Many old model businesses are tapping on the millions of potential customers online. Many businesses are going online. The future of businesses is online. The advancement in technology has made old model of doing business to become non-competitive in a world which is increasingly becoming a global village through. Even if you do not have a personal computer (PC), you can still get online using your smartphone.
Just like any other businesses, there are pros and cons of doing business online.
These are some of the challenges of doing business online:
1. Lack of trust
One major challenge facing online businesses is the lack of trust between the business owner and the client. Because they do not know each other on a personal level, it is hard for them to develop a high level of trust. This lack of trust has the potential to slow down business as the clients will hesitate to make purchases involving huge financial transactions.
2. Cyber crimes
Many online businesses have lost huge money through cyber crimes. It is a big threat to not only online business owners but also to potential customers. It is estimated that the whole World losses about Sh60 Trillion through cyber crimes.
3. Finding the right audience
Another challenge of doing business online is finding the right audience. There are Millions of people online but not all of them will be interested in your products or services. You might even have a huge following on social media but turning those followers to customers is the biggest task.
4. Internet interruptions
An online business solely depend on the availability of Internet. If there is no internet connection then an online business is as good as dead. Sometimes, the hitches of internet connectivity may be beyond the capability of the online business owner. Like poor weather or mechanical problems with transmitters and Reuters. In that case, he or she will have to suffer losses.
5. High competition
A person doing business online will have to deal with high level of competition. This is because many people are also opting for online businesses. The chances of you selling the same product as many other people are very high. You are competing for the same customers. To stay competitive, the business owner will have to dig deeper into his or her pockets invest in proper online marketing. He or she will have to engage, at a fee, the services of Search engine Optimizations (SEO) companies and other online marketing tools. Online business owners also incur costs of web-hosting and internet data.
6. Blackmail
Hackers have also made lives of online business owners difficult. They not only hack their accounts and swindle cash but also blackmail them. As a person who runs an online business, you will have to keep mastering different passwords. This might jeopardize your online security. Hackers may get to retrieve your own personal data and use it against you.