Would you like to build an e-commerce empire? Are you looking for the key to success?
Then, there is no doubt you are in the right place.
Online selling opportunities helped many businesses to earn more money and popularity. Also, it is the best way to grow your business by following the latest trends.
But not everyone will enjoy the sweetest topping. It preserves for those who exactly know what to do and when. So, we designed this article with steps that one should take to own or build an e-commerce website.
However, running an e-commerce business still requires a lot of planning and works. Once you have got your product idea, pick the right strategy to design the framework.
I know, you must be thinking about “Money.”
No doubt, it will come under your pillow automatically if you know how to fence your belonging.
A wiser saying that
Ecommerce isn’t the cherry on the cake, it’s the new cake.
What E-commerce Website Is?
It is the most fundamental phase to start this article. According to our research, most business owners are still unaware of the basic concept of the e-commerce website.
But we are not going to give you an educational tutorial here. We will only make sure that you can pull your knowledge slightly up by reading this phase.
You may have heard about the name of Magento. If yes, then hold your thoughts for a while.
Let us share an excellent quote with you that was delivered by the CEO of Magento.
We’ve been very frustrated with the state of open-source eCommerce.” We knew it could be done better.
For your understanding, Magento is an e-commerce platform that empowers thousands of entrepreneurs, retailers, and brands with so many flexible business opportunities. It is an open-source technology that offers powerful plug-ins and themes.
Globally, more than 190K websites are powered by the Magento platform.
Ok, now move to our earlier point, which was our primary concentration. According to the basic definition, an e-commerce website is a platform that allows clients to buy and sell products and services over an electronic medium.
But if you are looking for a vast, then the below definition will show you the exact light you are looking for. According to another Giant Shopify,
Ecommerce, also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and transferring money and data to execute these transactions.
In 1994, a person made the first online transaction by buying a pizza. It was a dream for many brands to shift their business to a new platform at that time.
And now, the platform is open for all of us to showcase our brands. Honestly, the company has transformed the way we shop today.
Which Type Will Go With My Business?
So, you have successfully overcome the learning phase. Now, it’s time to figure out which e-commerce type will go with your business. For your convenience, let me inform you that there are four types of e-commerce models available.
You can label each type differs depending on the functionality.
However, no matter which type goes with your business, every transaction will occur between two parties: consumers and business.
Let’s have a look at four E-commerce models:
- B2B (Business to Business)
- B2C (Business to Consumer)
- C2C (Consumer To Consumer)
- C2B (Consumer to Business)
As we mentioned earlier, each model signifies unique attributes. So, picking any of them won’t serve your exact needs. And our professional team is here to help you to know the score.
To suggest a suitable module, we will analyze your business ins and outs, target audience, goals, etc.
So, please write us your untold business story and your pain before your competitor does it.
E-commerce Still Has Customers To Win (Statistics)
The recent report of Statista shows that the UK is one of the most advanced e-commerce markets in the world. E-commerce is mainly doing well in densely populated and developed markets like the UK, Japan, US, Germany, etc.
The market penetration rate is almost starting from 74% to 84%.
On the other hand, the retail sales on the internet in China already make up more than 50% where the other countries are still struggling to break the line of 30%.
Though the market is growing steadily, experts predict that retail e-commerce sales will reach 22% by 2023.
Here are some significant figures:
- Mobile e-commerce retail sales are expected to reach $3.5 trillion by 2021.
- In 2017, almost 42% of online shoppers preferred to pay with a credit card.
- Around 30% of digital buyers are Millennials.
- Approximately 28% of buyers avoid checking out for unexpected shipping costs.
- To make the purchase decision, 55% of shoppers find online reviews important.
So, you can happily enjoy having an e-commerce site to sell your products and services to the end-users. The business type won’t be faded away sooner or later. Rather, it will become the most popular online activity worldwide.
Steps That You Should Not Miss
There is a saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Building an empire takes a lot of time and effort. So, every entrepreneur needs to push themselves more challenging to create great things.
Building a website and designing e-commerce is an entirely different story. However, there are no right and wrong steps. If you know-how, you can create your own e-commerce empire from home.
Let’s begin with the most challenging part.
Yes, I am talking about research and evolution. The research work should be precise to bite the yummiest piece of the pie. You must conduct research exhaustively on the consumer and market demands. We will discuss more on this topic later in this article.
Additionally, you have to walk across specific steps to get to the finish line. The steps are many. But the primary stages will be the same for every business owner. The process starts by deciding the product or service that matches your vision. However, set the goal wisely before diving into the vast world.
After having the starter, it’s time to choose the main course. You can have a look at this checklist before starting your first e-commerce business online.
Lastly, choosing the right e-commerce platform and development company is recommended to create interactive and user-friendly online stores. Along with Magento and Shopify, many experienced development platforms there that will suit your business needs.
Furthermore, you will also get professional help from Ascii System, where the team deals with many diverse framework projects.
Importance Of Market Research In E-Commerce
Tap your toe on the research field. You must be thinking, is this necessary to follow so many rules and steps to open e-commerce?
If you want to waste your big bucks, then the answer is negative. But if you wish for something great, then yes, you have to.
As I mentioned earlier, research is the first step that will help you take the following steps. Let me share a statistic with you. Studies reveal that 90% of e-commerce startups fail in the initial 120 days.
Yes, the reason is the poor or no research. You should conduct both quantitative and qualitative research to drive your decision.
Even in most cases, business gurus will encourage you to start now. But I will recommend a hold and research the area of your interest. It is imperative to know actually in which sector will lead you to success. Because it is easy to open a business but understanding how to run is the scariest part.
If you are not familiar with the online and offline business, education is a must. There are a lot of free resources you can use, which include Facebook, Google, as well as YouTube. These resources will give you the rundown on the basics of running an E-commerce brand.
Moreover, extensive research in your field can help you better your online customer experience. This integral part also helps a person to solve barriers to create a strong business foundation.
In the first place, the competitor’s research must figure out your products or service’s unique selling proposition (USP).
If you start without understanding the brand’s target audience, we will fail you like Ron Johnson, who created a whole mess back in 2011. He eliminated all coupons, promotions, and sales events of JCPENNEY without researching the market well.
Forbes eventually called this an “epic rebranding fail.”
So, if you have doubts about why market research is so significant, read below to know why it must be at the top of your checklist for starting an e-commerce business.
• Know Your Customer:
Before starting, whether it’s product or service-based, you need to ensure there are customers for your business. Find out their buying nature, including other factors like likings, income, demographic, brand preference, etc.
If there is a low demand for the products or services you are selling, make a solid strategy to increase it. Add enough value that can distinguish your business from your competitors.
At the end of the day, it’s all about finding out what your customers want. And you don’t want to miss the boat.
• Find Out How To Sell:
Learning customer behavior is another leading term to focus on increasing your sales. Not all platforms are suitable for all businesses. Without your own website, you have to maintain other social channels to market your goods and services.
Update yourself because customers change and evolve over time. Deliver a strong brand message with a better knowledge of your audience.
Remember, you are not only selling a product or service, but you are also selling trust and time.
Target your audience wisely and build a strong connection between them and your business. Using extensive market research, you can get a clear idea about the best platforms to sell to your customers.
• Pick The Best One:
It is impossible to become a master in every sector. E-commerce market research will help you to widen up your options. So, pick the product line wisely that matches your vision.
Stop grabbing everything unless you don’t know how to market them to the end-users. Sit, brainstorm, and enlist product ideas.
Check whether your listed products are in demand. To do this, you can use different tools, such as Google trends, social platforms, etc.
• Know Your Competitors:
E-commerce is a cold-blooded competition. It is necessary to have an idea of your competitors and their business model. Because this information will help you to design your strategy more effectively.
Moreover, you can design the product according to the findings that you have got from your competitive research. Remember, you have to give your customers reasons to stick with you with the same love and loyalty that they showed before.
Fading away from their mind could bring a disaster. So, online market research will help you to keep your products and services in the limelight.
• Find The Business Opportunities:
There are a lot of e-commerce business opportunities that make your company more successful. You can also count these as advantages. The most significant chance of an e-commerce business is you will get a wide range of customers all over the world.
Even you can improve the customer experience by adding extra.
However, to identify the market opportunities, it is essential to identify key points such as market barriers, economic condition, political aspects, distribution channel, geographic fundamentals.
Even overseas your products or services, you need to go through some rules tunnel before entering a new market.
How To Build An E-commerce Empire?
From my experience, I can share a simple fact with you. Almost 60% of clients our team meets don’t know where to start. They only came across to us to solve simple math, which is not simple at all.
Price!
Yes, they ask for a budget just showing some demo sites, which is not the right way to build an e-commerce.
You have to do a lot of research before making a decision. As we mentioned earlier, determining the e-commerce business model is one of them. But after successful research, a businessperson can identify the right prospects that go with one’s vision and mission.
To build one, you need to focus on specific points.
Let us walk through some essential steps you should not miss when you start building an ecommerce business.
• Identify The Business Model:
Market research helps you to select the perfect niche for your business. So, now you need to think about the business model that goes with your niche.
It is essential to understand the model. For example, if you choose to set a niche-specific dropshipping store, you won’t have to purchase stocks before opening the shop. You will find many reputable manufacturers who will package and deliver the product on behave of you.
Here, finding a genuine manufacturer is another name of the battle. Find that you can trust.
But, if you choose to sell Beard Oil with your own brand name, then it is compulsory to store products or open a shop to display them.
So, to hold stock, you need several things to get up and running. You need a place to inventory and enough money to buy that stock. It’s at this point that a solid financial plan becomes inherent.
• Go Through The Fundamentals:
Once you get your business foundation or model, let’s prepare a checklist before starting your first eCommerce business online.
- Select your business name
- Domain registration, purchase, and security
- Select products and services
- Design a robust e-commerce portal
- Contents that push your sale up
- Select a potential social platform to market your products
- Strong marketing strategy
- Delivery channel
- Proper management of inventory stock
- Payment gateway integration and security
These listed points are the most to concerns for every e-commerce business. In some cases, you can eliminate one or two based on your business model.
• Choose The Right Ecommerce Platform And Development Company
Which one do you prefer the most? Quality investment or start like a noob. If you want to establish a brand, you must go with some quality investments at an affordable price. You will find multiple platforms to develop your e-commerce site, but choosing the perfect CMS can be a daunting task.
A lot of factors are involved, including features, fastest payment gateway, site speed, etc. On the other hand, another most vital factor is SEO-friendly features. Shopify and WooCommerce, Magento, etc., provide you with a one-stop-shop to develop and deliver a great eCommerce experience.
And we Ascii System has already built multiple e-commerce sites that reflect our knowledge and expertise about the latest technologies. Ascii System has been recognized as a Top 30 Web Design Company in 2021 by DesignRush.
No doubt, we can help you create a competitive online, interactive, and user-friendly store to suit your business requirements.
Ask for a free consultation to understand our development process using the latest trend and techniques.
• Implement Social Media Marketing:
Social media marketing is a powerful and effective way to grow your business online. There are no other ways that will give you a quick boost to enter into the market immediately. This is the only media that will provide you with access to billions of users worldwide without having to spend extra money in the process.
As I mentioned earlier, not all platforms will work the same for you. So, check and decide where to promote your products and services.
Make sure to avoid spamming and create content that provides value and isn’t just aimed at generating sales.
• Verify Product Quality And Pricing Strategy:
Those who are selling services are out of this context. Because the service quality depends on person to person. Suppose you are offering pedicure service by maintaining general service quality.
If I recommend someone to take the same service with a big smiley face, it doesn’t mean it could reach the same satisfaction level.
But a product does. You need to ensure the product quality before selling to your customer. Remember, word of mouth is a robust promotional method that can ruin your business just in a second.
On the other hand, one should put in enough research about the market value of the selected product.
If you are not a first-mover or don’t have a unique concept to show, make sure you design a sensible pricing strategy.
• Identify Your Delivery Channel:
Are you offering a home delivery? Do you accept international orders? Customers will make you puzzled by asking so many queries regarding delivery. So, fix the delivery channels which are trusted and will deliver your products within the timeframe.
For cross-border delivery, have an initial idea on shipment cost, tax, government rules, etc.
• Customer Service:
Create an excellent customer service strategy that is less complex and more effective. For any online business, 24/7 customer service is always a must.
On the other hand, each customer is unique. So, try to be humble enough towards your clients to buy something from you or plan to do so. One statistic shows that about 97% of customers will tell others about very good or excellent customer service experiences.
Moreover, create engaging and valued content to make a bridge between the business and your customer. Respond to concerns expressed through emails, social media posts, or messages with respect and precision.
Take their complaint seriously; otherwise, you could bear a heavy loss like United Airlines. Back in 2008, United Airlines broke the guitar of Canadian musician Dave Carroll. According to Dave’s statement, he did every possible thing that one customer could do to save his product, but lastly, he failed.
The staff severely neglected him, and his attempts to claim damages with United did not go well. So, he decided to write a song with the entire experience of United Airlines. The United Stock Index dropped by 10% due to this incident, and the United States suffered enormous losses.
So, don’t let anyone leave the online space without receiving the right solution.
• Payment Option:
This is the last topic that I am covering now. Have you ever thought about the payment option? If not, then do it immediately.
A business that sells products and services on the internet needs a payment gateway. Payment gateway basically a semi-automated software system that deducts the amount from the buyer’s account. And later safely transferred to the seller’s account. So, here, security is the central issue.
The customer always wants a secure payment option after a successful checkout implementation.
In addition to handling your customers’ confidential payment information, the provider takes information about the reputation of your business if even a tiny breach occurs.
So, make sure you integrate a secure payment gateway. Done your homework more efficiently, focus on what your target audience is comfortable with.
Final Words
Compared to other offline businesses, having an online store is more cost-effective. It also reduces the travel time and cost of the customers.
Furthermore, a client can have the benefit of multiple payment methods. So, an e-commerce website or store is beneficial for both parties: customers and owners.
Are you convinced yet that you should sell online? If you are, reach us for more resources that will help you to get started.
