Shopping has moved online; eCommerce business is booming and the growth is getting more substantial every year. The best place to invest is in some sort of online retail. This doesn’t mean you should get overexcited about easy money, because as it’s usually the case, the money isn’t easy. It takes work and time.
Here’s a list of steps you should take before embarking on this journey. Obviously the conditions may vary from industry to industry, but if you cover the basics, you should be well on your way.
#1 Know the market
First of all, you need to know what kind of products your potential customers need and/or want. This can be done by conducting surveys (both off an online) and by investigating your competitors. Find out what is the biggest complaint the customers have and try to be the one who’s going to solve it. It’s not easy to answer whether you should try to go big or confide yourself to a niche market. It’s obviously good to have a product everyone wants, but in niche marketing you can have a monopoly and dictate your own prices and terms.
#2 Have a great site
Having a great site for an eCommerce business is like having a great storefront window for a regular shop. It’s what draws people in, so pay at attention to it and don’t be afraid to spend a bit more on keeping it up to date. Of course in these days things have to go far beyond just site. Be mobile from day one, make sure users can get to you from any device. Prepare an app which sums up all your work, keeps the customers informed and can be a place to order your products as well. And don’t forget to have an IT maintenance team ready at all times.
#3 Make payments easy
You need to make it as easy as possible for people to give you money. First of all it should be absolutely secure for them to do so – provide information about your security measures to put everyone and easy. Next, the money should be transferable in a simple and easy to use manner. Such instant pay options are provided by Promise Pay. Your goal should be to provide payment in just one click or tap. Also, don’t forget to collect the information about your customers for future marketing purposes.
#4 Think marketing for eCommerce business
Start spreading the word about your eCommerce business right away. The most inexpensive form of marketing is also the best suited for online businesses – blogging. Start a company blog and use it to inform your clients and customers about your work. Content marketing is a great way to form a community around your business. Always have some sort of special offer for those who are active participations in the discussions you start. Off course, traditional marketing is important as well – don’t neglect that because you’re too focused on the internet side of things.
#5 Remarketing
Remarketing efforts are especially important for a new eCommerce business. This means targeting those who came to your site, but they chose not to buy something right away. Most of these customers are not lost. If you create a persuasive remarketing campaign you can get significant number of them back. Make sure the emails you send them refer to a product they were actually interested in (for instance the last page they visited) and provide incentive for them to come back (like a discount). Just remember not to overdo it. These campaigns can sometimes feel intrusive.
If you create a persuasive #remarketing campaign you can get significant number of customers back Click To Tweet#6 Prepare to fail
A lot of small businesses fail in the first year. Even more don’t get as successful as the owner anticipated. Remember that this is an integral part of business as well. Don’t get discouraged when things don’t go as you planned right away. Use setbacks as learning opportunities and you will be fine. If it’s financially feasible for you, don’t put all the eggs in the same basket and try to have a plan b.
Starting an eCommerce business can be both challenging and adventurous. If you take the right steps from the start and plan ahead, you can make it into a lucrative endeavor.
About Author:
My name is Alex Williams, born and raised in beautiful Sydney. I am a journalism graduate, and a rookie blogger trying to find my luck. Blogs are the perfect opportunity for presenting yourself to wider audience, getting the chance to showcase my expertise and receiving recognition. I am a regular contributor at BizzMark Blog.
Follow me on Twitter (@alextmwilliams1)
