Unlock Hyper-Growth: Understanding Platforms, Their Types, and How to Pick the Right One for Your Business
A platform refers to a channel that connects people for communication. It comes in various forms, such as platforms linking customers with online businesses.
The term "online platform" is undeniably a buzzword of the year. In this era, running an online business has become common. Simply opening a Facebook page allows you to sell products or offer services immediately, without needing a physical storefront. E-commerce platforms come in various forms, such as Social Media Platforms and Digital Marketing Platforms. If you want to know how creating an online platform can impact your business, find the answers in this article.
The term "online platform" is undeniably a buzzword of the year. In this era, running an online business has become common. Simply opening a Facebook page allows you to sell products or offer services immediately, without needing a physical storefront. E-commerce platforms come in various forms, such as Social Media Platforms and Digital Marketing Platforms. If you want to know how creating an online platform can impact your business, find the answers in this article.
Article Table of Contents
- What is a Platform? How is it Important for Business?
- How Important are Platforms in Creating Value and Business Opportunities?
- How Many Types of Platforms Are There? A Deep Dive into Their Differences
- Advantages of Using Platforms to Drive Exponential Business Growth
- Cautions When Using Platforms Today
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- Platforms: Online Technology Modern Businesses Must Watch
What is a Platform? How is it Important for Business?
A **platform** is a channel that connects people for communication. It comes in various forms, such as platforms that link customers with online businesses for buying and selling goods or services, or platforms that connect active customers with those considering a purchase to review products for future use. Online platforms are rapidly expanding because they facilitate easier communication and enable small businesses to reach a mass audience.
How Important are Platforms in Creating Value and Business Opportunities?
Now that you know what a platform is, it's clear that platforms make modern business easier. In addition to helping small businesses reach a large customer base, they also add significant value to businesses in many ways, as follows:
- Reduced Business Costs: Platforms reduce costs and save time in modern business by leveraging online platforms with large customer bases. You don't need to build your own website or application, which requires investment in both money and time for development, as well as advertising and public relations to gain recognition. Using platforms with an existing customer base is a leap into the market without starting from scratch.
- Increased Opportunities for New Businesses: Whether you already have a physical storefront or not, entering the online market through various platforms will rapidly expand your customer base and open up new business opportunities. You'll be able to reach a large number of target buyers, effectively adding sales channels beyond your existing ones.
- Enhanced Security: For online transactions, customers have more payment options, and payments are electronic (e.g., credit/debit cards, bank application transfers), which reduces the use of cash and minimizes loss.
- Increased Income Channels: Sellers can list other types of products on platforms to boost sales. If an item has low sales, it can be delisted to reduce potential losses.
- Build Store Credibility: Having an online platform helps customers decide whether to use your service through reviews across various channels. Additionally, opening an online store shows customers that your business genuinely exists.
- Elevated After-Sales Service: When selling on online platforms, sellers can track customer satisfaction with received products via chatbots, allowing them to use customer feedback for further business development.
- Improved Business Efficiency: Online platforms come with backend systems that help sellers manage their business efficiently, such as online payment systems that can verify whether a slip is genuine or fake.
How Many Types of Platforms Are There? A Deep Dive into Their Differences
There are many types of online business platforms, each related to different industries. Therefore, before starting an online business or planning to increase sales, it's important to know what online platforms are available and how they are crucial for your online business:
1. Social Media Platforms
Social Media Platforms are platforms that connect people worldwide from various nationalities for communication. Examples of well-known Social Media Platforms include Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram. Consumer behavior on each Social Media Platform differs, requiring marketing strategies to be tailored to consumer behavior more closely.
2. E-Commerce Platforms
E-Commerce Platforms are platforms specifically for selling online, such as Line Shopping, Lazada, Shopee, or Amazon, which support both B2B and B2C sales. The advantage of selling on E-Commerce Platforms is that customers can easily see products compared to other platforms. The disadvantage is that if products sold on an E-Commerce channel are similar to other stores, the business owner must find ways to make their product stand out in the market, such as offering promotions on D-Day or using free gifts to stimulate customer demand.
3. Digital Marketing Platforms
These are platforms that marketers use as tools to analyze consumer behavior, such as Semrush, a tool for analyzing keywords to improve websites for SEO marketing, or Google Ads, a tool for running ads on Google. Online business owners should choose Digital Marketing Platforms suitable for their business to increase sales directly targeting their audience.
4. Content Management Systems Platforms
CMS platforms allow users to customize website pages according to their needs, whether it's creating images or tailoring content to the target audience. Examples of well-known CMS services today include WordPress, a flexible tool for customizing website content that comes with many additional plugins.
5. Online Platforms
These are general services in the online world, such as smartphone applications, content on Search Engine websites, various payment systems, or even Social Media Platforms and E-Commerce Platforms are also considered part of Online Platforms.
6. Internet of Things Platforms
Platforms that connect Software and Hardware, allowing various IoT devices to work together automatically without human control, such as automatic lighting systems when someone enters a house.
7. Gaming Platforms
These are platforms specifically used for game development. Currently, many types of Gaming Platforms have emerged due to technological advancements, such as games on Consoles, PC games, and smartphone games.
8. Web Platforms
These are platforms that help users without prior website coding knowledge create websites themselves, such as Wix.com or Weebly. Web Platforms typically have 7 main components:
1. OS System
2. Web Server
3. Programming Language
4. CMS System
5. Database
6. Web development toolkit (web framework)
7. Hosting services
9. Application
Application, or App Platforms, is a set of tools for developing application systems. A well-known example of App Platforms is Red Hat Platforms, which offers comprehensive tools to support application developers.
10. Mobile Platforms
These are platforms specifically for mobile development, consisting of two parts: Hardware (e.g., CPU, RAM, or Storage) and Software systems (e.g., iOS, Android operating systems, or smartphone applications).
11. Computing Platforms
These are platforms necessary for building computers, consisting of both Hardware and Software. Originally, Computing Platforms were very large and immobile, but today they have become smaller, allowing for the creation of small computers like personal computers or mini-computers.
12. Operating Systems Platforms
Operating Systems Platforms are foundational platforms for developing OS systems used in computers and smartphones, such as Windows, Linux, Android, or iOS. OS systems are crucial for controlling the efficient collaboration of Software and Hardware.
13. Software and App Development Platforms
Platforms for developing mobile applications, featuring technology that enables developers to create applications comprehensively. Each type of smartphone operating system has a different platform used for application development, such as Android Studio for Android phones or Xcode for iOS phones.
14. Database Platforms
These are platforms for comprehensively storing and managing organizational data. Stored data can be further processed to find insights. Database Platforms have two types of storage systems: SQL database and No-SQL database.
15. Cloud Storage Platforms
Platforms for storing data online, also known as cloud systems. These platforms have evolved from traditional data storage methods like floppy disks or USBs. Popular cloud systems today include Google Drive or Dropbox.
16. Analytic Platforms
These are platforms used for in-depth data analysis, such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Power BI. Tools from Analytic Platforms help businesses make better decisions and reduce the time spent managing various databases.
17. Security Platforms
Platform systems that help secure organizational data and IoT infrastructure from cyber threats like malware or phishing, and ensure businesses comply with personal data security regulations.
18. Sharing Economy Platforms
Online platforms that allow individuals to share the benefits of goods or services, such as Airbnb, which enables homeowners to share room space for tourists to stay, generating income. The Sharing Economy model helps optimize resource allocation.
Advantages of Using Platforms to Drive Exponential Business Growth
The 18 types of platforms mentioned above will help businesses expand their markets more rapidly and efficiently. Overall, these platforms are crucial tools for sustainable business growth in the digital age. For instance, Social Media Platforms like Facebook are ideal for online businesses because sellers can create video content to directly offer to customers and close sales instantly.
However, a common problem faced by sellers on Facebook pages is that buyers find it inconvenient to transfer money because they have to manually enter account numbers, which is tedious and time-consuming. We have developed a solution that allows buyers to pay you instantly through our Meta Pay payment service, creating a smooth and secure payment experience for buyers (buyers trust it because shops eligible for Meta Pay must undergo a merchant identity verification process). Shops can offer various payment options, including credit and debit cards, leading mobile banking, and QR Code.
Cautions When Using Platforms Today
While selling on online platforms can boost sales and manage inventory efficiently, there are also precautions to consider. Here are some of the cautions for platform businesses in the current era:
- Issue of Fake Slips: Online merchants frequently encounter the problem of fake payment slips because they don't always have time to verify them. Therefore, it's essential to regularly check transfer slips or use a reliable payment service.
- Delayed Customer Transfers: Besides fake slips, online business owners also face the problem of delayed customer transfers, requiring them to constantly monitor whether the payment has actually been received before shipping goods.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
-
What are some AI platforms?
AI platforms are used to efficiently develop AI, such as Microsoft Azure and OpenAI ChatGPT. -
What is a central platform?
A central platform is a government agency platform that connects various services under a single platform.
Platforms: Online Technology Modern Businesses Must Watch
Platforms are technologies that simplify business in the online world. You don't need to find a storefront or pay a deposit; you can immediately open your own shop. Understanding what platforms are available and their respective pros and cons will help sellers develop suitable marketing strategies for their target audience on those platforms to generate sales.
However, online business owners often face the problem of fake customer payment slips. This is where Meta Pay payment services come in, eliminating worries about fake slips because once the buyer completes payment, the system automatically attaches proof of payment, so the buyer doesn't need to send it again. Furthermore, Meta Pay offers customers various payment options, including credit cards, debit cards, Mobile Banking, and QR Code, making it convenient for buyers, easing their decision-making, and increasing the likelihood of purchasing your products or services, ultimately boosting your business's sales.
KGP, Payment. Make It Smooth.
LinkedIn : Kasikorn Global Payment
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