BOOST BUSINESS ONLINE In association with Fireball Media

Orla O'Leary Sales & Marketing Director, Fireball Media

Why have an online shopping section to your business? According to Orla O’Leary, having a store online allows your company to reach a larger potential client base

Forward thinking companies are always looking for new ways to market and sell their product or service. The traditional forms have been through advertising in magazines, newspapers, and radio adverts and promoting your business with sales and special offers. The avenue of marketing online has been in place for some time and businesses have seen the positive effect this has had on the growth when done correctly. The next step for any fast moving forward thinking company is selling their products or services online. More and more people are now turning to the internet to research and buy products, as it saves them both time and money.

US Trends

Internationally the growth of online sales is growing at a rapid rate and is expected to continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Time is fast becoming an expensive commodity worldwide and people are turning more and more to online shopping. The reasons for some of this is that people find it is far less stressful, less time consuming and therefore more cost effective.

Recent reports from the US via COM score reveals that in 2006 website online sales combined reached $102.1 billion showing an increase on 2005 figures by a remarkable 24%. The two month period running into Christmas showed combined figures of online sales to have reached $24.6 billion a rise of 26% on the same two month periods in 2005.

European Trends

In Europe, online sales combined were estimated at €38 billion in 2004 and experts predict that this figure will reach over €119 billion by 2010.With the growth of broadband coverage in Ireland, the stronger use of credit cards, increases in the number of companies in Ireland including online sales and marketing in their annual budgets, Irelands online sales continues to grow. Within the next three years Irelands share of online shoppers is expected to be over one million people.

Experts predict that Ireland will have the fastest growth of online shoppers within Europe after the Scandinavian countries. European countries will be able to sell online within Europe at a more competitive rate than our US counterparts, by holding onto a larger share of the market, as the cost of delivery will be less then from the US.

Growing Online

Having a store online allows your company to reach a larger potential client base. Shopping carts can have a lot of very useful tools, by having online prompts for example. When a client begins to shop in your online store, once they have chosen an item the cart will list other products which other shoppers bought to compliment that item, prompting yet another sale.

Benefits to Business

By selling online you are able to sell your product or services worldwide twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. With few overheads and the availability to capture a much larger audience, your client base and profits can greatly increase if your website and online selling is developed to a high standard.

To begin if you already have a website then this must be revisited, you need to make sure that your current website is up to date, that the image and company statement are still working for your company. If the website needs to be updated then this is the time to do so. The backend needs to be looked at and if you do not have a statistics pack in place then this is the time to remedy this. Each of these areas can be reviewed on your behalf in detail by your website developer.

Statistics Pack

The statistics pack can be a vital tool for any website in particular an ecommerce website, this will tell you how many hits your site is getting, what are the most viewed pages, where your visitors are coming from and what percentage are from the Irish English, French, or USA market. If a product is not being looked at, or is but is not selling, then maybe you need to revisit how the product is being marketed.

Target Market

If someone looks at your website then the chances are they are looking for your product or service. If you have an unprofessional site and /or more importantly an unsecured shopping cart then you will lose the opportunity of a sale and professional credibility. There are many forms of secure online shopping carts available. To find the one most suited to your business needs and budget, seek advice from your web developer who will talk you through the different options.