make your product stand out even though it may bear similarities to other products in the market. The quality and quantity of your content marketing will give you an edge over others and a reason for your consumers to choose you. Pitching your product on a platform that harbors millions of users gives it a great deal of exposure. Hence, utilize this opportunity and come up with stellar content which attracts users and their interests by engaging with them. 

Be customer-oriented

• If marketing is the pivot of a business, then customers are the focus of marketing. Orienting your business around the needs of customers has been encouraged since the fourth industrial revolution, it is now that there are innumerable avenues to fructify this intent. You can generate a mailing list or publish customer care numbers open for calls as well as messages or even get your own AI chatbot for quick redressal. You can do as many things to bridge the gap between the business and ultimate consumers of the product or service, as this will not only increase brand loyalty but will also increase your outreach through referrals. Customers are your golden apple, and you can be the apple of their eye. It’s a win-win. 

Incentivize

• Who doesn’t like to get an incentive? An incentive can drive someone to do something they might not have given a thought to earlier. A customer not only sees the worth of the product while purchasing it but also what they are getting out of it in totality. This, of course, includes any additional discounts or coupons. Therefore, make provisions for introductory offers, special offers, holiday sales, and whatever your business planning allows you to, in order to generate interest among your users.

Collaborate

• The rise of e-commerce has been facilitated entirely by the internet and it, in fact, has several other elements which can provide an impetus to your business. These include other businesses as well as individuals who are relevant to your business and who can push it further into the spotlight through collaborations. One simple search on Instagram, for example, can get you numerous such ventures with whom you may collaborate and work on quid pro quo or a pre-determined contract. 

Conclusion

The e-commerce boom feels larger than ever every time, and the fact is that it will keep on increasing. We feel like we are on the zenith of the e-commerce mountain when a new innovation drops in leaves us wide-eyed. It provides ample opportunities for every stakeholder to enhance productivity and convenience. Therefore, if you have not yet jumped on the bandwagon, you might as well do it now, as the saying the sooner, the better fits perfectly here. Hence, leverage this opportunity and capitalize on this platform. 

Frequently asked questions

1. What is the e-commerce boom?

• The e-commerce boom is essentially an exponential increase in online shopping, be it goods or services and related to any industry. It takes into account both business-to-business and business-to-consumer models. 

2. What are the three types of e-commerce?

• The three primary types of e-commerce include business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and consumer-to-consumer models. 

3. Why is the e-commerce industry booming?

• The major reason behind the e-commerce boom is the accessibility to and ubiquity of the internet. It has made shopping easy, convenient, and affordable for the middle class and is only going to increase in the future. 

4. What is the growth of e-commerce?

• The e-commerce industry has grown exponentially over the past years. In the year 2020 itself, it has grown over 35%. The pandemic has also catalyzed the growth of e-commerce and it is becoming a regular way of shopping. 

5. How can I start e-commerce?

• The present environment is conducive to starting e-commerce. Diligent market research and competition analysis are required to start planning. You'll have to find your niche, locate the target market, and accordingly go ahead with it.