In the last few decades, E-commerce businesses have grown exponentially. The e-commerce industry is exploding and creating millions of opportunities for the growing population. Shopping online has been a luxury with the growth of the industry, but not anymore. Ordering goods and services online has undeniably become a necessity for most customers who prefer shopping online to shopping physically in stores for convenience. With the need for convenient shopping comes the demand for services, presenting the best moment to start an eCommerce business and advance on to financial freedom. Remember, seizing the moment is just the first step to becoming your own boss, a thousand more lie ahead.
Indeed, building the business from scratch is not as easy as a walk in the park. Are you already panicking where to begin? Relax. However hard it is, the bright side is that it is possible and has been done before. You don't need to build the business from scratch as there are already structured platforms to modify on and get started in no time. Launching a successful E-Commerce business that generates quick sales becomes very easy when you analyse your potential business using the right tools.
Hang on and let me share with you a few but effective steps to starting and growing your own ECommerce business:
STEP 1: Laying A Solid Foundation for Your Business
Like any other physical structure, building a great eCommerce business needs laying a solid foundation for guaranteed success. Below are the key steps to consider in this phase:
1. Select a Product Niche:
The competition in E-Commerce businesses is quite stiff with the increase in the vast number of people interested in venturing into the industry. To give you a little head start, consider venturing into a specific niche that you are comfortable with. Choose a particular niche that gives you the first crack ahead of other established businesses within your selected niche. For instance, if your business is steered at selling electronics, why not narrow your business down to focus on laptops, phones, or sound systems?
It is critical to ask yourself the following questions during the selection:
How long am I staying in this business? Does my intended business rely on trendy or new products? Who are my ideal clients, individual consumers, or other businesses? Focus on your particular niche for your eCommerce business only after answering the above questions critically.
2. Make Your Business Stand Out
The next step in laying the foundation is planning how to make the business peculiar and attractive to customers, standing out among other businesses. The attraction gives your business a head start ahead of other businesses. It is equally important to understand what your competitors do and what they do not do to excel in their businesses for you to beat them.
The few questions that play a key role in this phase are: What makes my competitors unique and peculiar? What are their methods of leads generation? What advertisement platforms do they use? What aspect is missing in their business that could make them better? With the answers to these important questions, improve on their business strategies, and make your business a premier version of their business with unparalleled features.
3) Consider Branding Your Ecommerce Business
Creating your business brand should be the first priority in doing your online business as it plays a big role in the success of your business. The brand is everything the customers see, feel, and experience while using your services. Therefore it is essential to brand all aspects of the business, from the appearance, theme, logo, style, tone, content, to sales and marketing copy. It is imperative for smart businesses to consider branding your eCommerce business to differentiate your merchandise or catalogues from competitors.
The very first brand you make is the business name. The brand is what will always ring in the minds of millions of your customers by the mention of your products. Hence, you need to choose a perfect name for your business, which should also be the domain name for your website. You could do a quick name search on a business name generator online and pick the best and most appealing name for your business. The other thing you ought to do is create a very nice logo that depicts the quality products/ services offered.
4) Register Your Business Legally
Do business the legitimate way. Assure your customers that they are buying products from a verified company. Registering your business is a critical step in establishing an eCommerce business. Plan and decide how your business will operate, either by a partnership, sole proprietorship, corporation, or LLC business before registering your business.
With a clear plan on how to run your business, register your business name to get permits and licenses required for your business to operate legally. This phase plays a key role in saving you from any legal issues you may encounter in the future and in protecting your customers.
STEP 2: Sourcing Products with Low Capital and Risk
Several factors affect where and how to source products for your eCommerce store, namely: your product niche, starting capital, and the available time you have. If you produce the products by yourself, there is no need to outsource products but rather increase production. On the other hand, you could source from wholesalers from Amazon.
If you are considering a low risk and low capital online business, then dropshipping could be an option. This business model saves you from the trouble of acquisition and shipping. As a dropshipper, your responsibility is to find profitable products, import the perfect product for your niche to your store, and sell to your customers. Once an order has been placed in your store, it is redirected to your supplier, who will be responsible for fulfilling all orders.
STEP 3: Selecting a Sales Channel
With the products in your store, the next step is choosing an excellent method of moving the products online. There are several options to move the products, either through your online store or other online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, or eBay. If you seek long term investment, it is essential to consider the growth of your online store. Hence, consider building your online store through which your shoppers can instantly buy. Below is a perfect way to build an online store:
Building Your Ecommerce Store
Building Your Ecommerce Store
You can depend on self-hosted and host (SaaS) eCommerce platforms to run your online store. Feel free to download some of these platforms and install them on your hosting servers, customize them to make your online store.WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and Magento are all promising self-hosted platforms. If you prefer using hosted (SaaS) platforms such as Shopify and BigCommerce, there is no need for downloading and installing in separate hosting servers.
They are all done for you in a single unit. These programs also grant you easy maintenance. You can now import your sourced products from Amazon to your store.
STEP 4: It’s Time to Market Your Business
Following the three steps detailed previously, your eCommerce business is finally online. Congratulations on making it that far. After all, not many go that far from an idea they once had when broke. However, this is no guarantee of success without proper marketing tools. The price-tracking tool is vital in this phase for analysing your competitors. Use the following strategies to bring your eCommerce store to the forefront of your leads:
- Social Media Marketing. We live in a smart society where almost everybody has access to social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. Create accounts with your brand for your eCommerce business on social media tools most commonly used by your target audience. Post relevant content with this audience to create leads for your stores. You should understand that leads are potential customers, and with time, they will start converting into sales.
- Content is KING! Capture the attention of your audience by creating outstanding content that is helpful to them. An excellent way that has proven to solve this is by writing interesting blogs that answer frequently asked questions by your audience. Seek to excite potential customers and teach them a new concept through your compelling content( Photographs and videos) that promotes your business.
- Search Engine Optimization. To increase leads, ensure you optimize your web pages to rank higher on search engine result pages. Make use of well-researched keywords and apply effective SEO practices. Customers use several keywords while searching for your products online. Use tools like keyword planner or keyword finder to find the exact keywords they use and optimize your page accordingly.
- Creating a Sales Campaign. You must plan how you are going to attract customers and convince them to make a purchase. Every customer likes a good deal. You should have a plan that creates a sense of urgency, offers giveaways, banners, and other techniques to attract customers to your online store.
- Using Influencers. You can step out of your network and use influencers. Social media influencers have developed high credibility in their industry and have a large following on social media. An endorsement from an influencer can direct a new large audience to your online store.
- Email Marketing. Most professionals believe that email marketing is the most effective technique of driving customer acquisition and retention. It is an effective technique of driving customers to your online store. You can optimize your email marketing through written content, visuals, and call to actions (CTA).
And don't forget
“Amazing things will happen when you listen to the consumer.” (c) Jonathan Midenhall, CMO of Airbnb
FULL DISCLOSURE: This article was, in part, written in promotion of AMZScout tools. But: any other similar tool will assist you in brainstorming profitable niches that will generate more money for your business!
The end
Once you follow these simple steps and launch your eCommerce store, your business is bound to succeed. The next thing you need to do after creating a successful business is to expand. You can consider selling your products to customers across multiple channels, or simply add more product categories to your store.
After reading this post, I hope you've received a lot of useful information for your business? If you have any questions, please chat me.