10 Mins Read
The pandemic COVID-19 has caught everyone fast, regardless of the type of business you are in and the size of your company. At these unprecedented times, it is the choices which we make now that matters as more measures to tackle COVID-19 will be imposed and stricter lock-down will be enforced as minutes go by, impacting the daily operations of all sizes of business, including my businesses. If you think your business are well-prepared to cope with the new changes, especially in going online, be thankful to yourself for being foresighted and forward thinking as you are one-step ahead of your competitors. On the flip-side, what if your business has never been prepared to go online and your unwavering confidence has been shook by this fight. Now, it is the perfect chance to rethink, reimagine and repurpose your business model.
The speed in deciding how soon your business could go online matters.
The digital landscape is an exciting place where endless possibilities can be chanced upon. With this blog, I hope to share 5 ways all SMEs owners can go digital fast before the coronavirus further impedes our businesses. If you are reading this now, do allow yourself some room of reflection, thought process and openness to what your business may become once you have decided to embark on this journey.
1. Define products / services that are suitable to go online
I understand that all businesses vary and the products / services that you carry are different in all shapes and sizes. Nonetheless, there must be a way to market them online. Say, you have a product line-up, then go ahead and market it online. Some asked how about fitness coaches and instructors that are service oriented…Why not try live-streaming sessions? And you’d ask…How to earn money then? How about making it into a membership? Or, if you’re onto a celebrity level…why not seeking for a sponsor? Then…what about saloon, spa and those along the line….since no one can visit you at this time, right? Think again, you have a skill set a.k.a knowledge, but you are not selling it online yet…some clues though – Go with e-Guides, e-Books, Audiobooks. And again, you would have some products to sell online right? Otherwise, isn’t right now the perfect time to build your online brand presence, your local authority?
2. Identify your potential customers
Once you got online, who do you think will likely to buy from you? Are they freelancers? Or…SME business owners? Or…other online sellers who may be an affiliate? Knowing who you are going to sell is crucial. It is part of identifying the landscape for your online business. You may also hire a Business Growth Consultant to help in the identification process. Facts and presentational data can be found via Google, News and etc. Identifying these numbers will contribute on the long run and ease the next step.
3. Set-up the sales channel
It’s time to get the hands dirty. You may consider setting-up with the local e-Commerce platforms and with the assistance from Enterprise Singapore via E-Commerce Booster Package announced recently. Or, if you are more tech-savvy and have the technical know-hows to set-up an online store by yourself through popular sites such as Woocommerce, Shopify, Magento etc. You may also leverage on the built-in marketplace that most Social Media / Google My Business provide now. If you are interested in selling your products on a mobile app integrated to e-Commerce platform, I do provide the mobile app development in Singapore.
4. Decide on a payment gateway
An important essence in a successful set-up for an online business would be the ability to capture payment fast and detect fraud real-time. I have been a big fan of Stripe when it comes to automated recurring charges and letting customers pay directly with their Credit Card. Stripe has a vast collection of integrations since their API has matured over the years. Their fraud detect system is also superb. It would automatically detect any stolen cards used on transactions and notify the store owners. However, since there are plenty of Payment Gateway providers in the market, picking one can be difficult. My advise would be to stick to one that has mature mechanism to handle different paying scenarios. Perform a reconciliation with one payment gateway is also much simpler than having multiple payment gateways.
5. Track, Measure and Repeat the process
Lastly, learn to track results and measure important metrics apart from Revenues over the time such as Click Through Rate, Conversion Rate, user behaviour etc. Once you have grasped the methodology, you can repeat the process on any other products / services that are coming up on your pipelines.
Recently, I have just launched a 🎉COVID-19 E-Biz Starter Kit 🎉 that will help you kick start your digital transformation journey for only $399. It is designed especially for business owners who want to get your business online FAST in 48 hours.
Check it out now
That’s all for now. Stay safe everyone. Get online soonest possible!
