Business online a choice of many people to build their own business in the digital era as it is now. If you break it down again, this type of online business takes many forms. Starting from opening an online shop via Instagram, setting up an e-commerce website, to placing advertisements on blogs. Although it sounds practical because everything is done online, actually online business also has risks — just like any business in general.
The good news is, you can anticipate these risks early so that you know what steps or risk management to take. That way, online business can run smoothly and you can get maximum benefits.
1.) The occurrence of a hit and run
Because business happens online, you can't meet your customers in person. In fact, trust between buyers and sellers can be more easily created face to face. Lack of trust is what can potentially lead to fraud.One of the most common cases in online business is hit and run. In this case, a customer usually seems eager to ask you a certain product via chat. It even asks you to add up your total purchases and asks to send an account number for transfers. However, after you do all these requests, the customer will suddenly disappear or just run away and don't answer your message.
You do not experience material losses, but your time can be wasted. What's more, what if you keep a product because customer A promises to pay for it, but when customer B orders the product, you can't sell it? However, because customer A disappears, you lose your opportunity to generate sales through customer B.
To avoid hits and runs, you can make clear, firm rules, and make sure they don't mean double. Frequently post on how to order, payment systems, delivery, up to the consequences of doing hit and run. If a customer does, you have the right to blacklist. Then, when you do a giveaway, they won't make it a winner.
2.) Very intense competition
As time goes by, the number of online businesses is increasing. Quoted from Liputan6.com, data from BPS shows that as of 2016, the number of e-Commerce in Indonesia has reached 26.2 million. This means that you have many rivals in running an online business . On the one hand, of course this is a serious business risk. However, on the other hand, fierce competition can encourage you to continue to provide different products and services and remain relevant to customers. If not, your online business will not be able to stand out.Now, because of the tough competition, another online business risk that you might face is the difficulty of finding the right niche . Especially if there are big names that dominate your business industry.
As an online business risk management , you can overcome this by targeting a more specific audience. Do detailed consumer research to find out pain points and target customer needs, then design the right solution. Of course this requires a long process. But if you also balance it with an attractive marketing strategy , over time your online business will definitely be increasingly recognized so that it can survive the competition.
3.) Changing market demand
The high market demand is actually a good thing. However, if it is not managed properly, it can become an online business risk . Especially if market demand tends to fluctuate while the goods you are selling are not always ready. Usually, this kind of risk occurs in certain online business industries such as fashion.The case that happens quite often is that when a new trend emerges, customers will most likely choose to buy products from online businesses that already have stock. As a result, you can lose potential customers. Imagine if this happened repeatedly every time a new trend emerged, it would be a shame, right?
Well, the key to this one business risk management is to provide the right amount of stock . The goal is to continue to meet market demand. However, for those of you who are beginners or who have just entered the online business , you should choose products that are trending for a long time or products that customers are always looking for so that you are not overwhelmed in meeting market demand. Some examples are laptop cases , books, or mattress sheets.
4.) Unrealistic expectations
Business online can provide a benefit that is promising. Of course there are many factors that influence this and it takes a process that is not instantaneous to achieve it. Unfortunately, many still think the opposite. As a result, online business people tend to have unrealistic expectations. Usually, things like this often happen at startup. They want to be able to get to the market as quickly as possible, prove themselves, and make a profit.As a result, they don't allocate their time properly and don't really know what they want to make and sell. For this kind of online business risk , there is no other way than to evaluate the business targets that have been made. Readjust to your resources and abilities, then set a realistic target time. Do not let you push yourself too much so that your business is not well managed.
Apart from the various points above, another online business risk that is often experienced is financial management . There are still many online business people who tend to manage as is, so they end up feeling overwhelmed.