Paul Watson
While launching an online business has many similarities to brick-and-mortar stores, it has some advantages. An e-commerce business usually has lower costs, is not as limited by geography, and is often easier to market. Little wonder that e-commerce businesses are so popular. That’s not to say it’s easy. It still takes a great deal of work.
Here are some tips for starting your own e-commerce business.
Researching
You have a large number of options for the type of business to start. It may be a product or service. You may have an inventory that you ship or never touch a single product.
Dropshipping allows you to act as a middle man. You sell a product to your customer. That product is then shipped by a different company. The difference between the retail price paid to you and the wholesale price you pay to the supplier is your product.
If you have a unique product, you might consider selling it and shipping it yourself. Subscriptions are another business model that is popular.
Whatever direction you decide on, it is not a bad idea to start with just one product or service. It is easier to focus on marketing and selling one product. Once your business grows, you can add more.
Website Building
Quite obviously you will need a website. That website will need some basic components. A safe and secure payment platform like Blue Snap is a must. All the links should lead the customer where you intend. Make sure you have no broken links.
Before you go live, it is imperative that you test the functionality of every aspect of your website. Whether you are on a shoestring and do it all yourself or farm the work to someone else, you need to know it all works as intended before you get your first customer.
Planning
As in any other business, it is important to know the steps you need to get where you want to be. Without a plan, this is made more difficult. A business plan is a step you should not skip. It may not be the formal business plan larger businesses create. It may not be as detailed as other business plans. But you still need a blueprint for success.
Branding
Your business will need a name and a domain name that corresponds to it. While choosing a name that is well-suited to your business is complicated enough, it is made more difficult because of the domain name. More and more, people are ditching the idea that you must have a .com address. That makes it a bit easier to choose a name. Your business name should be short and unique. Getting this wrong can be a costly mistake.
Your business will also need a logo. Unless you have the skills to do it yourself, you should farm this work out to others. Getting a quality logo done does not have to be overly expensive.
Marketing
While marketing your business share some of the same steps as other offline businesses, driving traffic to your website is the No. 1 goal. To do so, you need to become proficient at search engine optimization. The right SEO will help you vault near the top of search engine rankings.
The right email strategy can make or break your business. Follow up with customers after the purchase and also contact those who abandon their shopping carts. Try to build a fan base with an email list.
