In the age of the Web 2.0, if your business is not online, you are missing out on a huge business opportunity. It does not cost much to start one, but managing it is a completely different ball game. Perhaps the greatest benefit is that you’ll learn you do have something of value to share with the world, something that can generate income for you for the rest of your life.
You really do not have to be a developer to build your own eCommerce platform but the most common misconception is that going online is only about building your brand new eCommerce website. The reality is that making an online business successful involves a number of factors and requires a number of departments to work in unison for success. Various departments that will have to be involved are as follows:
- Design – In the social media centric age, aesthetic an simplicity are the key factors that decide the success and failure of an online asset. If you have decided to take your business online, hire a good designer who can working on your branding and design.
- Development – As I said, this will probably not be hard to find. With hundreds of frameworks available on the web, you can find the experts who can get you online quickly. These folks will have to work closely with the Designer to make sure your platform carries a distinct brand value.
- Support – You would love to see hundreds of customers every day. But that means your website has to be up and running all the time. Support department helps you run your business 24×7.
- Marketing – Marketing on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and various other social media platforms, finding other avenues to make your presence known are some of the areas that your marketing department has to look into.
- Supply Chain Management – How are you going to make the products available to your customers. If you have been in retailer business for quite some time, you already know the answer but if you are new into retail, make sure you have done a lot of homework.