When it comes to eCommerce, there’s never been a better yet worse time to start in the industry. Why? Although this sounds impossible, it’s because the technology we now have makes it easier than ever before for you to start a business…but this is also true for billions of others on the planet. Therefore, how do you turn your eCommerce retail business from a ‘venture’ to a success?
Commit Right Now – With tablets and laptops, people tend to start businesses all the time and we’ve started to see it as a hobby. However, you wouldn’t do this with an offline business so what’s the difference?
If you want to see success any time soon, you need to commit as soon as possible. Despite not being wholly tangible, your eCommerce business is a real entity and you should never forget this. If you don’t take it seriously, why should you expect anybody else to do the same?
Take Your Time – Just because you can launch a website and therefore a business within five minutes, it doesn’t need to become a race. With previous eCommerce failures, a significant amount is a result of a quick launch.
If you’ve already bought the domain, simply place a ‘Coming Soon’ sign on the front page. With this on hold, you can plan everything from top to bottom including products, SEO, social media, marketing channels, and more.
Remember the Consumer – In a physical store, customers can pick up the products, touch them, and imagine how they would look in their intended purpose.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a luxury you have with your eCommerce business so you need to build trust and credibility in other ways. For example, your pricing should always remain fair, you could offer free shipping, and a simplified checkout process will go a long way towards eliminating ‘cart abandonment’.
Stay with the Times – As you may have noticed, all the tips so far are incredibly simple and this is because it’s where new eCommerce businesses tend to go wrong. Rather than getting the basics right and then focusing on the more eccentric ideas, they get too excited and forget the simple things. This time, you need to stay with the times and adjust your offerings accordingly. For example, two of the biggest trends right now are mobile and social media. If you aren’t accessible on either, you’re going to get crowded out by every other competitor who is.
Be a Leader – Next, we have a tip that isn’t so generic and it’s not something that everybody does. Whilst on social media, we urge you to become a leader within your niche. Rather than just being a company who sells products, why not become the company that knows everything there is to know about your niche? Whether it’s on social media, your own blog, or on various forums, these all provide fantastic opportunities to show your knowledge. With a detailed blog post or by answering the questions of consumers, you suddenly gain credibility (a key word and trait for all eCommerce businesses).
You Will Make Mistakes – Finally, a tip that nobody else will provide. As you may have found out already, we don’t live in a perfect world. After starting your eCommerce business, you aren’t going to steadily increase your sale figures every year before following a journey of constant progression. Instead, you will fail at times and you’ll also make mistakes. However, it’s how you react that will decide your path; do you want to pick yourself up and go again or do you want to give up? If you answer this question correctly, this will be the best advice we could ever provide!
