E-commerce can be a minefield for the average Joe. There are many important decisions to be made, from choosing which products to sell to how you can start building an online business. But don't let the online world scare you off. With the following tips, you'll be well on your way to building your own successful business.
ContentsRefining, designing and sourcing your productThe DIY approachThird-party designBuying your productStore buildingMarketing your brand:authenticity is keyInvesting in your brand storyTakeaway
These days, there are many options for pursuing a career in e-commerce. You can design your product, hire a third-party company to do it for you, or buy stock and raise the price to make a profit.
It doesn't matter how you source your product. The most important thing is that you take your time to make the right decisions.
Product design can be a long and arduous process. But if you want to offer a unique and valuable product or service to your customers and be successful in your online business, you need to be prepared to do your homework.
Pro Tip: To launch an online business with a self-designed and prototyped product, your product must be fine-tuned to meet the needs of your audience. This should involve rigorous product testing.
GoldieBlox is a good example. It has taken the children's toy industry by storm with products designed to encourage young girls to pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) subjects.
These building toys were designed to overcome societal barriers that can plague girls in early childhood development and make them believe STEM subjects are off limits to them.
Shopify entrepreneur and founder Debbie Sterling revealed that in order to get the product right, she went through a long process of prototype testing and tweaking with focus groups to test on young children. Sterling created rough prototypes of her early designs and employed children of different age groups to play with them, watching them as they did.
Each focus group revealed new things to change in their products. One of his findings is that girls are frustrated with asymmetrical construction toys. As a result, she tweaked her designs to feature only symmetrical slits.
Debbie's experience teaches us that all products require multiple levels of refinement and testing to ensure they successfully fill a niche in the market and meet a customer's needs.
Third-party design can be a great way to quickly get your product ready for prototype or manufacturing. This design method can speed up the process of getting your product ready for release in your online store and allow you to focus solely on marketing and selling.
Services, such as Viral Style, allow you to design your unique and personalized clothing online, set your price, and use their services to market the product through email and social media placements.
Here's how it works:
However, this type of design pattern is not without its drawbacks. For example, Viral Style takes a percentage of each sale for its service.
Despite this, by speeding up the product design process, third-party design services are still a good tool, especially since they can make your business more accessible to people.
Isn't creating or designing a product so appealing? If this is your problem, you should consider becoming an online trader.
Being a trader requires spending time doing a lot of research to ensure you find the best quality products at the lowest price and then marking them up to make a profit.
Here are some ways to source products and build an online business:
Find a simple accessory niche – Merchants make most of their profits on accessories that accompany their products. These accessories, such as HDMI cables and phone cases, are less price sensitive. Despite this, merchants can still make the same profit on an HDMI cable as they would on a TV.
Consumable/disposable and subscription products – These products often lead to repeat business, which is great for any merchant. If your product is consistently ordered, you could be well on your way to generating a lasting profit. Consider running a subscription service for guaranteed recurring sales.
Gaps in online shelves – Checking the online stock levels of products on Amazon or Ebay is often a good idea. Products that are constantly out of stock are a great business opportunity for you.
Be relentless:test your product or do your research until you're right. Check out our previous article on why your business ideas probably need a little work.
So, now that you have created or found your niche product, how do you get the ball rolling?
Here are some important points to consider when choosing which method to adopt to sell your product online:
The ability to showcase your products and brand with eye-catching images: Promote your products and brand with unique imagery, including crisp, high-definition photos or infographics.
A clearly designed path to purchase: An easy-to-use online interface is necessary to convert your page visits into sales and avoid cart abandonment.
Communications with customers are essential: Make the most of the online world by using calls to action to capture email addresses and click buttons to get social media. You can then use social media and newsletters to promote your products and get your brand heard.
Exchanging content value is important: Linking your online store to your brand's social networks and offering other content, such as a blog, can be very useful. Your customers will be more likely to give you their contact information or their business if you inform or entertain them.
Strategize your platform: Ebay, Amazon or Etsy are all great ways to sell products online. However, if you want more control over the buyer's journey, you should consider an all-in-one e-commerce platform.
See also:How Online Blogging Influences Business Trends
A brand story is the foundation of any growth strategy.
Making your brand story clear and engaging with your customers is a great way to make your online business stand out from the crowd. You can also try to give your products and services a human face.
Your brand story should include:
High Brew Coffee, for example, engage their customers with a great brand story from their online store. The coffee retailer's website tells how the founders came to conceptualize the brand.
Their website even hosts a short animated video that turns their story into stylized visual content. This is in line with their brand image and creates an emotional connection with the consumer.
The experience of buying from them is not like buying from a foreigner as their brand history has put a face to the High Brew Coffee name.
See also:5 Smart Ways to Boost Brand Awareness
Starting an online business has never been easier, but there are a few things you need to do before setting up your store:
Refine your product: Whether it was handmade or purchased online, make sure your product fills a niche in the online market that guarantees sales.
Sell your products the right way for you: With so many options available, it's worth doing your research to find the right way to sell your products online. Consider an e-commerce platform for better control.
Be authentic: Let your customers know what makes your business stand out by telling your brand story and putting a face to your brand name.
Are you considering starting your own online business? What lessons will you learn from this? Let us know in the comments.
