Why Do I Need an eCommerce Website?

Many of us have sold stuff on the internet on platforms like eBay, Amazon, Facebook Marketplace and much more. Now that you are on a roll, seeing the dollars kick in, well you want more of it! It is only natural right? You are now scratching your head because you are trading well and you think well should I create my own eCommerce website, some call it my own online store. Most people start thinking this way when they see their monthly fees incurred and the feeling of being held hostage by these online giants. But crikey, where does one start with an online store, is it WIX is it Vistaprint or do you get on Shopify, what is the right thing to do for not much money? The ultimate decision should be how much do I want to grow my business and what sort of sales engine do I need. Think of a website as a car. When you shopped for your car, what was important to you, was it the look of it, the color, the engine, the brand you wanted to be associated and off course the price tag. Same thing applies with a website decision, did you want something to only look good or did you want a sales engine that moved up the ranks on Google, present your image and brand well and works like a pro for your customers to buy and keep coming back for more….

If you are leaning towards the later, it is really important you choose the right eCommerce platform for your business. Here are some tips: Ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I want to promote a brand?
2. How many products will I be selling on there?
3. How often will you be adding new products?
4. Will you have images to upload?
5. Will you have videos to upload?
6. Do you need to get a photographer to take images of products?
7. Do you need to integrate your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool with the website?
8. Do you need to have shipping pricing and options for the USA?
9. Do you need shipping and pricing options should you get an order internationally?
10. Do you prefer having your own merchant gateway account, to avoid paying fees to Paypal?
11. Do you think you might be accepting Bitcoins on your website as a form of payment?
12. Is your inventory going to be drop shipped or will there be inventory in your local warehouse?
13. Is social media going to be a big part of your marketing and promotions?
14. Will you be integrating Google Shopping and AdWords?
15. Will you be needing Google Analytics?

As a rule of thumb, template based sites will NOT provide you with total satisfaction and more importantly they come with a stigma of being rigid! Customizing a site, will not only provide you with more flexibility but it will be designed to meet key search engine optimization (SEO) criteria, which is critical in creating visibility for your products. If you are seriously thinking of selling on the internet custom build your eCommerce website with a strategic marketing firm. Do not entertain building a website based around a pricing proposal on how many pages are going to be created. A website is a sales engine that offers dynamic and effective marketing which results in sales directly on the eCommerce website.

So why do you need an eCommerce website?

1. So you can be in control of your brand and messaging
2. Avoid paying fees to 3rd party online giants, put that money back in your own pocket
3. Avoid being shut down overnight by a 3rd party – bring back control!
4. Have the flexibility to the site what you want it to be! Get away from RIGID!

If you are serious about getting a sales engine of your own, book a consult with us HERE. We work with companies in the USA and Internationally.