Traditional Business vs. Online Business Compared

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Written By Epifania

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The Internet way of doing business has come to stay with us.

This is due to the revenue both new and existing businesses generate within shorter periods, from when people launched their businesses.

 This influences the decision that made so many people start seeing the internet as a great way to land customers or clients for their respective businesses, even when built upon the traditional business framework.

Some people also see many of our traditional businesses as old school and therefore needs to be abandoned.

 Has the internet business come to overrule our traditional ways of doing business?

Well, this is too far-fetched, but frankly, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen any time.

In many instances, your business will demand you to be present at a specific location for its operation; other times, being online will suffice that, while a combination of both might also be the most excellent idea.

We’ve put together ten comparisons between online and traditional business models in this write-up.

Find them below:

 1.  Customer Interaction:

In traditional businesses, customers get to interact with brands face to face, while online businesses are comprised of the screen to face interaction.

 2. Operational Hours

Traditional businesses have operational hours and time for closures, while online businesses have extensive hours of operation, and some may even be available 24/7.

 3. Delivery of Goods

Goods are delivered instantly through traditional businesses because buyers are present to take their goods along.

Delivery of goods bought online usually takes time to cater for payment processing or validation and shipment to the customer’s location.

 4. Scope of Business

Traditional or brick-and-mortar businesses are limited to a specified area or location.

 In contrast, Internet businesses can deliver sales to distant clients or customers and can also decide to attain a worldwide outreach.

5. Physical Inspection

Buyers have the power to inspect the goods they are about to buy physically through offline brands.

With the internet, buyers can only see the goods they purchase upon triumphant arrival.

 6. Consumer Trust

The level of trust people give to offline businesses cannot be equated with that of online.

 This is because they don’t have to worry about dealing with fake merchants that will probably scam them or others that can deliver wrong products or services if they make purchases physically.

However, since customers are mainly in the dark from knowing who they are dealing with, trust is a significant factor here.

This is especially the case for new businesses or unfamiliar ones, but it may not be the case with more prominent brands, although all have struggled with trust issues from customers at one time or the other.

 7. Protection

Brick and mortar businesses need to take care of physical attacks to protect their inventories or materials, while online-based businesses have to protect their’s against cyber attacks.

 8. Government Intervention

Regulatory bodies that regulate business practices or governments usually pay less attention to online brands than offline brands.

 9. Staffing

Several automation tools drive away from the need for employees, so less staff can effectively run a business online.

Brick and mortar businesses need more staff to handle different chores than the former.

10. Resources Dependence

Offline startups usually require enough materials or resources to kickstart their operations, while internet startups can take off with fewer resources on the ground.

Read Also: 5 Things You Need To Know Before Starting A Business