Five Value-Added Benefits of E-Commerce

John Burk, DVFlora

EcommerceIt’s no secret that in today’s digital world, internet ordering will only increase from here as technology continues to advance at a rapid pace.  By now I would hope that everyone reading this either has an e-commerce site, is in the development stages, or has at the very least considered creating one.  If you have yet to hop on the e-commerce train, it’s time get on board!  

For those still on the fence, I can understand why making the difficult decision to move forward can be frightening.  After all, the “sticker shock” alone is enough to turn people away immediately.  However, it’s important to think of it as a long-term investment and something that can only help your business grow, if implemented and maintained properly.  

Finding the value can be somewhat of a challenging task as well.  You may like the face-to-face interaction between a sales associate and customer, the relationships built, and the fact that questions can be answered immediately.  Conversely, there are many advantages to giving your customers access to enter their needs online.  

Here are five value-added benefits to consider regarding an e-commerce website: 

  • You could potentially sell more – by offering your entire availability online, this gives your customers the opportunity to “browse” through different categories of items. Perhaps they stumble across something they may have never thought to purchase in the past or you notice sales increase because of the convenience of online ordering.

  • You can be available to your customers more often – now customers have the opportunity to order at their convenience, not only when a sales associate is available. They can now shop 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

  • Your employees can now be available more often – by freeing up precious time from your sales associates, they can now be free to focus on building relationships, researching trends and data, and looking for new accounts.

  • Your Digital Marketing is amplified – now you can send out broadcast emails and link customers directly to a promotional item online or post on social media late at night and allow members of your audience to be the first to place an order.

  • Your data pool has now gotten bigger – Just think, all of a sudden you begin to see a certain lily or vase start flying off the shelves or a specific customer is now ordering a new novelty item. This information can help you target customers more effectively.  Now you can create marketing campaigns around what you KNOW they like.  

In my opinion, it’s important to be aware that although you have directed a portion of your customers to an e-commerce site, relationships still need to be maintained.  An associate should still be available to mentor an account, answer questions, and observe orders.  You cannot solely rely on all of the business coming through the website.  Doing so could potentially leave you in the dark about a customers’ specific needs or identifying problems they may be facing.  More importantly, a sales associate is your number one brand ambassador. 

It’s important look at the bigger picture and think of your e-commerce website as another member of your sales team.  Order entry is only a small portion of the value it can provide to your company.

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1 Comment

Marla O'Dell   on Friday 05/18/2018 at 10:05 AM

Well stated John! I might add, it is equally important to have a mobile ready site both for SEO purposes and the fact that consumers (and all our customers are consumers) are increasingly using their phones to research and shop.

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