In the modern business world, it is clear that the online model is fast taking over. Online business has been growing for a while, but it experienced an even bigger spike due to the covid-19 outbreak. People have started to embrace this kind of business. I have taken the online platform to my advantage to bridge the gap between myself and my electronic shop customers. To be successful in the online business, I took a step to learn some basic online business terminology for easy communication and management of the business. Common terms we need to be familiar with in online business include:
Online Presence
These are the online platforms where an online business is found. They can be on mobile applications or websites. Online presence is a term used in marketing and business. When I incorporated the online platform in my electronics business, I got advised to establish a visible online presence. This would give customers, whether new or existing, a platform to know the products I have in store and read reviews about the products. In online businesses, customers have to sample a variety of goods/service providers available before buying. As an entrepreneur in the online platform, it is important to get familiar with online presence practices, be it with help from an SEO reseller or by other means.
CTA
In the online business world, be sure to come across CTA frequently. In full, CTA stands for a ‘Call to Action,’ a feature that prompts the customer to take action to reach the business. It is an essential tool of marketing and communication to the business. I made an online presence for my electronics shop by creating a Facebook page because my customer base consists of the young population who use social media highly. On the page, I was keen to put a CTA feature for “send email” because I’m always keen on my emails. I have enabled a “shop now” button on each product to persuade customers. It acts as a guide for the potential clients to know where to communicate with me.
E-Commerce
E-Commerce is a term I recurrently encountered when I took my operations online. This term means buying and selling things online. It involves cash transactions taking place electronically and goods getting delivered to the buyer. In my business, cash on delivery terms is the way to boost client confidence in getting the ordered electronic gadgets.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is popular in the online business world. It is a marketing strategy where other people or brands promote an organization’s product and get a commission for every customer they attract. In my electronics business, I rely on people with many followers on social media platforms to help market my electronics. This has paid-off because of an increase in sales which, in the long run, translates to bigger profits.
Conversion
Conversion involves a potential buyer deciding to contact the organization about the products and services on sale. The customer can ask for a quotation, place an order or fill in a contact form. In my electronic business, the most common form of contact is the send email CTA. I find many emails that are a result of good marketing that has attracted customers.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the number of customers who become paying customers divided by the total customers who visited the online page. In the online business world, not all customers accessing the page have the intention of buying. This is something I experience in my emails because I have several business-related inquiries that do not equal the recorded sales.
Inventory
Inventory is used interchangeably with stock. Inventory in my trade is usually the number of products and the brands remaining in the stock. This does not only apply to my business but universally in the online business world.
Mobile Commerce
This is the buying of products and services using mobile devices. It is made possible by mobile apps and websites. I have a website for my business where customers can purchase electronics using their smartphones.
Traffic/Organic Traffic
Traffic refers to the people visiting a website. Organic traffic is the people who visit a site after finding it through a search engine like Bing, Yahoo, or Google. People often will go to sites like the one Neil Patel runs to get help on understanding this. The search results are in terms of relevance and the site’s popularity based on page rankings. If you search electronic related things, you will find my electronics website. It is important to understand this term and how to achieve it through practices like SEO.
