While the Philippines is a world leader in the use of social media, it still lags far behind when it comes to the adoption of advanced e-commerce systems. This isn’t to say Filipino businesses don’t do e-commerce. This is not the case. However, when small Filipino businesses do e-commerce, it’s often through an ad hoc system that uses messaging features on popular social media sites or other limited third-party platforms.
While these types of systems are certainly good for a start, they are ultimately unsustainable for all but the smallest operations. A lot of human error is possible with these systems and they can be fiddly and unreliable when dealing with complex orders. Even before your business starts to pick up, it can be handy to have an e-commerce platform cloud system such as EasyStore.
Cloud-based e-commerce platforms allow small to medium businesses to have a more powerful and efficient e-commerce capability than would be possible on just social media sites alone.
Here are some reasons why small Filipino businesses should invest in a cloud-based e-commerce platform:
1. Searchability
E-commerce platforms such as EasyStore allow you to quickly set up your e-commerce website. This makes it easier for customers to find your items when they use a search engine such as Google or Bing. If your item could only be found on Facebook or Shopee, for instance, it may be very difficult if not impossible for potential customers to find your products outside of those sites. If you have an e-commerce site, it will be much simpler for customers to find your products and your business using the world’s most popular search engines.
2. Better credibility
Customers are more likely to see a business with an ecommerce site as more credible than one that is completely based on a social media platform. This is especially important in the Philippine setting, where brand credibility and popularity can go a long way. By using a good e-commerce platform, you can help improve the perception of your business, which means more potential customers will be ready to buy when they find you.
3. You can manage your business anywhere
The great thing about cloud-based e-commerce platforms is that you aren’t tied to any specific location to be able to make changes to your site. You can update items and prices, upload a blog post, or even make radical design changes to your site from any place with an internet connection. This allows Filipino entrepreneurs to remain mobile and productive at the same time.
4. Email and text message automation
Modern e-commerce platforms allow you to automatically send reminders, follow-up messages, and updates to customers through email or SMS. They can be set up to do any of several automatic messages, from informing customers of logistics tracking stages to sending out standard customer service responses. Payment reminders could also be sent this way, potentially improving the reliability of your organization’s cash flow.
5. Autofill forms
If there’s one thing customers dislike, it’s constantly filling out forms. Manual filling introduces a significant chance of errors and is one of the major causes of cart abandonment. Autofill makes life easier for customers by saving time, reducing the possibility of manual errors, and removing a significant barrier to their purchases. Because of this, autofill functions can reduce cart abandonments and create an overall positive experience for customers.
6. Flexible online banking
Small Filipino e-commerce businesses on Facebook and Viber will typically rely on finicky workarounds such as direct deposits from customers and photo or screenshot confirmations for transactions. While this is fine for low volumes of transactions, these methods require a lot of attention and manual checking, which can lead to errors and unsatisfied customers.
Cloud-based e-commerce platforms allow this process to be fully automated, if necessary. All customer has to do is purchase from your site using any of a variety of payment methods and everything is automatically taken care of without your intervention. This means your online store can mostly take care of itself while you focus on growing your business and delivering satisfaction.
7. Overseas business
Having your own e-commerce site means that you are better positioned to tap into foreign markets. Not only are you easier to search, but you can also use a selection of payment gateways and logistics services to vastly simplify purchases from international customers.
8. You can easily scale and brand your business
Cloud-based e-commerce platforms like EasyStore are highly scalable thanks to the simple yet powerful automation features. You also get access to a selection of themes that allows you to closely tailor the look of your site to an intended market. This means you won’t have to work as hard to grow your business as you would through traditional methods.
Those are just some of the reasons small businesses need to consider cloud-based e-commerce platforms. When linked to a wider enterprise resource management system, these platforms can be extremely powerful and give you the ability to compete against much larger businesses. If you’re serious about growing your business, looking into these platforms and the features they have can be key to its continued growth and success.
