why get Online?
Ecommerce is set to surpass new records in the coming year as online businesses expand to web enabled phones and even to screens situated on gas pumps. Frum businesses have been slower to adopt the online marketing model, largely in part to a lack of critical mass of their customers using the internet to conduct business. However, Internet usage within the Frum community is trending higher as broadband prices for home use fall and the necessity for workplace connectivity becomes even more prevalent. Businesses that have never considered themselves as likely candidates for the online market are now grappling with whether to go online and how to go about achieving this.
There are many reasons to build an online presence for your business, but the most popular reason is scalability. A “ brick and mortar” (offline) store would likely need many outlays in cash for expanding infrastructure as the business grows with each expansion bringing new costs and resource requirements. On the other hand, an online business can grow with minimal new expenses. As a prime example, eBay is host to dozens if not hundreds of million dollar business, many of whom operate with only a handful of employees and limited if not zero inventory on hand. Operating your business online allows you access to global markets even while you sleep, this allows even a one-man operation to compete against multi-national corporations on the basis of price and/or service.
The second most popular reason for staking an online claim is convenience for both the business operators and the customer. The customer can browse your product offerings from the comfort of their home or work without needing to call or come in to the store. In addition, the customer can pose questions such as the availability of specialty items or product recommendations without the encountering the frustration of waiting for personal attention. Likewise, selling to an online customer is convenient for the business as one can answer orders and questions without the customer looking over their shoulder and without even needing to be dressed for business.
Despite the advantages of conducting business online, there are significant limitations which prevent many businesses from taking the leap onto the Internet. The foremost barrier is a lack of technical resources to create a website. Unfortunately, many individuals allow this technical limitation to prevent them from truly exploring their online options. Although there are solutions now available that require less technical knowledge, the task of setting up a website is still daunting for those with limited web experience. Many times it will be well worth the expense to have a consultant or friend set up an effective and aesthetically pleasing website. Since there will be many businesses that do not feel that it is necessary to invest in an online presence, I would urge these businesses to at least make the low cost effort to get online.
For about $50 a year, one could set up a website on GoDaddy
which will provide a simple online destination for your business. On one simple page place the name of your business and contact information. If you do not have one already, create an email address for your business and place it underneath your phone number. Lastly, create a link to a Google map which allows an online visitor to your site to map the directions to your business. Now that you have a website up for your business, the next task is getting web traffic to your site.