Converted into purchases. Isn’t that surprising? However, low convertibility is just one of the many challenges faced by online businesses today.
Before we talk more about the challenges, it is important to acknowledge that online businesses also benefit from several advantages that are not given to offline stores and shops such as low retail costs, low employee costs, wider retail area amongst many others. The shift in consumer behavior is encouraging more and more businesses to move online or if not transition completely, at least have an alternative online presence. In the US, about 40% of males between ages 18 and 34 responded in a survey that if they had a choice, they would purchase every item online.
With traffic becoming a hurdle to offline shopping, lack of affordable space for offline outlets, and now, the pandemic, it is only inevitable that the exponential growth in the online business space will continue. However, that also poses a number of hurdles for such businesses, which are important to recognize in order to resolve and overcome.
- Inability to Verify Identity : One of the major challenges faced by online brands is the loss they face due to the wrong identity of customers. Many times, a customer may just enter a wrong delivery address or contact number leading to failed deliveries or even wasted orders, if they were customized. By being able to look for signs of suspicious activity, such as verifying the pin code through an automatic verification link or even making an automated call for cash-on-delivery purchases, is a way to combat this challenge partially.
- Extreme Level of Competition :The online space is simple, affordable, and user-friendly to start a business in. However, those are the very same reasons that also make it highly competitive. Today, businesses start online unlike earlier when they began as offline outlets and transitioned to online stores. With the innumerable businesses crowding the virtual space, it is a challenge to get your business the required visibility or traction. With SEO tools, PR strategies, and social media assistance, one can overcome the competition to stand out from the crowd, even in a virtual space.
- Building and Maintaining Customer Loyalty : Yes! Customer loyalty is usually a result of trust that builds between a customer and the brand’s representatives. Thus, it is most often achieved in a physical environment where the buyer and seller have the opportunity to interact.
In an online space, physical interaction is non-existent which poses a chance to build customer loyalty. However, why is building customer loyalty even important? It is estimated that even a 5% increase in customer loyalty can increase profits by 25% to 95%!.
Having said that, online spaces also allow businesses to build customer loyalty but it requires a strategic approach beyond just customer interaction. A few ways in which a customer may show trust in you is by you being as transparent on your website as possible such as by mentioning your address and contact number, publishing blogs on your website to impart knowledge, and even sending a weekly or monthly newsletter to interact with your customers.
The online space is an ever-growing space for businesses. While it has loads of benefits, it also comes with its own challenges that one needs to overcome to maximize its potential. At YNG Media, a digital marketing company in Delhi, we ensure that your online space is dedicated to your business and that you are able to overcome each of the above-mentioned challenges along with several others through a chronological, guided and strategic approach.
