New to Online Business

[RyanMitchell]

Hey

So we've been trading the old fashioned way for a long time and are thinking about going online for business in 2013.

I'm guessing having shopped around that i'll be paying at least £50 a month just on running the online service but my main question is..

is it worth it?

Do you guys have sites aswell as shops and is it worth it?

I know it seems like a vague question.. just want to know what you guys think about online trading..

Cheers

Ryan

 

Hi Ryan, what do you plan to sell online? I see from your profile that you sell plumbing equipment. The first question I would ask myself in your shoes is how much of what you sell would be things that plumbers could wait for.

It's in the nature of online business that there is a delay between ordering and receipt of parts and equipment. If most of your business is to plumbers who turn up with specific requirements as and when then going online may be of limited use to you but if you offered a comprehensive service to plumbers for restocking parts and selling equipment they don't want immediately then it could really work for you.

 

[RyanMitchell]

I'd be selling the parts and suppose the customers would know that they will have to wait a while for deliveries. It's more about the setting up and maintenance that i'm worried about.

 

[Rob1985]

If you don't have any experience in the online world and you're not going to pay for marketing then it will probably take a very long time for your website to pay off.

I would suggest starting with a shop on ebay, if that does well then get your own ecommerce site up.

 

[SidRhyes]

online marketing and trading is just all about how you deal with your customer and how better you providing services to them, online trading and marketing done in relevant topics are always beneficial for business. do some research that what is going wrong that will help you most.

 

[SidRhyes]

There are lots of things that you can do with online trading and marketing, online trading is all about how you deal with your customer, how better products you are providing, and how your relation with your customer is maintained.

 

[MA Consultancy]

I would agree with the eBay suggestion or pay to get a consultant in to advise you on the best form of action.

Regards

Mike
MA Consultancy
Sales & Marketing, Web Marketing & E-commerce Consultants

 

[fisicx]

I'm guessing having shopped around that i'll be paying at least £50 a month just on running the online service but my main question is..

Add another £200/month for marketing and a few grand to set the site up and two years of grafting to get it working properly and pulling in customers.

Plus you are going to have to employ someone to mange the orders, take them down the post office and so on

And you then discover most people go to screwfix or plumbworld anyway.

 

[Bill1954]

We have a site and a shop, in the early days the site was doing very well but, it seems like every week there is a new plumbing supplies site appearing on the net and the competition is cut throat now.
I'd also take a close look at your figures, our hosting alone costs us £125 a month.

 

[RyanMitchell]

And you then discover most people go to screwfix or plumbworld anyway.

oh no.. i hope not!

 

[fisicx]

I needed a bit of pipe so wmt down to the local supplier and was back home in an hour.

If I'd used your website I'd still be waiting two days later for 2m of 20mm copper to turn up.

That's the reality. It's going to cost you an arm and a leg to get everything set up and many months of hard work to see even a sniff of a profit. On the other hand you could provide a great local delivery service for plumbing bits. If I can ring you up and have a set of brita filters delivered today then you could make a go of it.

 

[RyanMitchell]

that makes sense.

I think i might have my site as more of an information hub of where we are based and what we stock and have our number plastered across the site so if you wanted to come get the pipes today, u can!

 

[SuitNTie]

Hey

So we've been trading the old fashioned way for a long time and are thinking about going online for business in 2013.

I'm guessing having shopped around that i'll be paying at least £50 a month just on running the online service but my main question is..

is it worth it?

Do you guys have sites aswell as shops and is it worth it?

I know it seems like a vague question.. just want to know what you guys think about online trading..

Cheers

Ryan

In today's modern technological world, online sites are ALWAYS worth it. It makes it easier for people to learn about you, even in their own town. And if you sell material items, you can begin shipping to other areas etc.

My opinion is that it's always worth it.

 

[Anastasiya]

Online business is very popular nowadays. The Internet is increasing its power and mobile devices are becoming the main trend. Sure, it depends on your field, geolocation and target audience, but in general every business needs to go online. You will reach a big number of your clients, get more interaction, loyalty and awareness. You can start with social networks, forums and eBay. These are very efficient free instruments that can bring prompt results.

 

[webconsultant]

Lots of useful comments.

As fisicx mentioned, costs could easily go to £250+/mo. If you also generate enough revenue, that shouldn't be an issue. But that's a big IF.

Adding my advice to the existing ones: start small. Rather than going fully in right at the beginning, have a basic site setup, which presents your services & products but only takes phone orders.
This will help you get known locally (the orders might be more for fixing services) and in the country (for parts). Use the phone call to discuss a little with those clients so you can better focus your marketing efforts when they grow.

When you start getting too many order, consider implementing an online shop. Until then, you're just scaling prematurely.

 

[sarahjohs]

Competition online is fierce and unless you have a solid team of developers, SEO analysts and writers, it may not be worth shifting your shop online just as yet. Since you already have a shop that is doing decently, it would be best to keep that going while having your presence online via a website. You can talk about your products here instead of making sales online.

 

[RyanMitchell]

I've used Ebay, its good but I aint keen on those fee's

 

[360WebsiteReview]

Hey

So we've been trading the old fashioned way for a long time and are thinking about going online for business in 2013.

I'm guessing having shopped around that i'll be paying at least £50 a month just on running the online service but my main question is..

is it worth it?

Do you guys have sites aswell as shops and is it worth it?

I know it seems like a vague question.. just want to know what you guys think about online trading..

Cheers


Ryan

Hey Ryan,

I would have to agree here after reading the comments.

It will take a lot of work and time to really get off the ground and make it viable to trade online in your business.

Best of luck of course.

Cheers,

Scott

 

[RyanMitchell]

You have to try KasKus. It's the best site to trade. I've earned over $340 from KasKus.

I'm based in London.

Indonesia aint really my market...

 

[james247]

Now a days online business is good one and you can approach lot of customers and get online orders easily. Plus many third parties offering complete payment system.

 

[Cash2Bank]

online marketing and trading is just all about how you deal with your customer and how better you providing services to them, online trading and marketing done in relevant topics are always beneficial for business. do some research that what is going wrong that will help you most.

Ryan,

If you've got the time and energy it can be a worth while thing, it takes a while to get going. But going foward everything is online.

Working at Cash2Bank I get load of calls for people such as yourself asking is it worth it, but overall if your committed to making it work it will.

Best of luck

Jason

 

[JulieMcNamee]

Hi Ryan

I'm of the belief that it's always good for a business to have some sort of presence on the web.

Although selling your wares online might not be practical, it you certainly should have the name, address and contact details of your firm up there. People don't look in phone books anymore, they search Google to find contact details.

If you're interested, I can set up a simple site for you and start to get your footprint in the right places.

Send me a private message if you're interested.

Julie McNamee
webnwords.com

 

[RyanMitchell]

Thanks for all the feedback!

I've got onto getting a info site created, luckily I have family members more nifty with a PC and HTML than I am so they will get something up for me.

I'll see how the response is over Q1 2013 with a thought about getting a Payment System on there..

I looked around and was quite impressed with PaymentSense, £10 a month is quality and unlimited tranx up to £50k a year looks about right for me. Hope this offer isn't changed anytime soon!

 

[JulieMcNamee]

Good luck with the business, Ryan.

Do have a look into Paypal as well who charge per transaction with no setup fees.

Julie

 

[Anastasiya]

A few days ago I would say that it depended on your business field, but now I wouldn't. Today any successful business needs to have online presence. Moreover, e-Commerce is turning into m-Commerce. People prefer buying products and services using their laptops or mobile devices. Here are some trends of the upcoming 2013 http://www.rapidmarketplace.com/MCommerce/Stats-TrendsI guess you should consider starting to sell products through the Internet.