The influence of Internet on Business Communication
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Communication is key. This is a phrase we have heard more than once but what does
it really mean? People exchanging words can only be termed as communication if a mutual
understanding has been reached. Business communication occurs in either within or outside
an organization. The internet has made business communication easier by bridging the gap
between the business and its customers. Acording to Prachi, advancement in communication
and information technology has further strengthen the role of the internet in business. The
internet is widely used in organization for marketing and promotion of products and services.
Years ago, a business would highly depend on the local customers to put word out
there about the business for it to gain more customers, newspapers, magazines were also
ways that were highly depended on for marketing. This is not the case now as the world has
evolved in technology and the internet has been used as a platform for business growth either
by attracting customers or conduction of quick on line surveys to help improve the products
and services.
The internet has benefited both the business and the customers in terms of business
communication. All the benefits will be explained in this text broadly.
2.0 INTERNET TO BUSINESS COMMUNICATION]
If your business is not online then you are running out of business. In the kind of ever
evolving world we live in, this concept makes perfect sense, gone are the days of having local
customers, let your business grow with the growing technology. Business have taken
advantage of the internet to grow their market and gain as much profit as possible.
2.1 Online business
An online business is a business that id conducted entirely online. Where goods and services
are marketed, displayed and shipped using an app or an online site. In this, a business does
not even touch its products, they are just shipped from the warehouse to the customer.
Advantages of online business
i) Reduced costs
The main difference of having an online business is that you do not have to set up a
traditional based office where customers come to purchase good and services at an actual
location. Though to have an online business you have purchase a website or domain, which is
a distinct subset of the internet under control the control of a particular organization. This
domain is where advertisement and selling of products happen. The cost of buying a domain
is lower than the cost of constructing an actual office for the business to take place.
Purchasing a domain to conduct business is even faster since its an automatic exchange of
currency and the platform is owned. Unlike an actual building, a domain does not necessarily
require repairment.
ii) Reduced staff requirement
For a good old local business, there are various staff members required for the business to run
smoothly. Having an online business comes with enjoying the benefits of technology where
you get stuff programmed and done automatically, An example is that the online business
does not require a cashier since payment is done automatically when a customer enters their
PayPal details.
iii) Global market
When it comes to market, online businesses are advantaged. The only people who cannot
access their products are people who cannot access the internet, and let us face it, a major
percentage of the world is online. People from other countries will see your product and
having a wide range of customers is wheat the business needs to earn maximum profit.
iv) Business is always awake
Ever heard of the internet never sleeps. An online business will run 24/7 for 365 days and
continuous, as long as there is internet then your business is also awake. Customers can make
an order anytime they wish and get their services performed, unlike a business with no
internet which closes at night so the employees can get sleep.
v) Easy business growth
With a physical business, an increase in customers and stock causes them to reconstruct so
that they can have quality space. This can prove to be costly and may take time or even put
the business on hold for the construction to take place. For an online business all you do is
purchase a larger domain to accommodate your products which takes seconds and does not
put your business on hold risking loss of customers and finance.
Disadvantages of online business
i) Saturated market place
As much as we have a wide range of customers when we conduct our business online, let us
not forget that also a number of business are doing the same, and the customers are still the
same people. This comes done to the question, what makes your product different? As Ben
(2019) said your business may become lost in a sea of similar companies, in which case you
will need to discover a product or element to your firm that gives you an edge over your
competitors.
ii) Lack of interaction
One way local business have kept their customers is by interacting with them in a personal
level and by the end of the day the business not only has a customer but also a loyal friend.
