The Importance of having an Online Business

The harsh reality of the present digital era is that as a business owner, you either do business online or you suffer a demise. The choices are not too many and the reason is quite obvious, because the contrast between running a brick and mortar business and an online business is like night and day in many ways, including profitability, ease of operations, audience, measurability, accessibility and more. Online business is the new normal and that is the reality we must all learn to accept.

Imaging opening a shop in a small neighbourhood whereby only twenty-five customers visits your store daily and out of this number you made just about five sales. Then let us compare that with a different scenario whereby another shop in that same vicinity makes the same number of sales, but has a website that attracts additional 1000 visitors, out of which another two hundred of the visitors converted to sales. While both are small businesses, clearly, the latter shop owner is the one who has the ideal business model.

The era when businesses are limited to brick and mortar offices is long gone. Many brick-and-mortar businesses have shut down, or are in the process of shutting down. The period when businesses had a choice to go online or continue to do business in the traditional way have been phased out by the pandemic. Even Banks are cutting down on their physical offices and are now introducing more ATM Galleries and smaller branch offices with just few staff. 

Retail stores are also closing down their numbers and are setting up online stores; and online funds transfer and the availability of ecommerce infrastructure in many parts of the world including Nigeria, has made online business become quite lucrative, less expensive to operate, and easy to manage with remote access and automation functionalities. 

Educational institutions and religious worship centers have joined the digital transformation race. While many businesses have setup their online business before the pandemic, many others have failed to follow the trend simply for a lack of trust due to data privacy concerns. Others just don't have the financial wherewithal to setup a website or are just outright technophobic. Ignorance equally one of the major reasons business owners fail to have an online presence. 

Reasons some Business Avoid the Internet

Lack of Trust: 

Some people do not trust that the security features on the Internet are sufficient; especially it has something to do with their Bank account. This lack of trust emanates from suspicion about stories of credit card fraud and security breaches on otherwise secure systems that we sometimes hear in the news. There are 3.8 billion active Internet users globally, and only a few hundreds of such cases of fraud and security breaches make it to the news annually worldwide, which statistically, makes up a rather insignificant number of about 0.00000005. This is almost a non-existent risk level, which makes the Internet the most advanced technology in modern times.

High Cost: 

Many associate high cost with the Internet and that forms the reason why they would not go online. The Internet may be slightly expensive, particularly in under-developed economies where the infrastructure is unavailable. If you take into consideration the cost even in economies classified as high-cost Internet environment, the ratio when compared with the returns, it is about 1 – 9. Cost is therefore not a factor that should prevent you from taking your business online.

Technophobia: 

The very fact that the Internet is computer-centric, gives many people the impression that it is complicated to manipulate. The Internet has become so user-friendly that even an uneducated person can use it effectively. There are software that has made it easy to control the computer with voice activation functionalities, and with the availability of cheap mobile devices, the Internet is more within the reach of the low-class individual than it was ever before. Increasingly, new apps are been developed that have made browsing the Internet easy and interesting. Any person, who can handle a phone, can also quite easily surf the Internet.

Ignorance: 

Not knowing what the Internet is all about is indeed the greatest reason why many people have stayed away from the Internet. The Internet, just like any other technology has its standard operating procedures, and one of such is the operating manual. Every application that is Internet based, has a help feature, which provides instructions on how to use it. In essence, it means that, just as you can read the manual of a mobile phone and understand how it is been used, so too can you go to the help feature on the Internet to learn how to surf. Ignorance is therefore not an excuse not to have your business on the Internet.

Conclusion

The Internet is connecting the world and has become the new digital platform where gadgets are becoming smart and connected. The Internet is now the foundation of all modern businesses and a prerequisite for success. The only reason therefore, why you cannot be on the Internet, is if you do not have a business at all, but as long as you have one, and you truly want to be successful at it, the issue of trust, cost, technophobia and ignorance, which were mentioned earlier, should not come in the way of your success. 

The entire world is currently experiencing tremendous technological transformation. The era of technophobia has practically been erased by forced social distancing and lock downs. If you are already in business, you need not be reminded of the consequences, because you must have experienced your fair share of losses during this period of the pandemic. 

For those technophobic business owners, who are waiting to be pushed off the plane to that necessary sky diving lesson, the COVID-19 has provided the necessary push and Internet is the platform. The first step to take when you are considering going online is therefore, to contact an expert who would guide and help you through the entire process, but also remember to seek a second opinion before finally taking the decision to venture into an online business. This is to ensure that your lack of expertise about the Internet does not provide a ground for your exploitation.