If you are thinking of starting a career as a retailer, and have even found a retail property, or pop-up shop location, make sure you create an ecommerce website for your business to ensure that you do not lose out on the lucrative world of online shopping. Think about it. When was the last time you decided “I’ll just buy it online.” The world is moving further from the mall, and it’s time you join them. Here’s how to do it.
1. CHOOSE A NICHE
If you want to start a new online business, but you’re not sure what you want to sell, pick something you’re passionate about. It will be much easier to root for your business if its something you care about.
Do your research to understand what the market is like for this particular niche. Still interested? Move to step two.
2. KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER
Every good business owner should understand the psyche of their customer. Familiarize yourself with what the online shopper wants, what is important to them and their reasons for preferring online shopping.
People tend to turn to online shopping for lower prices, convenience, and broader options. You need to make sure your business offers these benefits, so offer cheaper prices than stores, offer a variety of inventory, and make your site easy to use.
3. BUILD A WEBSITE
Hire someone (like GiraffeBuilder) to make it easier to use professionals, who can build it right the first time. Ecommerce sites are more complicated than traditional ones, due to the shopping cart elements, so don’t commit to something you can’t handle.
4. ADVERTISE
There’s no point building and E-Commerce store if you’re unable to get any traffic to it. If people don’t visit your store, you won’t sell anything.
To start, set up social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whatever platform your audience spends their time on. If you’re not sure, ask! This goes back to step two, knowing your customer.
Set up business pages on these platforms and run some ads to gain some attention for your store. For free publicity, you can add a blog to your site and write articles about the niche you’re in. These will get picked up by Google eventually, but it will take time and patience, as well as top quality articles.
There are lots of ways to advertise your site, so think out side the box and try a few different things to see what sticks. Don’t ignore offline, traditional marketing either! Just because your store is only online, doesn’t mean you can’t connect to customers in real life.
IN CONCLUSION
Online shopping has been growing for a few years, and is continuing to expand. Jump online before its too late! With the right idea and some hard work, you could have a big seller on your hands.
