Offline Business Tips to Survive in the Digital Age

In this digital era, almost all conventional businesses have turned to online businesses. Starting from the food business, electronics, fashion, supermarkets, and many more. So, what is the fate of offline businesses in Indonesia? The following are business tips that can be done by online business entrepreneurs so that businesses can still survive in the digital era.

As a business owner, of course, you have to anticipate all the changes that exist. Including offline businesses that must adapt in this digital era. Moreover, in this new normal era, people tend to choose to shop online.

However, if you are able to survive and adapt, it is not impossible that your business can grow rapidly. So, to survive, you must set the right business strategy.

What can you do to maintain your offline business? Check out some of the following successful business tips!

Advantages of Offline Business

Before knowing how to survive in this digital era, it's good to know the advantages of offline business first. Here are five advantages of offline businesses compared to online businesses.

1. High Trust Level

The first advantage that offline businesses have is the high level of trust given by customers. Offline businesses have physical stores, so customers can see directly the goods they want to buy. Customers can more freely choose available colors, check goods if there are manufacturing defects, to compare prices with details.

2. Easier Customer Service

By being able to interact directly with store staff or customer service, it becomes the next advantage of offline businesses. So, if the customer feels there is something they want to ask about product information, the store staff can explain in detail about the product in question.

3. Safer and Less Risky Payment System

Offline stores usually still use cash payment systems, even though many have used cashless or online payment systems. According to some people, the cash payment system has less risk of payment failure and can be calculated directly by the shop owner.

4. Easy Delivery System

After paying, consumers will immediately receive the goods they bought. Thus, offline store employees do not need to send the goods and are not charged with shipping costs, the amount of which varies according to the distance traveled.

5. Competition is Not Too High

When compared to online stores, offline businesses have fewer competitors. This is because the requirements for setting up an offline store are not as easy as setting up an online store. For example, offline store businesses require physical buildings, equipment such as tables and chairs, electricity costs, and so on.

Disadvantages of Offline Business

Meanwhile, here are the disadvantages of offline businesses when compared to online businesses.

1. Requires Large Business Capital & Operational Costs

Offline businesses generally require large capital when compared to online businesses. This is because offline businesses require space rental costs, employee operational costs, maintenance costs for rental places, and others.

In addition, the monthly operating costs that arise are generally more expensive. Call it the cost allocated for electricity costs, water costs, building maintenance costs, and others.

2. Limited Operating Hours

Offline businesses have limited operating hours, generally from 09.00 to 18.00 what's more, if the offline store's place of business is in a shopping center, so the operating hours of the store must follow the working hours of the shopping center.

3. Requires Physical Place

As explained above, offline businesses certainly need a physical place for business operations to run. If your offline business can be done at home, of course, it will cut costs. On the other hand, if your offline store requires a building rental, there will be an annual building rental fee, the cost of which varies according to the area and the facilities obtained.

4. Limited Market Reach

Offline businesses have a limited market reach because they only have one physical store in one area. It's different if an online business can reach customers nationwide even though it doesn't have a permanent physical store. Therefore, the reason offline stores open branches in different areas is to be able to reach more consumers. The choice of an offline business location will certainly determine the success of the business.

Offline Business Tips to Survive in the Digital Age

Here are four tips that can be done so that offline businesses can remain competitive in the midst of digitalization in all aspects.

1. Increasing Customer Loyalty

The aspect of customer loyalty is one of the keys to your business's success. Whether it's an offline or online business. Therefore, you must improve this so that your business can survive. You can provide promos such as discounts, buy one get one, and so on. This way, customers will come back to shop with you.

2. Support Outlets With The Latest Technology

You can take advantage of digital technology to support your offline store. For example, digital payments or digital wallets. Digital wallet services such as OVO, GoPay, LinkAja, and so on are now widely used by people in Indonesia.

Generally, these services offer attractive promos or discounts to consumers in every transaction. You can take advantage of this to attract the loyalty of your customers.

3. Establish Strict Health Protocols

Ida Fauziyah as the Minister of Manpower (Menaker) urges business actors to establish Occupational Safety and Health (K3) protocols in their respective workplaces. This is to ensure work activities can take place safely.

As a business owner, make sure you set strict occupational health protocols in this new normal era. For example, urging all employees and customers to use masks, provide hand sanitizers and hand washing facilities, complete covid vaccinations, and so on. This will make customers feel safe shopping at your outlets, and prevent the risk of transmitting or contracting the Coronavirus.

4. Participate in Using the Online Platform

If possible, you can participate in the online world. This is because people's consumption patterns have changed to become completely digital. What's more, the COVID-19 virus pandemic has also affected people's consumption patterns to become completely online. So, you have to adapt to the times to survive.

You can trade your merchandise through an e-commerce marketplace. In addition, you can also build brand awareness through social media platforms to build consumer trust in your store. This will help you reach a wider target market.

Well, those are some tips that you can use so that your offline business can survive. Hopefully, the tips above can be useful for you, yes!