In an ever increasingly digital world, it has never been more vital to have an online presence for your business regardless of whether you are a multinational empire or an entrepreneur with a one-person start-up. As more and more consumers are turning to the Internet for shopping, banking transactions, and even social interaction; missing out on this audience could cost your business revenue and exposure. Here are just three reasons why you should consider taking your business online, not just in terms of social media or having a website but some of your business’ function too.
An audience of millions
The age of the internet has bought information, culture and even the high-street right into our homes and offices. Across the globe individuals, businesses and potential customers are logging into the Internet on a daily basis. Taking your business online either to promote your services, sell your products or even to engage discussion on the vagaries of your particular business means that you are more likely to have access to this audience of millions and, therefore, have the opportunity to turn that audience into customers. Having a well-designed website and well-maintained social media presence is vital particularly as more of us tend to engage with businesses online, especially through social media.
Streamlining your workflow
The internet is not just a tool for communicating with customers or growing your sales output. It is also a way to make your business more manageable, organised and streamlined and, therefore, increase your profitability. Whether you are a business of one or have 100,000 employees, services that provide cloud based HR and payroll, for example, allow you to not only access information from anywhere with a web connection but also allows you to scale your business without costly infrastructure changes such as increased server capacity. Of course, it’s not just these business functions that are provided by cloud based services but with both Apple and Microsoft as well as Google offering cloud based Office software, you really can have a global business which you can run from anywhere where you can connect to the Internet.
Driving sales, finding suppliers
Of course, the benefits of increasing your audience are that you also increase the likelihood of sales conversion. But by taking your business online, you also are able to be seen by and engage in negotiations with potential new suppliers and services which can further increase your business, your sales, and your profitability. Services such Scanmarket, for example, offer a web-based platform to manage all of your procurement, contracting and supplier management and therefore enabling you to focus not on due diligence or compliance when it comes to contracting you suppliers but on the personal relationship with your partners and further building your business. These cloud-based packages not only provide a way of documenting who and what your suppliers are doing but also provide detailed reports and analysis of the value of contracts and any outstanding tasks to ensure that your relationship remains a positive one. Services such Scanmarket also offer an opportunity for businesses to advertise their needs to potential suppliers and procure these via a variety of online auctions, ensuring that you are able to find the best deal for your business.
The internet and its capabilities continue to grow and more and more users login every day. Can you afford not to take advantage of this for your business?
