Owning a business can be emotionally fulfilling and financially enriching. Tens of thousands of new ventures are started each year. Ecommerce businesses frequently require less capital and less time to start than brick-and-mortar retail or service operations. So why not get going?
The reasons to start Ecommerce biz are
- Online sales are growing faster than offline sales
- The web influences almost half of offline purchases
- Holiday shoppers research more online in a shaky economy
- Online is a major source of inspiration for gift shoppers
- Consumers planning to spend more on holiday shopping have an affinity for digital channel
Now are you thinking to start your ecommerce biz, and are you wondering now how to start, Here are few analysis and steps to start.
Before starting an ecommerce biz, make sure following things are available with you.
- Brand Name: An effective brand name combined with a well-known corporate image, usually allows a company to charge more for its products and thus to increase gross margins. Whether it is a target audience for a product or the marketplace in general, a brand value reflects how a product name or company name is perceived by the marketplace. In e-marketing the value of a brand has heightened importance due to the intangible nature of the web.
2. A unique selling proposition: A unique selling proposition, which defines your company’s unique position in the marketplace, is an often overlooked but very important element of creating a biz that customers love. A strong unique selling proposition lets you to stand apart from competitors and actively focus your energy on creating things that cater to your ideal group of customers.
3.A Website: For eCommerce sites, it’s especially important to be not just appealing, but easy to surf. By concentrating on layout, you’ll be able to make your eCommerce site easier to shop at, thus increasing revenue! Here are a few tips on building a visually appealing eCommerce site.
- Layout: layout should be the central element in building a successful and visually appealing site. Likewise, layout should be centered around products, especially on eCommerce sites! Showcase everything your online marketplace has to offer by integrating them into the layout. This helps the site focus on products, making visitors much more likely to stay longer, whether they’re browsing or shopping. Of course, when you’re laying out your products for consumers to see, you want to have high quality images so that they represent the product in the best possible light. Make your product-centered website layout as simple as it can be, you don’t want to clutter your webpage.
- Website Development Platform: There are number of platforms available to build ecommerce website such as Magento, X- Cart, Zen- cart, Os commerce etc. Below diagram conveys the magento platform is good for ecommerce business according new survey.
Magento has more advantages compare other ecommerce platforms, such as easy to use admin system, single page checkout, ship to multiple addresses, change prices site wide quickly administer multiple websites, Seo friendly websites, Move data easily data flow, create and manage multiple stores, multi currency & multi language, Third party tools, integrate open source CMS, Payment gateway, Robust Reporting, Open source, Easy customization. Due to these features the magento platform is preferred all over the world.
4. Products: Internet merchants have many challenges when it comes to turning visitors into customers. One element that is often overlooked is the product page. These pages are what will really drive visitors to make the purchase.
The images should be have features like the image should be quality, alternate views should be provided, zoom feature, Consumer reviews, Product comparisons, live chat, product demos, email to friend, the product should be human models, and share options should be there.
5.Ability to collect payment: A payment gateway is an essential part of your online strategy. Popular shopping carts are compatible with a great variety of payment systems widely known as payment gateways.
- Most of payment gateways have a sophisticated fraud protection mechanism which helps to avoid most of chargebacks from the customers whose credit card might have been stolen by hackers.
- The process is fully automated so you can save vast amount of time if you have many orders.
- Some payment gateways like 2CheckOut allow you to accept credit cards even if you do not have internet merchant account (it may be difficult to obtain a merchant account if you have just started the business and haven’t got positive credit history yet).
There are number of payment gateway service providers in the world, If you are focusing only in India means there are CCavenue, Payu, EBS These 3 are good. For all over the world means like us, uk market means PAYPAL is good.
6.Ability to Deliver the Goods: Free shipping options in ecommerce continue to be important to consumers throughout the year, but at holiday time, the expectation of free shipping could be that much more an incentive to shop. Having clear guidelines as to when free shipping is offered and if there are minimum purchased to qualify can potentially reduce abandonment rates and increase customer loyalty.
7. Qualified Traffic: Like most large industries on the Internet, the e-commerce space has become more competitive as new businesses, platforms, and complimentary services enter the market. While it’s true that setting up an online store takes no longer than 5 minutes, turning that store into a successful business which supports you, your family, and the lifestyle you dream of is a race that most don’t finish.
Many people abandon their e-commerce adventure because they simply run out of time and are forced to earn a stable income in a 9 to 5 job. The reason they run out of time is because the valuable time they do have is invested in areas which bring little return.
Some of the steps to bring Traffic are Discount codes, Social media, Forum Posts, Blog posts, SEO Friendly Meta titles and descriptions, Business cards, These all steps known as Digital marketing.
It’s actually hard work and all of this is necessary activity to increase your sales on the internet. There are no magic formulas anymore – if it were that easy, everyone would be doing it. Also remember you are competing (economically) with some very effective online operators who have deep pockets and lots of staff.
What works for you best may differ from business to business, but eventually you should try it all and measure.
Conclusion:
Knowledge is power, and when it comes to business, it’s those who have the knowledge, determination, and will that usually rise to the top. In this post, I have provided unique insights into a wide range of topics that will be useful to anyone trying to make a buck online. I hope I have painted a bright picture of the current trends in this very dynamic and ever-shifting space and that these stats will serve you well in the near future.
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