Things to Keep in Mind before Starting an eCommerce Business
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bIn 2018, 1.8 billion people worldwide bought products online that led to $2.8 trillion in sales. This figure is likely to soar up to $4.8 trillion by 2021. These are some amazing numbers that trigger anyone to start an eCommerce business.
So, you have landed on this blog post and I’m considering that you are also thinking of starting a fresh eCommerce business but have got no clue where to start from and what to do?
I have got you covered on how to start an eCommerce business that will help you to answer every single question that’s striking in your mind at the moment. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
The need for an Ecommerce Store
According to Statista
In 2019, e-retail sales accounted for 14.1 percent of all retail sales worldwide. This figure is expected to reach 22 percent in 2023.
The numbers are testimony to the fact that people are now building trust with online retail solutions, and as the data says that it’s expected to increase too. So this shows that the visitors are building a good experience with online stores and are expecting further improvements in the eCommerce journey.
To set yourself for the eCommerce business and provide a unique and smooth journey you need a proper plan and strategy to start with.
Check out some suggestions that you must consider before starting an eCommerce business.
Business Niche for Starting an Ecommerce Store
To start an eCommerce store, searching for the right business niche is the biggest challenge. People spend weeks and months trying to find the right business idea and end up getting nothing.
First of all, you should not overthink too much about it because it’s not just a thinking process but you need to be more strategic in your approach. If you do not maintain a balance between idea and its strategy then you might get into an eCommerce business that would require more resources and time, which means fewer chances to get your business into profitability. Remember that during that time your competitor would also grow and might make you lose before getting into profit.
- Here are some tips for finding just the right eCommerce business niche.
- Analyze your expertise and passion.
- Define how your eCommerce solution fulfills other needs. Drive an eCommerce business that best fits your needs.
- Define the market segment and potential customers.
- Analyze your competitors – What are their lackness and make their lackness your strength.
- Profitability- Is it sustainable to bear the expenses on its own in the given timeline.
Business Segmentation and Product Selection
The selection of the right product is the most important decision to start an eCommerce business. You must spend some time on product research and analyze your strength to sell it.
You must pick products that best fit in a growing market, fulfill users’ needs, and most importantly, you must be passionate about selling it. After all, these products will be the base of your eCommerce business to be the future millionaire.
Building Brand and Market Strategy
The best way to present your eCommerce store is through great branding. You can distinguish your brand from other competitors through your brand story. People usually make purchases from a brand that builds a connection with the customer.
As eCommerce business owners and managers, building a powerful and engaging online brand is the most important task. It is a KPI – Key Performance Indicator that cannot be defined by the sentences but if done right then it can make your business prosper and hit those sales targets.
Few brands invest early in their online branding strategy. In fact, it is often an afterthought of success. Something brands get to when they have enough money and time. But you don’t get the opportunity to make a first impression multiple times. How you present your brand across the web matters –– and it matters from day 1.
- Better serve your customer
- Share your story
- Be Yourself
- Deliver what you promise
- Experiment & improve
Platform Selection and Store Development
This is a one-time process as nobody likes to change their platform and the success of your business very much depends upon your platform performance and features. Magento should be your top priority as it is purely developed for eCommerce stores and provides continuous updates with the latest technology embedded in it. Magento is built on open source technology that allows everybody to contribute and share their point of view. Magento provides online merchants with a flexible shopping cart system, as well as control over the look, content, and functionality of their online store.
A good eCommerce platform offers powerful marketing, search engine optimization, catalog management, and other features that you will get in Magento CMS and to empower such a store there is a need for better Magento hosting.
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If you have made your mind to develop the eCommerce store on Magento then it’s always advised to take professional’s help and the best option for this is CedCommerce. Their services cover everything from Magento development, integration to marketing. What can be a better option than this?
Source: Axellero
Pre Hype and Launch
You’ve spent months working on your online store, doing product and market research, validating your product idea, coming up with your brand, and setting up your website. You’re excited and want your store to be a success — but if you don’t take the time to learn how to create hype for your online store before you officially launch, you could be setting yourself up for failure.
Here are eight tactics you can use:
- Create a landing page with a newsletter form
- Use a contact form and send free samples
- Set up your social media channels
- Hold a contest Work with influencers
- Host an event
- Post teasers or behind-the-scenes photos
- Create a branded hashtag
Ready To Take the Business Online and Generate Sales
Once your eCommerce store has been developed, now you have to make sure that everything is fully functional and does all the tasks that it’s meant to do. It’s difficult to ensure that everything is fine in your store and you might find some error while launching your eCommerce store. Even the biggest eCommerce stores have minor glitches and errors, all you have to do is perform basic testing, make yourself satisfied as a customer and if any issue occurs after that just don’t panic, communicate properly about it and try to get it fixed.
The aspect which would define your success is not how many sales you generate but how consistent and passionate you are for it. If you have done the proper research, drive the right strategy, and marketing it right then sales would automatically be generated for you.
Conclusion
Starting an eCommerce business is not an easy task, and the objective behind this article is to guide you on the factors to focus on while starting an eCommerce business. Either sooner or later a major chunk of the retail industry will shift to eCommerce so it’s better to start now and fulfill the future need.
Author Bio
Abdur Rahman is the Marketing Manager & Magento expert at Magenticians. He is growth ambitious and aims to learn & share information about Ecommerce & Magento Development through practice and experimentation. He loves to travel and explores new ideas whenever he finds time.