Why is it sheer brilliance to invest in an e-commerce store   Picture Courtesy : Pixels.com From Walmart and Target, the world has moved on to Amazon, eBay and Alibaba.  As the Internet conquers the world, people are ditching brick and mortar and are moving towards shopping on a click. During 2018, people shopped worth $2.86 trillion on the web, and this figure is expected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2021, which is huge. Get your 5 day 4 Night Mexico Vacation (a $1,720 value) for anyone who signs up for the Travel Agent program for $199 Brick-and-mortar, on the other hand, is losing its charm. This can be seen from the fact that Circuit City, Kmart and Radio Shack have all filed for bankruptcy. Moreover, whatever is left of the brick-and-mortar is also digitally influenced, which is why they are going mobile. JD.com, the world’s second-largest e-commerce business has partnered with Walmart to create a new retail concept, 7Fresh. At 7Fresh, you need an app installed on your phone because you need it to scan the products and make the payment. Given that the entire world is shifting towards e-commerce, it only makes sense to jump on the e-commerce bandwagon if you are looking to invest in a business. If you are not yet convinced why e-commerce is a good investment opportunity, then here are some reasons that might help. 1.    The world is shopping online The most convincing reason is perhaps that the world is now shifting towards online shopping. People now have a lot of options in terms of variety and pricing at the click of the button. Forecasts show that by 2021, around 2.14 billion people are expected to shop online, up from 1.66 billion in 2016. 2.    Easier to build Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and all our favorite brands have been there in the market for many years. They have invested a lot of time and money to be where they are today. With e-commerce, however, the process is quicker; with the minimal investment, you can grow by leaps and bounds. The online retail giants are the living proof that the online world is full of possibilities. Amazon started as a mere bookseller, and today it has more than 12 million products. Moreover, e-commerce tools today are a lot better and less costly. The selling platforms and marketing tools have made it easier for an inexperienced person to start a business online. The only hurdle that you may face is deciding the product that you have to sell and whether you have to sell a range of products like Amazon or focus on a single category. Selling everything and anything may seem appealing. However, it comes with its own set of problems. Amazon did not get there in a day. Hence, we recommend you focus on a narrower range of products. 3.    Location doesn’t matter The biggest drawback of brick and mortar is that you need a good location to generate sales. Your store has to be located where your target market lives. If you are selling a premium product in a middle-class area, chances are your store will close down in a few days. Other than that, you have to keep several factors in mind, such as parking issues. With e-commerce, you do not need to worry about all of this. You can sell to anybody who wants your product. Moreover, it is easier to establish your sales internationally, as well. 4.    Easy to keep a tab on customers With an e-commerce store, you can easily see what your customers like and don’t like so you can update your offerings accordingly. You can see...

Disclaimer: This content is curated and since information related to digital marketing is available aplenty on the Internet, I thought of compiling data in a sequential and comprehensive manner for the benefit of the readers. One of the easiest, fastest and cheapest ways for businesses to reach consumers today is via the Internet. Read on: Fed Fix: What is Inbound Marketing? This resourceful article explains essential inbound marketing strategies and tactics that companies can use to boost their campaigns’ effectiveness. Digital marketing, also known as Internet or online marketing, is quickly replacing print, television and radio advertisement as the marketing approach of choice for businesses of all sizes. Recent research revealed that 1 in 4 of every business-advertising dollar is dedicated to Internet marketing.  Digital marketing uses internet connected devices such as smart phones, laptops and tablets to engage customers online via technologies such as web and email in conjunction with digital customer data such as characteristics and behaviour. Channels include display advertising, search engine optimisation (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM). It also includes email, RSS, blogging, podcasting, video streams, social networks and instant response messaging.  If you are looking for an edge over your competitors, a digital marketing strategy can provide many benefits to today’s savvy business owner. Benefits of Digital Marketing for Small Business 👇 Instant Access Wide reach to internet users in a single click. Cost Effective A well planned and targeted digital marketing campaign can help your business reach your target audience at a lower cost compared to traditional marketing tactics. Open 24/7 Your website is available to your target audience 24/7. Increases Customer Retention and Loyalty Engage with your customers in a more personalised way when you advertise your products and services. Community Building and Reputation Social media provides the perfect platform to build customer loyalty and build strong online reputation. Research Provides the possibility for an immediate response and feedback from today’s connected consumer. It’s Measurable Track your online campaign’s success in real time. Digital Marketing Channels or Campaigns Online marketing doesn’t only revolve around your website. Although this is an important part of it, you should be aware of other channels that will aid your digital marketing strategy. Whether you’re looking at low budget or blow–the- budget campaigns, these forms of digital marketing are ideal for small businesses as you can adapt your activity to suit your financial situation: 👇 Discover a huge collection of digital assets on Social Media Marketing here!  1. Content Marketing Your website is a powerful tool within your marketing strategy. Most of the time this is where you will be directing your customers to when you engage with them so it’s important to ensure you have interesting content to keep your customers on the site for longer. Start by keeping an interesting blog so that you can share relevant content with your customers and draw them to your site.  With new technologies, more people are reading content on their mobile phones and tablets than ever before. It’s important to ensure your website is easy to browse and interact with on these different devices so that customers can have a good user experience on the move. 2. Search Engine Marketing Stay ahead of your competitors by driving traffic to your website using Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). It works by optimising your site to increase its organic ranking in search engine results (for example how high up you would appear in a search list on Google), so that customers will be more likely to visit your site. Search engine marketing focuses on improving your ranking using specific methods such as improving your use of keywords (words and phrases...