Since the beginning of e-commerce, entrepreneurs have been looking for the best way to get customers online. Thankfully, there are a lot of options when it comes to selling online that don’t involve having a physical location. That said, you still need to choose the right one if you want your business to be successful. In this post we’ll go over some steps that can help you take your e-commerce business from $0 to $100K+.
1. Do your homework before you start.
This is one of the most important steps in any business venture, and it’s especially true for e-commerce. You need to do research on everything from who your audience is to what legal requirements you need to comply with, if your store be drop-shipped, etc.
The first thing you’ll want to look into is what kind of products your company will sell, who those products are targeted at, and how they’re priced compared with similar offerings in the market. You can use this information later on when deciding where and how much marketing money should be spent; knowing that one product line has higher margins than another allows you to focus advertising dollars where they’ll get the most return on investment (ROI).
2. Build an amazing website.
Invest in your website as it’s the center of your business. That’s why it’s important that it has the right elements to attract customers and keep them engaged with your brand. If you don’t have a website or blog yet, there are several things you need to consider when building one:
- What type of site do I want? Blog or e-commerce?
- How much time and money can I invest?
- What is the ROI target?
There are many platforms out there that allow you to set up your website and start selling straight away, but they often come with a hefty price tag. Some of these services charge hundreds, even thousands of dollars per month which can be hard on your cash flow when you’re just starting out. Luckily, there are plenty of good platforms and alternatives that will do the same job and give you more flexibility in the long run.
For example, you can go with Shopify. This is one of our favorites as it’s easy to use and has a great support team behind it. The app has everything you need for setting up an online store including payment processing (via Stripe), customer management tools, SEO functionality etc. – all within one platform which gives users access from anywhere via phone or computer. It also integrates with other apps such as MailChimp, Synder, and Zapier so customers can sign up on social media sites like Twitter without leaving their feeds!
3. Focus on marketing and social media
Marketing is the most important part of any business. It’s not just about advertising and flashy campaigns—it’s about building trust and credibility with your customers, giving them what they want, and building relationships with them.
Social media is the most cost-effective way to reach potential customers. The trick is to be consistent, which is why it’s best not to get too complicated with your social media strategy. Instead of trying to do everything at once, focus on one platform and do it well. Once you’ve mastered one channel, move on to another one. The best way to use social media is simply by sharing content that your audience will find interesting or valuable in some way (i.e., a coupon code). If people are engaging with this type of content, then there’s a good chance they’ll share it with their friends as well!
4. Have a welcome email follow-up sequence.
After receiving their order confirmation email, send out another email sequence that includes helpful links like where they can find their tracking information (if applicable) or how long it will take for their package to arrive at their house. You could even offer free shipping on return orders if they act within a certain time frame after receiving their initial order (this will encourage people who received defective items or damaged products, also important to track!).
5. Choose the right software for your e-commerce business.
The most important thing you can do for your e-commerce business is find a tech stack you like and stick with it. This means finding a solution that allows you to track and manage all parts of the business in one place, so that everything from sales to expenses are streamlined and managed easily. Having the right software will ensure:
- Tracking your sales, expenses, and inventory in one place so that it’s easy for everyone on the team (including yourself!).
- Setting up and running promotions with ease by automating emails and follow-up sequences based on customer behavior or past purchases.
- Managing your customer relationships from one central location.
- Getting paid faster because payments are automatically recorded through integrations and automation.
All of these and much more you can have with Synder – a single source of truth for your e-commerce business. The tool offers instant synchronization of transactions, fast reconciliation and accurate reporting, saving hours of manual work by automating workflows. See what Synder has to offer by attending a demo session with our specialist who can show you how the tool can help your business!
Wrapping up
E-commerce is a big business which is growing every day and there are many ways to get in on the craze. Whether you want to sell your own products or help other people sell theirs, there are opportunities for everyone! We hope this blog post has helped get you started with some of the basics of how to turn your e-commerce business into something successful.
