E-commerce refers to the process of buying and selling of
products/goods and services by businesses and consumers online over the World
Wide Web. Common process of e-commerce involve:
- Searching and choosing/selecting preferred products and services in online catalogs.
- Adding the shopping carts or bags.
- Checking out using a variety of payment methods offered by that particular business like credit cards, PayPal, Western Union and other encrypted payment processing.
Why people
want to buy on e-Commerce?
- Lower prices offered by vendors operating with fewer margins.
- There is greater convenience of getting a product or service delivered to your doorstep, which reduces costs associated time and transport.
- Sourcing product and services are cheaper from overseas vendors.
- There is great variety offered and inventory by online businesses.
Five important success mantras you must consider
to build a successful e-Commerce business.
Have a good estimation of the work involved:
One may choose to outsource certain
elements of the business, however being in a position to have as much direct
and visibility as possible in-house is always the most cost-effective approach,
especially in the early stages. There is need to understand that the business
being set online is just like others operating online. Therefore, chances of
success are greater when you and the members of your team are involved directly
in the business management of daily operations.
Write a business plan:
A business plan here acts as a road map
that guides and helps in bringing your ideas and thoughts together. A business
plan is very important as it assists in determining how to best move best ahead
and to compete most effectively in the world of business. Addressing key issues
and questions can help a great deal in forming the foundation and initial
strategy for a new business venture. The key issues that need to be tackled are
as follows:
- Knowing the products and services that you are selling and the target market you are selling to.
- Know your target customer.
- You should be conversant with the problem and offer the best solution for it.
- Understand the key competitors to your business. Understand their strengths and weaknesses for these are your weapon to success.
- Be in a position to capitalise on your competitors weaknesses.
- Gauge your competition whether you will base it on price or position.
- Ensure that your online operations stress your point of difference.
Marketing strategy:
To
get an ecommerce website operational is not only the start of the business. There
is need to ensure that you have a working plan in place on how to get website
visitors and generate traffic to the ecommerce website. The following are ideas
to be considered before venturing into ecommerce business:
- A vital ecommerce analytics/tracking system, such as Google Analytics should be in place.
- Have a good mastery of the difference between SEO and PPC
- The importance of social media must be well understood
- There is great importance to research affiliate marketing and selling through recognised, third-party platforms like as eBay and Amazon.
Showcasing Products:
There is need to understand that your ecommerce
website is the only storefront and seller. Make sure to include high-quality
and well sized photos for all the products in stock. Additionally, include
excellent product descriptions that contain important information such as
measurements, sizes, color and any other information that is useful to a
potential customer to make a purchase. Take the time to create eye-catching and
appealing product pages. Once they are setup in this way, the pages will keep
selling over and over again.
Choosing the right e-Commerce platform:
Read More: How to build and host your e-Commerce website
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