Conceptualizing and dreaming up an e-commerce store is simple, anyone can do it, or can they?
Getting it off the ground and making it happen calls for hard work, perseverance, a lot of ground work, research plus targeting the right market is key.
Whether you sell bar soap, packed lunches, travelling vacuum bags, or jewelry, this guide is for you.
There is so much more that goes into selling online than simply branding and constantly advertising to a very broad marketplace.
The bar is set high and standards need to be met in order to stand out in this extremely busy market.
Getting started:
- Cover all your bases.
- Optimize the initial look of your website page, first impressions count!
- Check every detail from ease of use, logging in to checking out.
- How you present your store will make the world of difference between successful sales and big bounce rates.
To run a successful online store the key is capturing a potential customer’s attention and keeping their attention and interest.
Here we will share important areas that need to be focused on and some tips for selling online, that every e-commerce business needs to know to be able to develop, grow, stand out and be successful.
Carefully consider your site identity
Your web address must be as good as your name.
Ideally, it should be easy to remember, all the way past the “dot.”
Choose a top level domain that is recognizable and trusted, don’t cut costs here.
Make it easy for shoppers to type it in and land in the right place, your website.
The most popular is .com, but an option is choosing .hk this will reveal to your buyers that you are based locally, which can be yet another powerful way to incentivize shopping.
Giving customers assurance that you are in the same city.
Make it attractive and accessible
People aren’t flocking to stores like they used to, so you should capitalize on this and aim to create an easy and enjoyable online shopping experience for your customers.
Without having sales reps urging them to the checkout counter and thereby purchasing your product, it’s important that you find other ways to make them want to stay and browse.
A strong online store that is easy to navigate and is attractive will be a major selling point for shoppers.
You also want to make it easy to browse the store at any time on any device.
With 6.5 million smartphone users, it is likely that a majority of shoppers will be browsing via their mobile.
Make sure your site layout is mobile friendly and relevant in the e-commerce market is an absolute must.
Stand out in the crowd
Most people don’t click on the second page of search engine results, so it is important that you appear high up on the list.
This means that your site needs to be search engine optimized (SEO).
It doesn’t just mean just packed with key words for web crawlers to pick up, but rather that it is carefully crafted and able to relate to the key terms your consumers are searching for.
Even the most carefully thought out SEO can take some time to make it to the main page.
Give yourself a little boost with paid advertisements.
Don’t let another businesses’ costs scare you. You know your product’s worth!
Keep in mind many of these are extremely cost-effective e.g. Facebook and Google advertising options.
They form part of the initial investment outlay of building your business in a social-networking society.
Create an attractive logo, which is appealing and relevant to your products and/or services.
Be upfront about fees
Shoppers want to know the price before they hit the “purchase” button, include all the fees that they will be responsible for e.g. delivery and taxes.
Remove any surprises by calculating the taxes and fees up front and present it as part of the total.
Do not hide behind any hidden costs.
You can do this by assigning relevant Harmonized System (HS) codes to your products, so that shoppers, no matter where they are based, are aware of their tax duties.
It is somewhat tedious to implement, you will almost certainly be rewarded with happy customers that consider you a trusted and professional retailer, who may well become regular customers.
Invest in products wisely
As discussed advertisements are a good investment, but the biggest investment of all is your product.
It is essential and smart to do a little market research beforehand, so you know you are setting yourself up with a product that is in demand.
Watch out for saturated markets.
You have decided on your product.
Next you will need to decide how you want to stock your products.
An e-commerce business has the luxury of not needing a physical store to showcase products, but you might not even have to keep them in stock until you have a confirmed order.
To keep upfront costs and overheads low, consider dropshipping.
Dropshipping allows you to sell products that a third-party retailer will send out when needed.
In time, you can change your method and set up.
Once you know that you have a product which is in-demand, you can become more hands-on with direct purchasing, thereby cutting out the middle man.
This allows you to be in control of your inventory and create a customer experience that is memorable, making them want to come back for more.
Loyal customers make all the difference in helping your company grow.
Keeping your customers happy is paramount as word of mouth is a powerful marketing tool.