You have a product or a service. Someone needs to purchase said product or service. Should you sell it online? Obviously, if you are an online retailer, the question of selling online is a moot point, but if you have a brick and mortar shop, then it’s something you must consider as another source for revenue.

To make that question online sales a little easier, we have compiled a few points to consider.  These are by no means comprehensive, and they are only the beginning steps in this decision process. If you have any questions, be sure to get in touch with us for more information.

1. What products/services do I have to sell?

First, of course, you must consider your products. A friend in college once tried to sell old dorm room furniture he found at the end of each semester online. The problem is that no one wanted to pay shipping because it was more than his sale price. He was selling large items cheaply, but it was impractical. Needless to say, he was able to outfit quite a few rooms in pressboard and fake wood veneer.

His chief problem was not considering what he had to sell. How many products do you have? If there are only 4, will their sale justify the time and expense of setting up an online store? How much will it cost to ship your products? Will customers pay for this?

What about the cost of each product? You can’t sell houses online. At least not with regular success. (I know there are exceptions, so please don’t point out the two guys out there who are successfully selling homes online). No one is going to enter credit card info for $95,000. At the same time, if your products are 95 cents, will the income sustain your effort?

No one knows your products better than you. You know what they are worth, what people are willing to pay, and how best to sell them to your customers. If you’re not sure about any if these things, take a look at a competitor and see how they are faring.

2. Is there a market for my products/services?

Closely tied to the last point, demand is key. You can have the most amazing product in the world, but if no one buys it, you’re left with a warehouse full of amazingness.

I have comic books from my youth, and for a while I contemplated selling them to help pay for college. The problem is, no one wanted to pay me what everyone said they were worth.  Maybe they’ll do better once my kids need braces or something.  My problem was that there was no demand.

No one wanted was I was trying to sell, and definitely not at my price. I know all of your products are perfect. They are what everyone needs, though maybe they just don’t know about it yet. Chances are, they may never know. So anything you are looking to sell online needs a market now. Do you have demand for your products? More importantly, is there demand in the online community?

3. Do I have the ability to expand online?

Most brick and mortar businesses are lmited to 30-40 miles of sales.  Granted, unique shops can get random travellers and repeat shoppers due to good experience, but the majority of stores are sustained by the local shopper. With the advent of online sales, your customers can now range across the US, and sometimes across the world.  But can you manage that?

A wider customer base means a larger marketing and advertising effort. You will need shipping capabilities and various payment methods. Will your location allow for you to maintain inventory if demand does skyrocket? Will you need more employees to process orders?

Most business owners don’t look to scaling when they start out. But in an online atmosphere, you must be prepared because any problems with customer experience results in lost customers.

4. Is this going to save my business?

Lastly, and most importantly, you need to ask yourself whether selling online will save your business.  Your answer needs to be “No.”

If your business is doing well, expanding to and online store may help grow it. Provided you have great products, demand, and the capabilities to manage online sales well, selling online can’t hurt and can really only help.

But if you are looking for an online store to salvage what’s left of your business, don’t do it.  Look for something – anything – else. Selling online has a minimum (and I mean minimum) of 6 months before being profitable, and that’s only if you have a great product with high demand, good search engine placement, impressive advertising, and an incredible user experience.  That’s the best-case scenario.

I know I paint a bit of a bleak picture, but I’ve seen success and failure and everythign in between. Selling online looks easy, but it takes a lot fo time and effort to be successful. Most of the guys who have amazing stories of a startup gone global overnight also have stories of 50 other failed ventures and many sleepless nights of work.

So are you going to sell online? Check back here in the coming weeks as we look through the various shopping carts, stores, checkout processes available for getting your products out there.

And as always, if you have any questions about selling online, contact us today.