But, we are getting a little ahead of ourselves, so we are going to go back to make it clear that it is: it is about the process by which a purchase, sale, order and payment of products or services is made online, either through a web page or through through social networks.
What types of electronic commerce exist?
There are 4 types of ecommerce, each one with characteristics that make it unique to cover certain needs:
- Business to business (B2B): Companies or businesses offer products or services to other companies.
- Business to Consumer (B2C): The company or business offers a product or service to the final consumer, without the need for an intermediary.
- Consumer to Consumer (C2C): Also known as 'private sales', this type of business is characterized by two people doing business with each other, such as selling second-hand products.
- Consumer to Business (C2B): In this model, a person offers a service to a company to complement a commercial process.
Advantages and disadvantages
Now that we know what it is, it is time to find out the good and bad that this business model can offer us, in this way we will be able to know the weaknesses and areas of opportunity that we can work on to reduce risks:
Advantages :
- An ecommerce is much cheaper than opening and maintaining a physical point of sale.
- Being cheaper, the profit margins are wider.
- It provides the opportunity to reach a larger number of customers, even from anywhere in the world.
- It gives us the flexibility to adapt as the market changes.
- We can get to know our customers better thanks to data collection.
Disadvantages:
- Customers cannot test the products, so it is important to collect reviews on our page that can be recommended and guide new customers.
- Unfortunately, there are fake businesses that only defraud users, therefore, it is best to have payment gateways that reinforce and guarantee the safety of buyers.
- The competition is much higher, so work on your marketing strategy to highlight your differentiator from other businesses.
How can I start?
Now that you have made the decision to start your business in the digital world, you must be wondering how and where to start, so we leave you the first steps to follow:
1. Analyze your market to find out on which platform you should set up your e-commerce. Some we like to work with are woocommerce and shopify .
2- Once you have it, it's time to investigate and choose the platform that suits you best and configure it.
3. Link the payment gateways that you are going to use, as well as the shipping methods by which you will send the products (always remember to analyze and investigate them to guarantee security for you and your customers).
4. Work on your digital marketing strategy that helps you make yourself known and reach more potential customers.
Ready! You already have everything to take your first steps in ecommerce, remember that if you need support to grow your business , our dream team is here for you .