Are you an entrepreneur? Do you own a physical store? Are you are interested in learning how owning an e-commerce website will help you grow your business and increase your revenue, come 2019? Then, you need to read this blog post.

You probably know what a website is but have you ever looked up the definition?

Before I give you a definition, it is only fair that I tell you what e-commerce means. Most people know that an e-commerce website is an online representation of your physical store which enables online shoppers to comfortably purchase your products from the comfort of their homes but do you know that e-commerce actually means “Electronic Commerce”? You didn’t? Well, now you know .

Let’s get back to our definition of a website. Here is a definition for you according to Wikipedia.

 A website is a collection of related web pages, including multimedia content, typically identified with a common domain name, and published on at least one web server.

If that definition sounds too techy, there is a simpler one below;

A website is made up of a group of related files which contains information about an organization, business, person or more. These files are connected to the web via a domain name and a hosting account. Websites are designed for various purposes; Personal websites, business websites, social media websites, e-commerce websites among others.

A domain name is your unique identity on the internet. It is like your office address on the web. People can locate your website on the internet using your domain name. Without a domain name, no one will be able to find your website online. You can create a domain name from a vast variety of domain extensions. Examples of domain extensions are .com, .ng, .space and so on. When you attach your unique name to a domain extension, it becomes a domain name. An example of a domain name is www.sws.com.ng

A hosting account is where you upload your website files to so that it will be published and made available on the internet. Think about it like your monthly data subscription. Without data on your phone, you cannot access the internet. Likewise, without a hosting account, nobody will be able to access your website on the internet.

What does this mean? To have your business online, you need three things: a group of related files that contains your business information (website), a unique name with which you can be found on the internet (domain name) and a service that will ensure that your customers can find you online when they load your domain name on their browsers (hosting account). With these three, you are on your way to a whole new world of business growth.

You can get your hosting and domain with us. You can also order your e-commerce website design at the original cost is N120,000) here and get your business up and running in a month. Wondering why owning a website is so important for your business? Below are 13 solid reasons your competitors do not want you to know.

13 Reasons Why You Need An E-Commerce Website

• Your Customers Are Online

Do you know that there are over 3.58 billion internet users on the web worldwide? You read that right. In Nigeria alone, there are 98.39 million active internet users. Do you see where we are going with this? More than half of Nigeria’s population on the internet and most of them are accessing the internet via mobile phones. It will be an unwise business decision not to take your business online and a huge mistake to get an e-commerce website that is not properly optimized for mobile phone users. Your customers are visiting brick and mortar stores less and less and making purchases, getting product reviews and making purchasing decisions online more than ever. Exploit this vast sea of millions of potential customers by positioning your brick and mortar store online.

• It Is Cheap and Valuable

The initial cost of getting an e-commerce website for your store may seem a bit pricey but the benefits (profit, brand recognition and more) you will reap in the long run overrides your initial investment by a very huge margin.

• 24/7 Virtual Availability

Your brick and mortar store can be open for a maximum of 13 hours daily after which customers will no longer be able to make their purchases. Most people especially workers prefer to shop after work and your competitors have made it easy for them to get home and simply place and pay for their orders online when they are relaxed. Your products may be of superior quality but you are not available online where your customers can easily find you. Sadly, your competitors are. You can beat them at their own game and increase your customer base. Take your quality products, start selling online and never close shop ever again.

• Unprecedented Business Growth

By now, surely you realize that owning an e-commerce store can triple your revenue. The opportunities and possibilities are endless. The more people who are searching for the products you sell online find your website and make a satisfied purchase, the more customers you add to your customer base. More customers equal more money as you can always re-market to your customers and they will purchase from you provided that you sell quality products they are satisfied with.

• Virtual Brochure

When a potential client accesses your site, it is easier for him/her to learn about your business. This is because your site will contain all a client needs to know about your business. This way, it does all the talking for you especially if it is detailed. Your website can contain a wealth of information about each product on your website that you might otherwise miss when marketing your products in person. Your clients can always return to your website for more information and to pay for a product in their cart. This will save you the time, energy and personnel you would have to expend on marketing and re-marketing your products.

• Increases Your Business Value

Owning a website these days is an asset. It gives your business value by putting you on the same level as the big guns in the industry. You may not even have a physical store but your website can give consumers the impression that your business is as big as your competitors. This is where the importance of a really great website comes into play. Furthermore, If you are trying to take a business loan, a very good website will convince the bank that you run a legitimate business and that you are good for the loan.

• Increases Your Brand Awareness

If there is anything owning a website especially an e-commerce site does for your business, it is brand awareness. The images of Facebook and the Apple laptop above are great examples of branding. As a Facebook user, you can easily tell anyone what Facebooks brand colors are should anyone ask the question. I know for one that whenever I see an apple, the brand that easily comes to my mind is the popular maker of the luxury iPhone and Mac laptops. This is proof that the more people visit your website and interact with it, the more they unknowingly become familiar with your brand colors, themes, voice, logo, products and more. Before long, they would have committed your brand image to memory. They will even be able to recognize your brand material anywhere and differentiate it from other brands in your niche.

• Open More Marketing Options

There is so much you can do online when you have a website. You can market products on your website via various marketing channels. You can direct traffic and drive conversions on your website using email marketing campaigns, Google search, display ads, and shopping campaigns, social media ad campaigns, billboard ads, radio ads and so much more.

• Your Business Will Appear On Google Search

Are you aware that 4 in 5 consumers search use search engines to find local information? What this means is that most consumers conduct online research before making a purchase. This is the digital age and everything you need to find is available online. This is why you need to position yourself where your customers can find you. You will need to invest in search engine optimization so that when your target audience searches for a keyword related to your business such as ‘black leather shoes’ on search engines, your website will appear on the first page of search results.

• Engage With Your Customers (Customer support)

You can install a live chat support app or a chatbot on your e-commerce website to enable easy interaction with visitors browsing products on your website. A live chat app or chatbot will make it easy for them to ask you questions if they are experiencing any difficulty navigating your website or making a buying decision. This will add a personal touch to your business and show your customers that you care and are available for them when they need you.

• Know Your Customers And How They Interact With Your Business
• With a free tool like Google Analytics that provides deep insight into how your customers are interacting with your business, you can never go wrong when creating new strategies around how to grow your business. With Google Analytics, you can dive deep and see which pages of your website visitors are visiting more, which product they are purchasing more, where they are dropping off from, which page has the highest bounce rate so you can optimize that page and so much more. Without a website, you will not be able to keep track of what your customers really need and how to make it easier for them to get what they need.

• Official Email Addresses For Your Business

Even better, you can create official email addresses for different aspects of your business so that your customers can easily contact you when they either have issues or need to make an inquiry. Need to know how important owning official email addresses is to your business, .

• Immediate Credibility

If you run any kind of business but do not own a website, it will be difficult for anyone to take your business seriously. Most people will never engage with your business if it does not have a website that proves that your business is a credible one. In this digital age, you need to be able to convince people that you run a legitimate business and not owning a website raises a very bright red flag. Credibility induces trust and that trust is what compels your target audience to make a purchase.

Get a highly functional,  beautiful, user-friendly and mobile optimized online/e-commerce website for your business at only N100,000. Place your orders on our website now.  Do not be left behind. Start 2019 ready. Increase your revenue and gain more customers.