Starting a business online is a dream for many, but many are unable to turn this dream into reality. It is mostly because of a lack of resources. The other reason is the fear of reaching a target audience. With the improvement in technology, all the hurdles of doing business have been removed. The internet is the one solution to all these problems.
E-commerce has transgressed all the barriers and boundaries. The space-related problems, reaching the audience, everything is now sorted. If you have a dream, pursue it. Just have an idea, and get it started!
Most women are interested in fashion design and clothes, but not everyone has a shop. Everyone has a fear of reaching the target audience. Starting an online shop can help them overcome their fears and provide them with a platform to showcase their talent.
How to start an online eCommerce shop?
- The first step is to find out what you are going to focus on. Select a product, for example, designer clothes. Until and unless you are sure about your niche, you will not be able to move forward.
- The next decision is quite a significant one. Decide whether you want to own your products or do drop shipping. This decision depends on what amount of risk you are willing to undertake. You should choose to drop shipping if you don’t have enough capital and space. If you want to own your products, you will need more capital and storage. Dropshipping has a smaller profit margin as compared to owning your products.
- After deciding your niche, the next step is to think of a brand name. Your brand is your online identity, so it should reflect the nature of your business. It should be simple and easy to remember. Decide your logo. A logo should be easily recognizable. A brand name together with the logo is the first impression you create for your target audience. Be creative with it.
- Build your online shop with a trusted store builder. Get a domain for your business. Your business domain should include your business name. Using a shop builder like Shopify or Woocommerce plugins if you’re using WordPress CMS, these two options can help you with building an attractive online shop. It provides various templates, and it also helps in reaching the audience. There are a few alternatives for building an eCommerce website that can be found here.
- Upload your products. Make sure your products look attractive. While advertising your products, be consistent with the theme of your shop. Photography plays a significant role in the marketing of your products.
- If you want to become a larger business, set up your company. Fulfill all the legal formalities. Apply for business registration, and get a sales tax ID. It’s better to do everything within legal lines. This will separate your identity from your business. You will not be responsible for the losses.
Your business is all set up. Now, the next thing to do is market your business. Digital marketing techniques work differently. The objective remains the same, though. You should build your marketing strategies to inform your prospective buyers about your product. The following are some points which you should keep in mind:
Content Marketing
Your content is the key to inviting the audience to your website. Your content should be different from others, and at the same time, it should be optimized properly to attract a large number of visitors.
Search Engine Optimization
It is important to understand how SEO works. SEO ensures that your website appears on the first page of the product search. It works on keywords. You should understand how SEO works, or you should take some outside help for the organic growth of your business.
Social Media Marketing
The next step is not necessary, but it helps new businesses bloom. Get your social media accounts active. Social Media Marketing is the new trend these days. Sign up for social media like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Be active and engage with your followers to gain customers. You can also hire influencers to promote your brand.
Email Marketing
As the name suggests, it means delivering your marketing message through emails. It is often underestimated. In reality, it works wonders. It pays you out proportionally.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is more or less like celebrity endorsements. It works wonders with youngsters who are active on social media. These influencers are social media stars. They promote the products, and your business gets a promotion.
This is the usual process that you are supposed to follow. Planning everything well in advance will make everything very easy. Have a business plan, and know your strengths and weaknesses to avoid facing any unnecessary risk involved in the business. Do proper market research to save yourself from making any bad decisions.
Here are some insider tips you can benefit from:
- The customer is the king. Maintain healthy relationships with your customers or prospective buyers. If you are on social media, try to engage with your customers more and more.
- A brand name together with the logo is the first impression
- Do not just focus on selling your products. Build your content around the product. Offer some extra information. Your website already has the product.
- Do not stain your brand by any means. If a customer has any issue, resolve it as soon as possible.Read also: Why brand image is important for business?
- Invest in networking. Build relationships and reward people so that they stay with you.
- Invest in packaging. Yes, you heard that right. An attractive package is a marketing tool in itself. In this age of social media, people like sharing their shopping experiences, so that’s why there is hype around unboxing videos. Make your packaging worthy of being shared.
- Loyalty does not come easy in this era of change. People will stay with you as long as you keep adding value. Make them stay by doing so.
- Don’t choose higher profit margins in the beginning. Build your customer base and go slow.
- Run daily deals and flash sales.
Setting up an online shopping store is not rocket science, but it does have a challenging aspect. It takes time to get the hang of it. Just like everything, you’ll learn new things with time and slowly unravel the mystery of having success online.
Eventually, you’ll learn new methods about choosing your products, pricing, marketing, and everything you need. Just be patient and hang tight as it takes time to reap fruits once you have sown the seed. Do not procrastinate. Start today. Do not wait for the right moment. Everything will fall into place eventually.
Photos courtesy of gettyimages.com
