Good morning, Paul!

Small businesses rely on social media platforms as a primary way to drive new leads and to engage current customers. In fact, 72% of shoppers report that they rely on social media for discovering new products and 81% of shoppers indicate that they’ve made at least one in-store purchase after discovering an item on social media.

So the power of being online, both on social media platforms and with an e-commerce site, is fundamental now. However, what we’re learning now beyond just being online is the power of unifying being online with being offline. This strong alignment between online discovery and in-store purchasing or pickup makes clear that you must now view your business, not as an either/or, e-commerce versus offline, but rather as a single unified one in which the connection between your online presence and your offline presence are seamless and complementary.

The lines between e-commerce and physical retail are now becoming blurred in this post-pandemic era, as consumers now view them as one. And when properly aligned, this is a powerful way to use the online channel to drive online sales. You see, consumers want the efficiency of discovering and selecting purchase opportunities online, but they still love the immediacy of brick and mortar along with the experience of being in store. Even if that means that they’re there in store to buy or pick up something they’ve already shopped for and/or even purchased online.

So if you’re a small business looking to get ahead, make sure you focus on building an online/offline presence for your business that work in concert to move customers from discovery to purchase to pickup in a seamless, efficient way.

I’m Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of startupnation.com, and that’s today’s Business Beat on the Great Voice of the Great Lakes, WJR.