Over the last five years, marketing experts have been shouting from the rooftops about online exposure for retailers.

Developing technology and improved broadband services in almost every country now means that even Mrs Elez, who lives in a remote rural region of Croatia, can order a skirt for herself from the NEXT catalogue. It may take several weeks to deliver%u2026.but you get my drift.

Unfortunately, many retailers, particularly local, family-run businesses with a long-standing customer base, felt that e-commerce was not for them. Their reasoning at the time was completely logical – why pay out for web design services when their clients returned time and time again, as their families had done so for the last hundred years?

And then, as we all know, the global economy took a nose dive.

To their surprise and dismay, retailers found that their trusty client base was forced to look elsewhere for their products, somewhere which perhaps offered cheaper prices or certainly better value for money. The marketplace after all had expanded, and they could choose the same or similar products from anywhere in the world.

A prime example of this was the traditional small bookshop, outlets which really took a hammering long before our recent recession took hold. The advent of books sold in supermarkets at discount prices pulled the financial rug from under their feet, with the launch of Amazon sounding the final death knell.

It is rare that small outlets can compete on price with the big players in the market – and nor should they. If you are finding that your client base has reduced considerably over the last few years, then the answer is simple – you either need to diversity your products and/or expand your target market.

And how do you go about expanding your target market? By making your business global, so Mrs Elez can become one of your regular customers too.

The adage “we’ve always done it this way” is no longer relevant in today’s commercial environment. Indeed, it is dangerous for a business owner to continue trading with their head firmly in the sand. An e-commerce site is relatively easy and cost-effective to launch and, along with a programme of SEO implementation, could make your business much more attractive to the new generation of consumers worldwide.

For further information on how to make your business global quickly and easily, check out brighton and  hove web design