What if we told you that by the end of this decade, inflation would have eroded as much as 30% of the value of your business? And what if there are ways to safeguard your income and assets without becoming a hermit in a remote forest?
You need to follow these five tips to protect your online business and increase your outreach and sales. Keep reading to learn more!
Current World Economic Status
The world economy has been going through a tough time. The last few years have seen the value of major currencies fall by as much as 75%, leading to the widespread economic slowdown. With this in mind, it is clear that it is more important than ever to find ways to make your business more profitable.
Strains on Logistical Chains
Logistics is a huge industry that touches nearly every aspect of our lives. Whether we’re talking about food delivery or physical goods like clothes or toys, you must move these products from one place to another.
The most obvious effect of inflation on logistics is that it can strain capacity. Shipping costs are increasing, and only some carriers offer discounts on fuel surcharges to keep traffic up. Freight rates are also up, causing shippers to raise the price of their goods to cover transportation costs.
It also means that if you send products worldwide, your customers will have more money to spend on them. So, high transportation costs pressure companies that sell internationally to pass those higher costs onto their customers.
If you sell online or have an ecommerce business, you can’t control energy prices or global trade policy. However, there are ways that you can manage inflation-related strains on your shipping operations.
5 Tips to Leverage Inflation and Grow Your Small Business
1. Create New Products or Services
You can’t control what happens with inflation, but you can control how much money you spend on things like shipping or manufacturing products.
Inflation doesn’t just affect your customers’ wallets. It also changes how they think about spending money on groceries or vacations. This means there’s an opportunity for you to create new products or services that meet their needs better than products or services that existed before the economy changed.
One option is creating new products or services that aren’t so sensitive to inflationary pressures. For example, if you have an online store selling pet supplies and other similar items, consider adding clothing or accessories for dogs and cats as well.
That will help keep some profits from going down the drain. It will avoid rising costs associated with manufacturing and shipping more items than just pet supplies would require.
2. Increase Your Prices
Inflation is going up, so you should too. If you’re selling services or products online, it’s easy to increase prices without affecting sales volume.
When customers see prices rising, they often think it’s because of inflation — even when the price increase isn’t directly related to increased costs from suppliers or other factors.
You could also offer “buy one get one free” deals or run promotions on different products with similar value to keep your customers happy while increasing revenue from each sale.
3. Optimize Your Supply Chain
When buying products and services for your business, ensure you’re getting the best deal. For example, if you’re buying inventory, it’s important to get the best price possible.
This is because as inflation rises, so does the cost of everything else. So, if your supplier doesn’t offer the best price, they could be undercutting you in other ways (i.e., by offering lower-quality products or services).
Auditing Your Suppliers: Once you’ve found a quality supplier and have agreed on a price for their goods or services, it’s time to start auditing them as often as possible — at least once per year. This will help ensure they’re delivering what they promised at the agreed-upon price.
If any changes in their processes or costs could affect what they charge, then they’ll need to adjust accordingly before delivering more goods or services to you at that same rate.
Assess Your Inventory Levels: Inflation affects different industries differently; some goods will go up in price faster than others during certain periods.
Evaluate how well stocked each item is in your inventory system so that you know when it’s time to order more or less of each product before prices rise too.
4. Source Products Only After Purchase
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they first start an online business is that they try to source products before selling anything.
This is a huge mistake because it can take months or even years for people to buy from you if you’re not already established.
The best way to leverage inflation is by creating a product and sourcing it once a customer has confirmed purchase.
Rather than having inventory on hand, you will only stock up when someone orders something from you. It allows you to keep your money in cash until the last moment. Hence, you can earn interest and build cash up over time before using it for purchases.
5. Use the Print-on-Demand Business Model
Try the print-on-demand model if you’re looking for a way to grow your business without investing in new inventory. This model allows you to sell your products online without storing them in a warehouse. Instead, when someone orders your product, it is printed and shipped directly from the printer to the customer—no middleman is involved.
Looking to source products globally? Printseekers.com is a printing business that sells custom-printed products to individuals and businesses worldwide. With more than 8 years of experience in the printing industry, they have developed a worldwide print-on-demand process. Hence, they offer cost-effective pricing on various products, creators, and organizations, allowing you to keep more revenue.
Conclusion
Inflation has a way of sneaking up on you. It’s a silent killer that erodes your savings and threatens your financial security. So, make sure to use these tips and grow your online business even in the days of inflation!