Every successful business or startup today wholly or partially sells its products or services online. In this digital age, you have no option if you want to thrive. If you are still solely focusing on selling stuff offline you are limiting yourself. The prospects online are infinite; you can sell anything to anyone online. The whole idea behind creating social media accounts and websites is for online selling. Online selling is not a stroll in the park though. You have to learn and master certain areas. If you are curious to know those areas, this article is for you.
Digital Marketing And Sales
Marketing online varies greatly from traditional marketing. Plus there is stiff competition amongst markers online. There are numerous areas you must learn and grasp. Some of the core ones are inbound marketing, affiliate marketing, email marketing, and search engine optimization (SEO). If you pursue a structured learning programme for digital marketing you will find these areas. There are lots of technical elements you will need to appreciate about all those topics. By the time you are done learning digital marketing and sales, you will be at an advantage. Especially here in Zimbabwe, lots of brands operating online are clueless about digital marketing.
Leadership Skills
You have the advantage of infinite places where you can acquire these skills. You can choose to settle for seminars, workshops, masterclasses, or boot camps. You can opt to enrol for actual courses or certificate learning programs. Whichever way you choose does not quite matter just as long as you get the necessary skills. Thanks to the internet you can learn online or where possible you can go for onsite leadership training programs. Online selling needs you to juggle several things and be able to make split-second decisions.
Often time you will be managing a team which requires effective leadership and delegation skills. Learning leadership skills should be a continuous curve; always grab available opportunities. Another much cheaper and easier approach is YouTube – plenty of relevant leadership training content there. I would also recommend checking out TED talks; countless relevant content there.
Financial Literacy And Management
So many people loathe this area because it can be stressful. That is why some people prefer to hire some professional to do it for them. While that is good but you can save that money by managing the financial aspects yourself. Many businesses and startups crumble due to poor financial management. To better equip yourself, you must acquire financial literacy and learn financial management. Especially when selling stuff online, the financial terrain may seem alien to you. That is why you must sign up for online or onsite learning programmes. You could still settle for YouTube or TED talks as your go-to. It is highly advisable to learn this area before getting full-blown into your operations. It is better to continue learning more topics but with a solid foundation first. Do not take this area lightly because if improperly handled it can be your downfall.
Customer Service Or Customer Relationship Management
This area is usually the difference between successful brands and unsuccessful ones. Many brands here in Zimbabwe are so dismal at customer service when selling online. The other time I did an article where I discussed business behaviours that Zimbabweans hate the most. Some of the issues I mentioned are being sketchy about product or service details online and poor customer query handling. I also mentioned poor engagement of existing or prospective customers online. These are some of the indicators of a lack of knowledge and skills in customer service or customer relationship management.
These examples I just shared are typical when it comes to online selling. That is why you should be taught the tenets of these areas regarding online selling. Getting people to buy online, especially in Zimbabwe is still a tall order. That is why you cannot afford to treat customers anyhow. If you enrol or sign up to learn in this area there is a lot to discover. Grasping this area can lead to you instituting SOPs for your enterprise that gives you a competitive advantage.
Learning these areas can be done using two possible means. You can enrol for paid-for certified learning programs offered by various onsite, offline, or blended learning institutions. The other option is to enrol on free learning courses especially offered by online platforms. I would recommend online learning platforms such as Udemy and Coursera, amongst others. Remember the most important thing is to assimilate the necessary knowledge. You can start your learning journey today as you seek to master online selling.
