It does sound kind
of easy; you just put a website together, stick a few product images and some
product description, add payment gateways and away you go! You don’t even have
to buy any stock, at least not until you make a sale, your store is open 24/7
and you don’t need to employ any staff, and this makes for a very attractive
proposition. A low-investment business that offers potential, but does it?
Digital
Marketing
For the e-commerce
entrepreneur, digital marketing is absolutely essential – it is the only way to
drive potential customers to your product pages – which is obviously the goal.
The art of making a shopping cart website prominent in a Google search is
called search engine optimisation (SEO) and this is one service you cannot
afford to be without, as this will make many potential customers aware of your
existence. Check out the wide range of SEO services offered by the leading UK
provider, https://www.moveaheadmedia.co.uk/ who have all the solutions and tailor their services
to suit your business. The SEO company would carry out an online audit of your
business, which will reveal strengths and weaknesses, and only then are they in
a position to make recommendations.
Logistics
This is a major part of
your business; from the moment a customer clicks on ‘order now’, the sale is
being processed, and the time between the placing of the order and when the
customer has the goods in their hands needs to be as short as possible. You are
advised to forge an alliance with a third-party logistics company (3PL), who
would have the resources to pick, pack and deliver all of your orders, and they
can handle very high volumes of orders. If you are going to carry out your own
logistics, this will require a whole heap of resources, and it is cheaper to
outsource to an industry expert, which guarantees great customer service.
Payment Gateways
You are advised to set up
the following payment gateways:
- PayPal
- Credit Cards
- Direct Bank Transfer
- Cash on Delivery –
Depending on your products.
There are other gateways,
including Bitcoin, which is certain to be the strongest of the digital
currencies that are soon to replace cash, and the more payment options you
have, the better.
Product Suppliers
This will be your most
important business relationship, as you are very much at the mercy of your supplier,
and you really need to do your homework on any potential company, with a
factory visit and a review of their history. The ideal supplier is reliable,
efficient and able to handle large orders, and the Internet can help you find
the best supplier for your chosen product lines. Most wholesalers will give you
30-days credit, which is great, as this gives you time, and if you have a good
relationship, they would offer other benefits like free delivery.
Setting up a successful
e-commerce store demands a range of services, and if you’ve done your homework
and found the right products, digital marketing will put your goods in front of
the right people and your venture is a success.
