The world's connected so if you have not decided whether an online presence for your enterprise is worth exploring, you could be missing out on a powerful business tool.
The Internet is proving to be a significant business leveler, allowing small and medium-size retail companies to compete with the giants on the same global playing field.
Whether you're selling goods and / or services, from home-made hats to high-end jewelry, some of the most efficient marketing and selling tools are available via the Internet, and the potential of reaching a vast audience is open to you for a minimal investment. It is estimated that 220 million North American users have online access. Don't you want to reach them?!
Time-starved consumers are becoming more comfortable using credit and bank cards to make purchases from security-backed virtual retailers. They comparison shop over the Internet for the best quality and cost and purchase a range of goods from groceries to high-tech products.
As the electronic-consumer trade continues to soar, business-to-business e-commerce will be even stronger. Go online and see what your competition is doing. Do you sell party supplies? Well then Google "party supplies" along with you ZIP code and see what you get.
Until recently, developing an e-commerce Web site meant dealing with multiple companies: one to develop the Web site, one for e-commerce integration, one to host the site, and yet another provider for secure payment processing.
See also A Retailer's Online Presence.