Getting ahead in the world of online retail is hard work. It seems like everyone and their dog sells online these days. Why? Because it’s never been easier to open a web store whether that be through selling sites such as eBay or Etsy, using fulfillment service on Amazon, or with your own e-commerce website. If you’re thinking of opening your own online store, here are a few tips for you to consider before you take the plunge.
Setting Up Your Store
Creating the perfect website takes planning. You’ll need to get a site that does all of the things you need it to. The look and feel of the site are significant as this is what your customers see when they shop with you. Your online store should be like a real-life store with a natural flow. If you think about a supermarket, would you expect to find the bacon next to the ice cream? Customers need to be able to find what they are looking for in a logical way.
Something that you might want to consider is whether you need your site to keep track of your stock levels. This can be useful, and many websites can link up with your stock control software. Using a hosted check out service will make sure all of your payments are processed securely and swiftly.
Get quotes from as many website designers as possible. You’ll get what you pay for so check out reviews of customers they have worked with in the past. Have a look at what they are offering and make sure you’re getting just what you need.
Check Out Your Competition
Knowing what your rivals are doing is vital to your business. Are they using hard discounting to attract customers? Are they releasing new and exciting products? Whatever they are doing, you need to pay attention.
You don’t want just to be reactive though. Spending all of your time changing what you are doing to combat competitors isn’t going to get you far. Paying attention doesn’t mean copying what they do. You want your store to have its own unique design that attracts the customers you’re looking for. Be proactive, come up with ways to drive your business. Make your competitors pay attention to what you are doing.
Product Is Everything
Having and offering quality products are crucial to your business’ success. You can have the best website in the world, but if you’re selling something that nobody wants you will not have a profitable business.
Not only does the product need to be of high quality, but the price also needs to be right. Do some market research before you invest in products. Consider conducting a small trial run of a product first to see what desire there is for it and get feedback from your customers.
Test Run
How often have you clicked on a link in a website and nothing happens. Or, you’ll be trying to pay, and the site hangs. You get the sense of panic because you don’t know if your transaction went through or not — mistakes like these can cost you customers.
Test everything on your site. Try using it from every web browser and on every type of device. Make sure that your website works seamlessly on each. Your customers might be anywhere accessing your site any number of ways. Be sure you can accommodate their needs.
Getting all of these potential problems out of the way before launch is essential. Customers expect sites to be responsive and always connected. It’s vital to choose a reliable web hosting service that has a good record for uptime. Remember, an online store is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Don’t miss out on sales because you did not test before you launched.
Marketing
In the world of brick and mortar retail, you will naturally attract passersbys just by being there. An online store is a different story. Letting people know you are there is a considerable task in itself. There are a few approaches you can take, and you’ll probably find you need a combination of all of them. Social media can be a relatively cheap and effective tool if used well. You’ll also want to consider ad words, search engine optimization, and affiliate blogging as ways of driving your business up towards the top of any relevant web searches.
Once you’re up and running, the hard work can really begin. The internet is an ever evolving place and what works for you today might be obsolete tomorrow. You need to be ahead of the trend all of the time. Keep yourself up to date with any upcoming developments so that you can make sure your site moves with the times. To find lasting success, you’ll need to revise your product offer and keep building your social media presence.
Make sure you have the right pieces in place before you launch your online store. When you do, you can easily outpace the competition. Stay up to date, have patience and watch your business grow, one sale at a time. Here’s to YOUR success!
Carolyn R. Owens has over 25 years of proven experience and serves as a Career Strategist, Leadership and Life Coach. She is the Chairwoman and CEO of Infinity Coaching, Inc. where they help you up-level your skills so you can up-level your income. Infinity Coaching, Inc. provides one-on-one and group coaching, organizational training, and personality assessments. Carolyn is certified to give both The Energy Leadership Index Assessment and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Assessment. You can find out more about both assessments and other products and services at https://infinitycoaching.net.
