In today’s dynamic times, an increasing number of people are eager to be their own bosses and take responsibility for their futures. Thanks to technological advancement, achieving this objective is now easier than ever in the form of eCommerce.
eCommerce offers a huge number of advantages, including low overhead, fewer employees, the opportunity to serve many customers at the same time, and more. But at the same time, there are many challenges and risks that many new eCommerce owners don’t think about.
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, continue reading below to learn what it takes to turn your business opportunities into a thriving and lucrative eCommerce store.
Find eCommerce Product Opportunities
If you’re brand new to the world of eCommerce, you may be wondering exactly what to sell. Getting caught up in this is a big reason why people never take the plunge to start their online stores.
You need to be strategic in identifying a set of products or a single item that is trendy or that is not so easy to find in other stores or on popular eCommerce sites.
You want to choose more specific items that appeal to a certain target audience. We suggest that you start by making a list of potential products that you might want to sell in your store. Think about things that you, your friends, work colleagues or family would be interested in.
Create a Business Plan
When launching an eCommerce, you need a business plan that will help you create goals for your business and provide you with a roadmap to achieve them. It will also help you develop the right strategies to reach these goals and identify the needs of your target customers, as well as the human and financial resources. Last but not least, your business plan can be crucial if you need to attract and convince prospective investors that your eCommerce business is worth investing in.
If you’re unsure of how to get started, consider using an eCommerce business plan template as it will help you include the key elements and save you valuable time.
Identify Your Target Group
We hear a lot about target group adaptation today when it comes to marketing, but it also needs to be adapted in other parts of your business, for example, web design, product range, and pricing.
In other words, you must design your eCommerce according to the needs and wishes of your target group. How did they learn about your business? What expectations does your target group have when they visit your website? These are questions you must be able to answer to adapt your business to your target group.
Plan Your Inventory
If you want to generate more sales and move inventory, everything you buy for your eCommerce needs to be planned accordingly and in advance. Decide what you’ll stock up on, how much to order, when to sell the goods you have, etc. In short, you need to go through a process called inventory planning that will help you reduce overstocking and understocking to a minimum, improve your cash flow and earnings, ensure a smooth supply chain, and boost customer satisfaction.
The first step to developing an effective inventory plan is to determine demand which you can do by monitoring sales over time and recording the results in a database, organizing your warehouse well, coming up with a replenishment strategy, and making sure to keep track of your inventory, and since your initial demand forecasting may have been off, make sure to change and adjust the plan as necessary.
Optimize for Mobile
Mobile commerce is growing rapidly, so you should optimize your website for mobile devices. To make your eCommerce business startup successful, the design of your website should be simple and easy to navigate and load quickly.
You should also ensure that the entire purchase process is simple and convenient. Tips for mobile optimization can be to use large buttons and clear images. You should also make sure that the CTAs are clear and easy to navigate.
Offer Complementary Products
A way to make your eCommerce more visible and increase your online store sales is to offer complementary products. Complementary products are those items that could often be bought together. For example, if you sell shoes, complementary products could be socks or shoelaces.
You can also offer discounts when customers buy multiple products. It’s a very good way to increase the average order value. Make sure you offer products that complement each other and that customers are interested in buying.
Deliver Great Customer Service
About majority of consumers will abandon an online transaction if their questions or concerns are not addressed quickly. Exceptional customer service is critical to the long-term success of your business so you should create a self-service portal and a detailed FAQ page, offer live chat support, encourage product reviews and build trust with your customers. All of this will give your store valuable social proof and create repeat customers, which is a lot cheaper than acquiring new ones.
Final Thoughts
Setting up your eCommerce is an exciting venture that requires a lot of patience and the will to learn about choosing the right products and planning your inventory. Follow the tips above to get a clearer picture of what it takes to build a successful eCommerce business.
