Going online: the challenge

If you are starting a new business, or expanding from a bricks and mortar shop, and wish to embrace new ways of doing business online then be prepared to take on a serious long term commitment. Neil Pentland, chairman of DecoNetwork, explains.

Being online is about making it easier for your customers to do business with you, leveraging your expertise and making it easier for your to manage your business.

One of the first hurdles you will face will be selecting the Online Internet Software that best services your needs.

What now? 

The good news is that you, by working hard, already provide valuable services to existing customers. By working smarter, with the right online software, you can secure and grow your customer base.

The custom decoration industry worldwide is a 50 billion pound industry. It includes personalised gifts sold from real world shops and websites which we call. It then extends to include uniforms and decorated products for schools, charities and businesses.

Within the custom decoration industry, B2B accounts for about 90% of revenue potential while B2C accounts for about 10%. Do you focus on the 90%. Focus does not mean excluding the 10%; B2C that becomes the cream!

This is where going online really starts to make sense. With good online internet software, your customers will be able to place and view their orders online. Your customers will be able to approve their quotes and concepts you’ve created for them and even pay for any outstanding invoices they have against their account – all online.

Quality online software also de‐shackles you from your desk. You will be able to log‐in and manage your business from anywhere; on computer, tablet or mobile device.

Can you imagine being able to manage all your orders in one place? There could be so many things you would not have to worry about.

Your salespeople will be able log in and see all their sales, do quotes and mock ups on the fly, see the state of each order and not have to deflect you or your production staff from being productive.

Your production staff will have access to automatically generated worksheets with the right information and graphics that are ready for printing.

These are the benefits you will enjoy without having to understand e‐commerce and all the setup needed to create an attractive website.

Best of all, our own research has shown that businesses who chose the right internet business software for themselves can reduce their cost of quoting alone by 70%, and that’s not considering the other benefits great software can deliver you.

What the future may hold 

If you choose quality online software you will be able to better service your existing customers and have the scope to manage your entire business both online and offline into the future.

Over time, by embracing these new internet ways of engaging with customers, you will appreciate that you have acquired new skills and understanding to move your business forward.

The custom decoration industry is a fabulous industry that will enable you to enjoy a very profitable business forever.

Do not be afraid of the challenge of going online, embrace it and experience what your future could be.