Interactive Business Magazine

Taverna Technology CEO

Jessica Elliott tops the list

100 of the most influential leaders

e-Commerce tips to fuel business

The last few years have brought incredible challenges to small and micro businesses (SMBs), plus some amazing stories of tenacity and survival. These businesses have seen enormous changes, fueled by consumer habits that are here to stay.

For many SMBs, digital payment acceptance has become increasingly intertwined with their long-term success. Visa’s Back to Business study conducted in nine countries shows that 82% of SMBs surveyed plan to accept digital payment options in 2022 and 73% said a modern, digital payments infrastructure is fundamental to their growth.

If your small business does not yet have an online presence and hasn’t yet mastered ways to accept digitized payments online or in-store, now’s the time to get on board. E-commerce has grown exponentially and it’s not going anywhere. On average, 57% of U.S. consumers’ shopping in the past month was done using digital payments, according to the Visa Global Back to Business Study.

Plenty of tools and tactics are available to help any size business develop and grow their e-commerce capabilities. Here are some tips to help get your business where it needs to be.

Create or improve your website

Developing an attractive, seamless and user-friendly website is not only crucial to compete in today’s marketplace, but it can also be the difference maker

Select a website host and platform. The host allows your website to have connectivity to the internet, while the platform helps you design and build your website.

If you don’t have a web designer on staff, hire a professional to design a website that’s easy to navigate, and that helps consumers quickly understand your business, its services or products.

Create ways for customers to make digital payments

To help your customers pay for goods and services using their computer or mobile device, Visa offers a variety of resources and digital tools.

“More than ever, people are engaging across multiple channels - shopping online, in-store and through mobile apps,” said Jeni Mundy, Global SVP Merchant Sales & Acquiring at Visa. “We’ve seen that SMBs who have embraced digital commerce and made changes to the way they operate not only have weathered the pandemic better but are also setting themselves up to thrive in the future.”

Build customer loyalty and engagement

Social media platforms can help you attract new customers, engage with them and reward their participation and loyalty. Creating content like blogs as well as encouraging customer reviews and postings can help build a sense of community with your customer base.

You can also use technology to create a digital customer

Three ways how your small business can move from surviving to thriving

The future of electric

Three

ways how an electric vehicle can help you meet your goals in 2022 and beyond

EVs come with benefit of flexible charging

Once you make the decision to switch to an EV, you’ll have the benefit of flexible charging options to keep your car up and running.

According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, more than 80% of EV charging is done at home, and residential charging equipment can most likely be installed in your garage. Beyond the home, public EV charging station options are also growing rapidly, with strong support from policymakers, businesses and consumers. Electrify America, the nation’s largest public network of ultra-fast EV charging stations, offers charging options along highway routes and in metro areas, and in many places you visit regularly: alongside restaurants, by grocery stores, at major retailers

and shopping malls, close to convenience stores and gas stations - even near financial services like banks.

To help drivers feel confident taking their electric vehicles on longer trips, Electrify America offers multiple cross-country routes and several north-to-south routes, and many other interstate options along the coasts and Middle America. And the station growth continues: by 2026, the company plans to have more than 1,800 fast-charging stations and 10,000 individual chargers installed in the U.S. and Canada. the company plans to have more than 1,800 fast-charging stations and 10,000 individual chargers installed in the U.S. and Canada. the company plans to have more than 1,800 fast-charging stations and 10,000 individual chargers installed in the U.S. and Canada.