How to Take Your Hong Kong Offline Business Online?

7 min read|Last Updated: September 13, 2021|

Overview of the business environment in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a favorable environment for doing business, and millions of investors from all over the world are shifting their attention to make investments in the Hong Kong territories. Some of the reasons why Hong Kong is attracting more and more people include;

  • Ease of doing business
    Hong Kong was ranked first globally as a city-state with ease of doing business. The traits include; a favorable environment, ease of setting up a company, and straightforward government obligations, including the taxation system.
  • Nearness to mainland China
    China is the second populated state after the USA. Therefore, it follows that the country has the potential of providing a large market base that is favorable to investors looking forward to selling their goods and services.
  • Accessible Port
    Hong Kong has an access port to all other Asian countries, making it a strategic business location. That is advantageous at it connects to other continents through its port.

Benefits of taking your Hong Kong offline business online

You are probably reading this information because you searched for information online. That is the exact thing that happens with the millions of shoppers globally. Currently, most people will begin their search for a good or service on the internet. The online business goes a long way even before the current COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, having an online presence in your business is an excellent step towards reaching thousands of people who might not physically locate your business.

  1. Online presence Influence buyers’ decisions
    If you have not taken your Hong Kong offline business online, you should rest assured that you are missing an excellent opportunity to connect to your potential buyers. Your e-commerce website acts as a showroom where thousands of consumers visit to find out what kind of products or services your business deals with. Your products could only be a few clicks away from being bought when you decide to take your Hong Kong offline business online. Besides, buyers will have a great opportunity to traverse your website and search for various products. People tend to decide on what to purchase, depending on whatever they are seeing. They will make their decision after seeing a product that they like. Therefore, simultaneously exposing more people to various products on your website will significantly increase your annual sales.
  2. You will be accessible 24/7
    What does 24/7 mean? It implies that your online business store will be open for 24 hours daily. Unlike the physical store with operating hours, your e-commerce business will run even if you are asleep. Thus, it gives people the perfect flexibility to shop at their convenience and make orders at any time of the day. The 24 hours availability will not only help in making your business flexible. Still, it will also enable your potential clients to take their time comparing the various range of products that you are selling. Therefore, they will make informed decisions on the best products that suit their requirements and within their budget. Besides, a large number of people in Hong Kong are using the internet. A 2019 report revealed that approximately 6.5 million people are using mobile internet in the city-state. Globally, approximately 4.5 billion people are using the internet. You can now imagine how many people are likely to see your products and with the potential of selling. The benefits of selling to a large number of people cannot be underestimated. Assuming that you make a profit of $2 in every sale and manage to sell to one million people a month, would result in a whopping $2million profit. Irrespective of the product you are selling, reaching the maximum number of people is one of the best ways that you would maximize the gains.
  3. Cost Saving
    The other benefit of taking your Hong Kong offline business online is to save on expenses. Hong Kong has relatively higher costs for business stores. Thus having multiple business stores is likely to eat into your pocket. However, if you operate an e-commerce website, you will not require several outlets for your business. Therefore, it is one of the ways to cut on expenditure and subsequently increase your profits. Several stores will also translate to an increase in the number of employees. The management and operations of the stores will be costly compared to managing an e-commerce website.
  4. You will have an opportunity to manage your business from anywhere.
    An online store will grant you a great opportunity to manage and operate your business store from anywhere in the world. You do not have to make a physical appearance to the store to ensure that it is running. In other words, taking your business to the internet is essential as it mostly manages itself.
  5. Creating a brand
    Think of big e-commerce websites like Amazon. What do you think enabled the website to gain such popularity and marshal such great wealth to the owner? It is because it utilized the online data. Your consumers will significantly dictate the success of your business. The advantage of having an e-commerce store is because you will get honest reviews and opinions of the services and products that you are selling. Further, you can get information on the customers’ expectations and what you are not doing right. Having these information will enable you to adjust on the necessary areas and meet the customers’ expectations but deliver to them exactly what they are looking for in a product. If you correctly utilize the reviews, you will have a competitive advantage, and that is how one builds a business brand.

Are you Now Ready?

Well, you are now probably thinking of how to make the first move or step to the online business in Hong Kong. It will be best first to understand that you will not do something quite different from traditional physical selling. You will still have the product, deliver it, and get paid by the client as both of you agree. However, I will quickly highlight some essential initial steps and options available when you are just starting the process.

  1. Affiliate Marketing
    The affiliate marketers are one of the available ways to the people doing business in Hong Kong. In affiliate marketing, you act like an agent. That is, you advertise and sell someone else’s products and get your pay share in the form of a commission after you successfully convince someone to buy the commodity. If you plan to engage in affiliate marketing, you should have other extra skills like blogging, video editing, and marketing skills. Your influence and social media followings are vital for successful affiliate marketing.
  2. Drop-Shipping
    The other way that most Hong Kong investors make sales online is through drop shipping. In drop shipping, you don’t have to have much-starting capital. Yes, you can run it by a simple website and act like a ghost seller. You sell other people’s products through your website and make a profit out of the sale. Your buyers will not have the idea that the products are not yours, but you will still make a killing sale and profits out of your business through getting commissions.
    If you have been wondering how to start doing it online and you have the necessary skills, then it is your turn to make a move and start selling.
Want to Start business in Singapore
Want to Start business in Singapore

How do I Start the Online Journey?

  • Start a website
    You can either create your website if you have the skills or hire someone to help you. Either can work. Programs like WordPress can allow you to create a free simple website and host it so that it can be available on the internet and buy a domain name.
  • Register Your Company in Hong Kong
    Depending on what you are planning to do, you will appear more authentic and professional when you are just starting. Besides, the process of company registration in Hong Kong is simple, and you will only have to contact the PHP team since that is our area of expertise and have your business incorporated. Besides, we will provide you with ideas and tips to navigate the Hong Kong market structure to make your brand stand out among the competitors.

Conclusion

In summary, online business is the new norm in the market structure, and with the current COVID-19 pandemic, most companies are taking their investments online. Rocking the internet world will purely depend on your strategy and how you choose to operate, what you choose to do, and finally, how you want it done. If you still don’t have a clear picture of how to do it right, contact PHP services for consultations to help you make more informed decisions.

How to Take Your Hong Kong Offline Business Online  FAQs

Do I need to file my taxes for an online business?2021-06-10T09:07:06+00:00

The answer is yes. All businesses in Hong Kong should strive to file their taxes and in time to avoid penalties or being jailed for tax evasion. PHP will still come to your help if you are not familiar with the Hong Kong tax laws and requirements. Please consult with us further on the accounting information as it varies from one business to the next. 

When should I take my Hong Kong offline business online?2020-10-23T03:14:58+00:00

There is no wrong time for doing the right thing. Take your offline business online now. 

Why should I take Hong Kong offline business online?2020-10-23T03:14:35+00:00

The benefits are too many including increasing the market base and maintaining business relevance. 

How do you convert your Hong Kong offline business to online?2020-10-23T03:13:37+00:00

Taking your Hong Kong offline business online requires proper planning. You don’t have to do everything online at once but procedurally. Create a simple website and post products. 

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