Top 5 misconceptions about e-commerce
E-commerce has been around for a while now & has become the preferred mode of transaction around the world. Despite the dotcom bubble between the years 1997 - 2001, it began to gain respectable ground among serious players of the business world. So much so, that several corporations modelled their business totally around their web portal. Dell, for instance, not only survived the dotcom bubble but also came about to give serious competition to its non e-commerce counterparts. But inspite of the success of e-commerce, very few entities end up making money in the digital space. This is because several misconceptions still exist about the digital business. In this post, we will uncover the five top myths about the world of e-commerce.
Myth 1: Global e-commerce is only for large multinationals
Many vendors & SMEs worry about competition when they enter the online marketplace. Flipkart and Snapdeal may have a bigger staff & a greater budget but chances are that your product is more specialised than those stocked by the large corporations. Try to sniff out your actual competition. If they don't deliver internationally, you can set your business apart by doing so.
Myth 2: There isn't enough exposure
Once you have Google analytics installed on your website, as every respectable e-commerce website should, you will get an exact insight as to how much traffic you already have. Chances are you are already drawing crowds from unexpected quarters. It is important to figure out who your customer is before giving up.
Myth3: The logistics are too difficult
The technology behind national and global shipping & logistics has become exponentially better over the years. However, vendors often try to do everything themselves before considering to leverage the expertise of others. This is why it is sometimes a good idea to tie up with a logistics company to fulfil your orders.
Myth 4: Language support
As you will probably agree, majority of the Indian marketplace is not very comfortable with the English language. Sure, it is the dominant language in the metros but support for only one language means leaving out a large part of the Indian population that exists in small towns. Many vendors feature their web portals only in English and hence, lose out on a valuable target audience that would have bought the product, had they been able to read the content in languages such as Hindi and other regional languages. In case, you are catering to the international market as well, it is a good idea to check if English is their primary language or would you need to provide translation options for indigenous languages.
Myth 5: The web portal is the total plan of the online business
The dotcom bubble happened because people thought that all that was needed to make a quick buck was to have a jazzy website. At the end of the day, a business is about the product or service it provides. It is about the stakeholders of the company. A website is just a great tool to connect with your customers and it must be integrated with all the other important aspects of running a general business.
With more & more organisations providing online payment facilities, there is a great demand for e-commerce developers & experts who can maintain the backend of the portal. As this is a specialised field, technical training is critical to prepare for the regular challenges & demands for the job. Keeping this in mind, reputed institutes are offering training in e-commerce to prepare you for successful careers in the IT industry.