Why Put Up an Online Store?

I was at the IFEX trade show the whole weekend and quite a number of business owners asked me if they should put up an online store. Their main concern was finding buyers online for their products.

The past few months I’ve been thinking about what kind of product I could probably sell online. Products that are known to be sellable online include music (CDs), books, online services like hosting/domains etc., a couple of gadgets to the mundane like trinkets/fashion accessories, swimsuits, t-shirts and what-nots. I want an online business because; (1) I don’t want the huge risk involved in setting up a shop; (2) I don’t have the capital to set-up a shop – this entails rent and stocks; (3) I don’t have the storage space; and (4) I don’t have that much time.

I thought about many, many things to sell online, but I’ve been getting side-tracked since I’m busy with my work. And then it dawned on me the other day while talking to a business owner.

You can sell anything online. Yes, anything.

Why?

Because you need not market to the masses to sell your wares. You don’t need a thirty million marketing budget to introduce your brand. You just need to speak to those who are interested and will actually buy your stuff.

It could be a mundane as kakanin (Pinoydelikasi.com is known for this), a very specific personal interest like OPM cds (check out Titikpilipino.com) or bakery items (check out a teacher's online bakeshop).

How so?

Because: (1) Only the people interested in your product will actually go to your website; (2) Only the people interested in your product will actually search for you online; and (3) let’s face it, mass marketing is no longer as efficient as it was before, person-to-person marketing is now the name of the game. And there are millions of internet users locally.

And?

That is why search marketing is the most efficient marketing tool nowadays. Why? Read my earlier post on this.

So, should you bother putting up an e-commerce site? YES!

Because it mainly expands your market and allows you to reach customers beyond the borders of your country. And that means sales. And more sales means profit!

Do you have a business you wish to put online? Here are just some companies I know who can help you:

Yehey!
Yehey’s Newest Payment System Kaban
Annex Store
Sheero Media
Spinweb
IAMD Software Solutions

*Note: This is not a paid post, nor an endorsement. The companies I enumerated are just some I have encountered at work.