Maintaining
a successful business in South Africa’s Online Marketplace
The digital age has arrived, and your
digital presence is your front door to the world.
Gone are the days where being online means
just having a website. In the last ten years the digital space has rapidly advanced
whilst simultaneously securing and growing its role in the business world. It
couldn’t be a more important time to stay informed, adapt your business and
keep up with the digital-savvy times - or lose out to those who do.
But
how?
The rise of the digital age has also seen
an increase and expansion in ecommerce (commercial transactions conducted
electronically on the Internet.) platforms, allowing consumers to
electronically exchange goods and services with ease from anywhere in the
world. Can we include a statistic? According to Efi Dahan, General Manager of PayPal
South Africa’s online spend is estimated to reach R53bn by 2018
Whether you are developing or sprucing up
your website or ecommerce platform, it is very important to consider the user’s
experience. The web user is your potential customer. A well-designed user
experience is what can differentiate your business in the competitive online
space.
Optimizing your digital presence for mobile
is no longer recommended, but required for the success of your business. A study conducted in 2015 by mobile surveying
company GeoPell and World Wide Worx suggested that 40% of South Africans use
mobile phones to browse the internet and access social media sites.
Love it or hate it, social media has become
a part of our daily lives and is imperative in having a digital presence.
Nowadays, you need to represent your business through these channels – and very
importantly, think about the way in which your brand is being presented to the
“always-connected” consumer. Don’t feel that you must be on every single social
media platform. Rather focus on mastering your presence and engaging
consistently on two or three platforms that are relevant to your customers and
target market. If you have an ecommerce platform on your site, investigate how
you can use social media to drive real conversions and increase Return on Investment.
With the addition of the “buy-button” to
many social media platforms, the future landscape of ecommerce could look very
different. Many recent articles suggest that the future of commerce is in fact
rooted in social media or gamification.
The world has never been more connected,
and consumers have instantaneous access to multiple channels. This is why multi-channel
selling is an important consideration that ecommerce sellers have to consider. Consumers love using multi-vendor websites as
it gives them the option to choose from a wide selection of items from various
sellers. If you do not have your own ecommerce platform this is also a great
way to sell and promote your products and presence in the digital space.
Supply Chain Network offers
small businesses the opportunity to promote their brand and products through SCNet’s ecommerce platform with
an extensive reach of over 65 000 small businesses. It’s easy, secure and has low
set up costs, making it possible for you to enter the ecommerce arena. The
Supply Chain Platform allows you to track your history on the catalogues. This
allows you to see what you have previously sold, what you charged for it, how
many products were sold and so forth.
When selling online you also have access to
verified business documentation (BEE, Tax Clearance Certificates) contact
details, google map locations, enterprise credentials, trade references and
shareholder info.
Whatever you choose to do going forward,
the digital world isn’t going anywhere and there is an abundance of
information, data and analytics available online to help you along the way.
Start by evaluating your digital presence and establishing a digital plan-of-action
going forward.
For
more information, or to promote your business through the deals page call us on
0861 272 638 or email us on info@scnet.co.za