With plastic money and online transactions making their presence felt in the business sector post-demonetization, a business will be able to reap more benefits by going online and providing means to execute online sales via e-commerce applications. The Digital India drive has already prepared the path for the Indian e-commerce. You may be a small retail business or an accepted brand, selling online has its share of advantages to offer. If you are an established brand, you will be saving on the investment funds of establishing a real brick and mortar store in a new location. An online business is like a local business on a global platform. Everybody irrespective of their geographical area can access, browse and buy the store products. A small time business may gain a great deal by opening an e-commerce gateway to all its net-savvy customers.
An encouraging forecast for the online Indian businesses:
The McKinsey Global Institute or the MGI conducted a study to analyse Indian consumer market. The study reveals that India currently in the 12th position may advance to fifth place by the year 2025, provided the economy growth is maintained at the current pace. The robust economic growth and increase in income may reach the US$3.6 trillion mark for consumer spending by 2025. It also indicates that Indian share among the global market may become 5.8% which is more than twice its earlier value.
This boost in the economy is partly due to the availability of numerous ways to carry out e-commerce. The web of the internet facility has spread its tentacles far and wide, within the span of few years. A forecast by ASSOCHAM – Forrester study paper, states that the e-commerce revenue for India will quadruple from its current value of $30 billion for 2016 to $120 billion by 2020. The annual growth rate is expected to be maintained at 51% the highest.
With retailers offering huge discounts for online sale, an increasing number of consumers are opting to buy online. Established branded outlets are also contributing to the growth of e-commerce by taking the online route to carry our e-commerce. An increase in the number of working population has triggered this growth in the e-commerce sector. The e-commerce market in India is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate value of 36% during 2015 to 2020, according to the ”India E-commerce Market Forecast & Opportunities .”
The Indian online business gets a boost from the conglomeration of many factors like availability of a smartphone at affordable prices, abundance in WiFi and free data packages offered by the data carrier companies, surge in economic growth owing to increase in the number of working for middle class population, etc. This is the reason that developing an app for smart devices running on different platforms becomes a necessity for a business with an aim to succeed in the online sale. Every business needs to tap the population who spend long hours browsing the web on the smartphones. An app for a business gives it a local touch on a global platform for all the consumers.
Not Just an App, Invest in SEO, SEM and Ad marketing methods:
Once the business is established thru online E-commerce website, the job of the online sales team begins. The online sales team should study and employ methods to attract and maintain a constant flow of online customers who perform online sale at regular intervals. This brings to the important aspect of optimisation, reverse marketing and search engine optimisation techniques, which when employed effectively, jump start the sale and maintain it at a healthy pace to sustain the e-commerce business for a company. The online marketing again is a different job to be performed on regular basis to attract the online audience. The crucial step to maintaining a healthy sale ratio is to retain the customer base which is already engaged in e-commerce with the company at regular intervals. Sending the push notifications through the app customised according to the user browse history helps in this regard. To attract the new online customers, it is necessary to employ vigorous ad marketing techniques, online and offline.
Some Trends in Ad marketing
The total ad marketing spending for the year 2017 is expected to grow by 10% while the digital marketing registers a 30% growth. The total expenditure is expected to cross the Rs. 61,000 crore mark according to the report by the WPP-owned, GroupM media company. With the government encouraging all forms of digital transactions, digital advertising is gaining focus during the post-demonetisation phase. Also, use of Internet as a medium to create and market a brand name is the new method to achieve faster and traceable ROI. Employing the professionals for the tasks is the key to achieving success because they know how to comb and process the mountain of the online user data to offer customised marketing and advertising solutions.
I am Sunil Tarwara, a seasoned IT professional with over 13 years of hands-on experience in Website Development and Digital Marketing. With a deep understanding of the challenges faced by businesses, I have been trusted by hundreds of clients to achieve their digital goals. I have Master’s degree in Information Technology.
Apart from websites, I like hill stations.