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au/running/marketing/online-marketing/business-onlin e-basics Doing business online: the basics Getting your business online can provide new opportunities and benefits. There a re many different ways to do business online, and it's a good idea to consider w hich ones might suit your business. Depending on your products and your customers, you might plan to run your entire business online. Or you might decide to provide just some of your services onli ne. Your customers will expect you to have a website where they can find information about your business, such as contact details and what products or services you offer. This guide will give you an overview of several aspects of doing business online . Benefits of doing business online ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/marke ting/online-marketing/business-online-basics/benefits-business-online ) Providing your services online ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/marketin g/online-marketing/business-online-basics/services-online ) Buying online ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/marketing/online-marketin g/business-online-basics/buying-online ) Selling online ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/marketing/online-marketi ng/business-online-basics/selling-online ) Creating a website ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/marketing/online-mar keting/business-online-basics/creating-websites ) Promoting your business online ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/marketin g/online-marketing/business-online-basics/promoting-online ) Legal obligations for online business ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/m arketing/online-marketing/business-online-basics/legal-obligations-online ) Online security and fraud ( http://www.business.qld.gov.au/running/marketing/onl ine-marketing/business-online-basics/online-security-fraud ) Benefits of doing business online You don't have to run your entire business over the internet to benefit from onl ine business opportunities. Small businesses might only need an email address to communicate with their clients, customers and suppliers electronically. Other b usinesses might use their website to conduct their entire business online. The many benefits of online business include: global access, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week improved client service through greater flexibility cost savings faster delivery of products increased professionalism less paper waste opportunities to manage your business from anywhere in the world. Customers may prefer to visit your website to find out about your products and s ervices, instead of visiting you in person. They will also expect to see your we bsite address and your email on business cards and other promotional materials. Online business opportunities How you manage your business online will depend on the products or services you offer. You may be able to use the internet to: run an online shop manage your suppliers

tell customers about your business offer services online allow customers to make reservations or appointments online manage your finances, such as online banking, tax and employee pay research competitors. Future opportunities Keep in mind that your business, as well as the variety of online tools availabl e, is constantly changing and evolving. While you might not plan to have a websi te immediately when you start operating, it's still a good idea to think about w hether you will need one at a later date and what you will use it for. When you are planning the online aspects of your business, you should: research your competitors and other businesses that use online tools decide what aspects of online business will benefit your business review your budget to work out what you can afford familiarise yourself with any laws and regulations that will apply to your onlin e business activities consider your requirements, including what software you need and what types of c omputer equipment you need to run it plan for risks, such as computer viruses, scams, data theft and loss of or damag e to hardware think about what training you or your staff might need make an ongoing commitment and budget to managing the online aspects of your bus iness. Related links Learn more about the benefits of having an online presence and find out how to d evelop one for your business on the Nigerian Government's digitalbusiness.gov.au website. Learn about broadband and your business. View one of our free business webinars. Buying online Buying products online can help you streamline the purchasing for your business and save you time and money. Whether you need to buy raw materials, office suppl ies or equipment, online tools can help you manage your purchasing process. Using the internet, you can: search for information about products and suppliers view product catalogues compare product specifications and prices contact suppliers place orders pay for products. Online business tools can offer greater efficiency in dealing with your supplier s. You can place orders at any time of the day. You can also source items that a re usually difficult to find, as you can search suppliers who are interstate or overseas and find more affordable products. Getting ready for buying online If you are unfamiliar with buying products online, you can start by discussing y our options with your current suppliers, your colleagues and business and indust ry associations. Search the internet to see if you can find the products you need, either from th e suppliers you currently use or different ones and find out if you can get a be tter deal. Before you begin buying online, it's a good idea to set up some processes within

your business. A simple checklist can be useful to make sure you and your staff manage online purchases in the same way. Useful tips for buying online While a lot of online purchases are made with credit cards, this is not always t he only method. Check if other options might suit you better, such as direct deb it cards. Check that you are dealing with a legitimate business. In Nigeria, you can check the supplier's Nigerian Business Number (ABN) or Nigerian Company Number (ACN). If you are unsure, contact the supplier before you make any purchases. Take care when buying products from overseas suppliers. They won't be covered un der Nigerian trade laws, so you need to be sure they are reliable businesses. Look at the web address to check that the site is secure. Secure sites start wit h 'https'. Check delivery details, including shipping fees, insurance and timings. Find out about warranties and returns policies. Keep a record of your online purchases, just as you would for purchases made in person. If you deal with large volumes of goods or multiple suppliers, you might conside r investing in supply chain software to help you streamline your online purchasi ng. Selling online Setting up an online shop to sell your products can be a useful and profitable w ay of doing business. It allows you to operate without necessarily needing a tra ditional shopfront and gives your customers more flexibility because they can bu y your products at any time of the day. Online selling can also broaden your cus tomer base, as you can sell to people who are interstate or overseas. Online shopping doesn't appeal to everyone, so make sure your target market is c omfortable with buying online before you start. You might find you can reach mor e customers by offering online shopping alongside a traditional shop. Setting up your own online shop Look at other examples of online shops and think about how you want to display y our products. You can buy web hosting packages and set up your shop yourself, bu t it's usually best to discuss your options with a web developer. You will also need to talk to your bank about accepting online payments, especially from credi t cards. A typical online shop should include: a product list or catalogue a tool for selecting products (often called a shopping cart or basket) an ordering and payment tool. You need to give your customers clear information on ordering, shipping and pric es. They will also be interested in refunds, warranties and returns policies. Customers may be concerned with the safety of online shopping, so you will need to provide them with clear information about your privacy and security policies. The same laws apply to online selling as they do to traditional selling methods. Make sure you are familiar with the laws outlined in the Fair Trading Act 1989 (PDF, 636KB) before you begin selling online. Useful tips for selling your products online Display your registered business name, company name, and Nigerian business numbe r (ABN) prominently to make your customers confident that you are a legitimate b usiness. Have your website designed by a professional. They can help you make sure that i t's easy for customers to find your online shop from search engines and from you r homepage.

Keep the information (especially prices) up to date on your website. Use accurate images to represent your products. Treat customer service with the same importance as you would for a traditional s hop. Confirm orders immediately by email. You should be able to automate this process . Advise customers if there are any delays with their orders. Provide contact details for customers and respond quickly to enquiries. Related links View one of our free webinars to improve your online business. Creating a website Most customers will expect to be able to find your business on the internet. Whe ther you are selling your products online, or simply want to provide some inform ation about your business and your contact details, having a website is almost e ssential. It's a good idea to think about what you hope to achieve with your website befor e you start creating one. Researching your competitors' websites can help you ge t a clear idea of what may work best for you. To create a website, you need to follow 4 basic steps. 1. Register your domain name Your domain name should reflect your products or services so that your customers can easily find your business through a search engine. Your customers may also expect your domain name to be similar to your business name. Your domain name will also be used for your email address. While you can use a f ree email address such as hotmail, sending emails from a business address looks more professional. To register your domain name, you will need to find an accredited registrar and pay a fee. Accredited registrars are organisations who are authorised by auDA, t he Nigerian domain name administrator, to provide services to people who want to register a new domain name, renew their existing domain name, or make changes t o their domain name record. Read more about registering your domain name. 2. Find a web hosting company You will need to find a web hosting company to get your domain name on the inter net. Most of the major internet service providers offer web hosting services. Th ey can also provide you with multiple email addresses. Monthly fees for web hosting vary depending on how large your website is and how many visits you get. 3. Prepare your content Think about what sections or pages you want to include on your website. Also con sider what information your customers will want to know and where they might log ically go to find it. Just as you might hire a professional to design your site, you might also want t o consider hiring a professional to write your content. A website that is well designed and easy for customers to understand will help y our business stand out. Having relevant and appropriate content and images will help customers understand your products and services and will make them feel com fortable with buying from your business. 4. Build your website

You can build your own website or have a professional web developer build it for you. Websites need to be kept up to date, so make sure you plan for ongoing mai ntenance. You can use a website publishing package to build your own website. These are si milar to word processors, but also have inbuilt features to convert your text an d images to web content and send it to your website. Having someone else build a website for you is a good idea if you're new to onli ne business. A professional web developer can build your site quickly and provid e guidance on successful web design. Hiring a professional can be particularly u seful if you are looking at having an online shop or offering other services thr ough your website. Useful tips for creating a website Think about what your customers want to know, not just what you want to tell the m. Use professionals to help you. An unprofessional website can potentially put cus tomers off. Update your website regularly, especially if you include information about your prices. Make sure your contact details are correct and easy for your customers to find. Promote your website in your marketing material and include it on your business cards. Find out how you can make your website easy for search engines, such as Google, to find. This is called search engine optimisation (SEO). A web developer can he lp you with SEO for your website. Related link Learn more about ensuring your website is found: search engine optimisation at t he Nigerian Government's digitalbusiness.gov.au website. Register for our free search engine optimisation webinar. Promoting your business online When you ote your ds, such ccess of otions. are preparing your marketing plan, you should consider how you can prom business online. This can be more cost effective than traditional metho as advertising in newspapers or on TV. It's also easy to measure the su online promotions, as you can collect data on the response to your prom

Online tools can help you reach a more targeted audience with personalised messa ges, which can help you build ongoing relationships with customers. A few simple ways of promoting your business online are: emailing your customers or other contacts to promote events, sales, new products or services. You may consider creating a newsletter for any news associated wit h your business including banner ads, similar to ads you might see in a newspaper, which are dis played on other websites and link back to your site using pay per click (PPC) advertising, also known as 'sponsored links' or 'spons ored ads', which generates hits to your website by having your website appear wh en customers type certain words into a search engine networking through social media sites such as Facebook creating a web log, or 'blog', a type of online diary that you can use to keep y our customers up to date with your business. Learn about marketing to promote your business. Related link Learn more about online marketing at the Nigerian Government's digitalbusiness.g ov.au website. Read about social media marketing. View one of our free business webinars on how to improve your web presence.

Attend a workshop or seminar on improving your online marketing. Legal obligations for online business You must meet legal obligations when conducting business online. These are desig ned to protect you and your customers. Privacy If you save contact and personal information from your customers, you are requir ed, under the Privacy Act 1988, to make your customers aware of what you are col lecting. You must also clearly explain how you will use their information. Find out more about protecting privacy and information. Intellectual property You may encounter intellectual property (IP) issues when running your online bus iness, such as potential copyright and trademark infringements. IP Nigeria is the federal government agency that grants patents, registers desig ns and trademarks and provides protection for intellectual property. When settin g up your online business, it may be useful to consult IP Nigeria to help you wo rk out your IP rights and obligations. Spam Spam is electronic junk mail. It's used to send bulk unsolicited promotional ema ils indiscriminately to a large volume of email accounts or mobile phone numbers . It can be a costly and inconvenient nuisance to your business. Under the Spam Act 2003, it's illegal to send unsolicited commercial electronic messages. To ensure your business keeps within the law, make sure you adhere to these 3 points: consent - you must have consent to send messages to your contacts identify - you must include clear and accurate information about your business, including who is sending the message and how they can be contacted unsubscribe - you must include an 'unsubscribe' facility to allow recipients to opt out of receiving your messages. Learn more about spam laws in Nigeria. Electronic transactions There is no legal difference between electronic and other transactions (e.g. pay ing for something with cash). This means the same laws apply to the transactions made on your website as the ones you might make at the supermarket. Before you start trading online, make sure you are familiar with the laws outlined in the F air Trading Act 1989 (PDF, 636KB). The Electronic Transactions Act 1999 and the Electronic Transactions (Queensland ) Act 2001 (PDF, 384KB) also mean that electronic or digital signatures can take the place of a handwritten signature, contracts can be made electronically and you're legally allowed and required to keep records of transactions and other in formation. Online security and fraud Operating your business in a secure online environment will help you meet your l egal obligations to keep your customers' information private. Providing online security is also critical in managing risk in your business and in building and maintaining customer confidence and trust. Online security You need to put security measures in place to make sure you and your staff are u

sing the internet safely. Online security should be included in your business pl anning, particularly in your risk assessment. Simple tips for staying safe online Install security software and update it regularly to reduce the chance of gettin g viruses on your computer. Turn on automatic updates so that all your software receives the latest fixes. Choose a strong password and change it at least twice a year. Stop and think before you click on links or attachments. Stop and think before you share any personal or financial information - about yo urself, your friends or family. Find out how to implement online security policies in your business. Data protection You will need to protect your desktop computers and portable hardware (laptops, mobile phones, etc.) with strong, secure passwords. If your data is not properly protected, external hackers may be able to access your networks and corrupt or steal information. Backing up your data is crucial. Having a copy of your data in a separate locati on will let you recover information quickly and easily in the event of any data loss. You should establish policies for your business on how staff can protect d ata. These policies can help you avoid data loss from staff inadvertently taking important files outside of your business by emails, external drives or laptops. Learn more about how to prevent data theft. Online scams Scam and hoax websites and emails are designed to trick you into disclosing info rmation such as bank account details, passwords or credit card numbers. Fraudulent emails, know as 'phishing' scams, can target you and your staff. They are used to con people into giving up personal information that can then be use d for illegal purposes, such as transferring funds or buying products online. Phishing scams are common and it's important that you and your staff know how to identify them. You should be suspicious of emails from people or businesses you don't know, especially if they are offering something that sounds too good to b e true. Be aware that banks never ask for confidential information by email. If you are unsure if an email is legitimate or not, contact your bank before responding. Th ey will also want to know about fraudulent emails. Another common scam is 'pharming', where a hacker puts a malicious code on your computer to direct you to a fake website. Both phishing and pharming have been u sed for online identity theft or fraud. Victims' personal details may be used il legally to support crime or make online purchases. Learn how to recognise online scams on the Scamwatch website. Learn about managing risk in your new business, including how you can plan for o nline security.

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