E-commerce and Small Business

small businesses account for one-third of the total exports. In fact, the market share of these small companies is gradually growing all over the world and of course Internet has played a major role in its growth. This is one the reasons why almost all the companies ranging from those dealing with gift and novelties to the industrial suppliers maintain an online presence. E-commerce can create an immediate impact on the sales and marketing efforts of these companies by providing a global market. Moreover, it not only helps you to reach unlimited number of potential customers, you can receive payments much faster with a mere click of button. Those who already have their online presence are well familiar with its procedures, for those who are yet to explore this arena can refer to the following tips.

Though it is not an arduous process, you must be passionate enough to start your online business. In fact there are certain factors that you need to consider before developing an e-commerce business. Firstly, you will need a well laid business plan. You must minutely study every aspect of your small business. Make sure it justifies the online presence. A bakery that has the capability of working only within its locality will hardly do any good with an e-commerce site. On the other hand, having such a site will prove beneficial if the person concerned is ready to provide the service beyond his/ her boundaries.

As a seller, you will also have to focus on your competitors. In fact, the competition within different industry segments has become severe with the advent of Internet. There are thousands of entrepreneurs/ sites that offer similar products/ services. Study their sites and see what are the services/ products that they are offering. Depending on that, you need to determine your pricing structures and other promotional offers. You must do something different from them to survive in this cut-throat competitive scenario.