The tech-driven business world of today moves at a very quick pace, but how to navigate it and still come out on top? Sameh Abdel Fattah, Founder & CTO of Business Boomers brings us up to speed.
How do Business Boomers help startups and newbies in the business world?
Business Boomers is a company that owns zVendo.com, a platform that allows brands and retailers to create their own online store, which provides a point of sales without the need for any technical knowledge, and provides tech services and end services for brands who don’t want to manage this for themselves.
Sometimes it requires activities from the zVendo team, like handling listings and management of the online stores, from carrying out the marketing to managing fulfillment, where products are either in a warehouse managed by the vendor, or from the warehouses of the brand. Business Boomers
It is a tool that saves money, provides know-how and introduces it into the brand or retailer business without having to go through the trial and error and struggle. Startups can start on solid ground, we help them until they either decide to go full-fledged on their own and use only our technology, or pick some of the services to be covered by our team with the rest being done in-house. So yes, it is a useful tool for both brands and retailers.
Have you found that many established successful business owners need help in going digital?
I found that a lot of people need help in this area, as it is a new field. To launch an online presence it would require quite a team of people, all with specific skills, such as IT, graphic design, content administrators, as well as people to handle the actual packing and product distribution etc. It worked.
At one point in time we had over 30 people relying on us to handle their e-commerce, which saved them from the heavy expenses of hiring a full-time team.
In your experience, how effective is having an online presence in boosting revenues?
Having an online presence is a mandate; it is no longer a luxury. It’s a part of what every business should have as an omni-experience. Customers expect to find many channels and to be able to choose the channels they like. Whether they go to a brick-and-mortar store, shop online, order through WhatsApp, website, mobile app.
It really depends on each product, company or brand. However, people expect you to be online. This is no longer something extra, it has become the norm. People will become suspicious and may not deal with you if you don’t have a strong social media and online presence.
Have you noticed a swing towards conducting business online, more than through physical stores?
Definitely, especially after Covid. It was going there, slowly but surely, but it was boosted tenfold by Covid and quarantine. We all saw the transformation, where brands had so many solutions to survive and keep selling to customers. The lockdown period was a very bad time for many brands, and I believe it boosted online business tremendously.
Brands started to work more, and faster, to have an online presence and we saw the adaption by end-users to buying online and paying by credit cards and different product payment methods. For shopping, this grew 6 to 7 fold, and online payments increased by around 3 times as much. Business Boomers
What advice would you give anyone thinking of opening a small business?
There is a lot of advice that should be considered for anyone starting a new business. Most of it should be implemented so you don’t become a business that is ‘planning for failure’. You have to study the product. Selection of the product is very important. You also need to study the market of the product and see who else provides it.
You need to understand your product well, and the market where it is being sold. You need to identify your unique selling points, and what you are adding. These two points must be done even before you start your business.
The other part is cash flow management. No matter how small the business is, the cash must be kept separate and just for the business. It must not be mixed with other things, or with personal finances, and all incoming and outgoing amounts must be recorded. You must be aware of what you spend and what you earn. Business Boomers
Another thing you must pay attention to is images. Both pictures and videos. An online presence makes a huge difference, and it must be studied at every step. Even if you take a picture with a mobile, you need to study it and reference it, read articles and check what others are doing.
You need to make your pictures as appealing as possible, and with videos your message should come across within the first three seconds. People will no longer wait for even ten seconds to decide before focusing. In general, attractive content is very important. Descriptions should be given clearly and in detail, so the customer isn’t forced to go through the hassle of sending a message or calling or having to go onto the website to get it.
The product return or exchange policy should also be clearly stated, so you don’t risk facing negative publicity from any case of customer dissatisfaction. This could kill a brand, right from the beginning. With online stores all this information should be included in the confirmation. After sales service and customer experience are extremely important, no matter how small the business is.
What are the hot new business trends at present?
AI is already established, and ML (Machine Learning) and AR (Augmented Reality) are proving useful in allowing customers to benefit from a virtual reality experience when seeing how a product may look or function. Tailored product recommendations are generated through these as well, based on information gathered. Business Boomers
Data analytics is valuable as well, allowing a brand to add more stock of a specific product, or to change a product to meet customer preferences. While there are new topics and trends flowing on a daily basis, these are the most important trends currently entering the market.
