You are probably wondering if it makes sense to create an e-commerce to offer your products and services.
Or you are inquiring and choosing the right Agency to set up your online store. Or, more simply, you are in the decision-making stage.
Regardless of what stage you are in, I wanted to give you one more reason to move from words to action.
If your company is based in Lombardy, today thanks to the “DIGITAL BUSINESS” Notice– E-COMMERCE LINE you can access non-repayable grants, up to a maximum of 15,000 euros.
As many or as few as they are, they are an extra incentive, to give the right boost to your Company and launch your new e-commerce on the market.
Notice DIGITAL BUSINESS – E-COMMERCE LINE.
OBJECTIVE: Support for MPMIs that intend to develop and consolidate their position in the domestic and/or international market through the use of the E-commerce tool, encouraging access to cross-border platforms (B2B and/or B2C) and proprietary e-commerce systems (sites and/or mobile apps).
NB. if e-commerce is implemented within the corporate site, it is mandatory to translate the site into at least 1 foreign language.
Proposed solutions should also include one or more of the following purposes:
- Digital as a supplement to the physical store
- Development of new logistics solutions
- Omnichannel approach
- Social e-commerce;
- Smartphone adaptation.
Notice DIGITAL BUSINESS – E-COMMERCE LINE: BENEFICIARY SUBJECTS.
Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises of all economic sectors with active operational headquarters and in LOMBARDY.
You must be in good standing with the payment of chamber fees and DURC.
The enterprise is understood to be regular when there is also a successful application for installment!
CONTRIBUTION
LOST FUND, up to a maximum of €5,000.00, equal to 70% of the investment net of VAT for MICRO enterprises.
The grant is disbursed following the reporting of expenses incurred. To obtain 5,000 euros, the expenditure must be equal to or greater than approximately €7,145.00.
The minimum expenditure is €4,000.00.
LOST FUND, up to a maximum of € 15,000.00, equal to 50% of the investment net of VAT for SMALL and MEDIUM-sized enterprises, disbursed following the reporting of expenses incurred. The minimum expenditure is € 10,000.00.
The grant is not de minimis and will be disbursed with 4% withholding tax applied. Cumulation with other grants is not allowed.
ELIGIBLE EXPENSES: invoices from 04/29/2021 and/or estimates until 11/15/2021 and payments until 10/12/2021.
The following items of expenditure are eligible for support:
- Access to online sales services on the chosen channels (registration fees and any commissions on actual transactions incurred during the term of the project);
- Consulting for the verification and analysis of the online positioning, market study and competitor assessment;
- Project feasibility analysis, administrative, organizational, training, logistical adjustment, acquisition of tools and services;
- Implementation of a communication strategy, information and promotion for the digital channel, with specific reference to the product portfolio, target markets, domestic and/or international, and chosen online sales sites. For example: preparation of product sheets as well as tutorials, photo galleries, webinars, for the presentation of articles and related language translations;
- Organization of specific staff training interventions;
- Acquisition and use of smart payment forms;
- Design, development and/or maintenance of proprietary e-commerce systems (sites and/or mobile apps), including synchronization with Marketplace channels (Google Shopping, Amazon, Facebook just to name a few for example) provided by third parties and site translation into at least one foreign language;
- Purchase of machinery, equipment and hardware necessary for project implementation;
- Purchase of software, software licenses and expenses for fees and utilities related to services aimed at eligible investments;
- Design, development and/or maintenance of digital showrooms (virtual showrooms or virtual stores) that are integrated with e-commerce platforms and improve sales and customer care performance through the use of immersive technologies;
- Design, development and/or maintenance of AR Business commerce platforms, e.g. holographic 3D simulators that allow to visualize environments (e.g. to show your company: technological equipment, fleet of machines…), services, processes and products (displaying technical data of interest, examples of processes performed, etc…);
- Readiness to create customized digital offerings on the customer through artificial intelligence and Machine Learning;
- Placement of the offer on digital commercial channels to selected markets (SEO), domestic and/or international;
- Automating the transfer, update and management of items to and from the Web(API – Application Programming Interface);
- Connecting the operational capabilities of the chosen digital sales channel with their CRM systems (see, for example HubSpot);
Transportation, room and board and general expenses are excluded. Only payments made by bank transfer are valid.
Why make your own e-commerce?
The Internet has profoundly revolutionized the way business is done and has offered consumers, regardless of whether they are B2B (Business to Business) or B2C (Business to Consumer) a new methodology for searching, comparing and choosing products and services of interest to them.
There are so many motivations behind building your own online store:
- Ability to sell their services or products directly to a large potential market
- No restrictions on times or days. E-commerce is active 24/24 hours, 365 days a year
- Increased margins. Selling through distribution channels significantly reduces margins. The more steps the goods have to go through, the lower the margins the company can generate
- Creation of own Database the customers. Selling through channels, retailers, partners, generally does not allow you to create a direct and trusting relationship between the Company that produces the good or service and the user. Through direct selling you have the opportunity to build your own customer and potential customer database and cultivate it over time.
- Sales projections. If you implement tracking services such as Google Analytics and Google Search Console, or CRMs such as HubSpot, in your e-commerce, you can perform analysis and verification of what the market is looking for.
- Reducing Time to Market. Know in advance the needs of your potential customers. You can design and implement new services or products that meet these specific needs.
- Inventory reduction. In many cases and industries, the “produce by sale” rule can be applied. This makes it possible to drastically reduce inventories and fixed assets.
Is making an e-commerce sufficient to increase sales?
The answer, unfortunately, is no. Just setting up an online store does not allow you to increase sales of your products and services.
It is essential to plan and prepare a Marketing and Communication strategy to make it known to our potential target audience.
In the development stage of your new e-commerce I recommend that you consider:
- An SEO Strategy not only related to the static pages of the site. Ideally, a product SEO strategy.
- ADV (advertising) campaigns that aim to precisely and profitably reach your potential audience. Through a PPC (pay per click) campaign. you only pay when your ad is actually clicked on by the user. There are so many channels such as: Google ADS (Search and Display ), Facebook and Instagram ADS, Linkedin ADS. It is essential to select the right channel based on the target audience and the type of product and/or service provided.
- DEM and SMS Marketing Campaigns. DEM stands for direct email marketing. It consists of sending a specific advertising message to an extremely large database. Generally starting from 100,000 master records. The DEM mailing service is carried out by specialized companies and can be carried out on specific targets.
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