5 Essentials For a Successful Online Business
by Simone Fritz
There are many e-commerce hosting platforms and resources out there, and there are even more online businesses ready to take off! If you want to launch an online business, you need to make some technical decisions to ensure you have a full-service business that can scale and grow.
With the huge number of vendors out there, you may have a hard time trying to choose the right one. But don’t worry! Today, we are here to help you narrow down your options. Here are five essential things your e-commerce business should have to become a success.
1. The right product
Before you start up your e-commerce store, you should carry out market research to help you decide what products to list. Do not just decide to sell what you want the market to purchase. You need to find out what your target market needs and list those products in your e-commerce store. You should look out for products with a hungry audience and relatively little competition.
You also need to understand that managing your inventory can affect your cash flow and operating costs. You do not want to have low inventory and high sales or the other way around. The best practice would be to strike a balance to help save costs.
2. Domain name and hosting
You cannot overemphasize the importance of an unforgettable domain name and reliable hosting. You want your e-commerce store to be up and running 24/7, so your e-commerce solution should have a generous bandwidth. It should also have high-speed servers with an uptime of at least 99%. You need an e-commerce solution that you can easily set up with your domain name.
You can purchase your domain name using an external register (like GoDaddy) or directly from the company (like Squarespace or Shopify). After doing this, you can now connect your website to your host and launch your website.
A well-optimized website
If you choose Shopify or Squarespace, there are tons of beautiful templates to choose from that are geared toward online sales. You can tackle this yourself, or outsource it! Once you are done setting up your website, you need to optimize it for sales. Your e-commerce websites should have features such as readable text, easy navigation, a simple checkout process with credit card processing, clear product images, fast loading times, and compatibility across different devices. Mobile friendly is no longer optional - it’s a must!
Website optimization is a continuous process, so you must assess your website from time to time to improve. You do not want your customers to find it difficult navigating through your website.
An understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) will go a long way to make your website discoverable in search engines. As you grow, you may also want to invest in paid advertisements or develop a Pinterest strategy to increase your web traffic.
Third-party apps
An e-commerce solution with third-party apps integration can make running your business easier. You will not have to import data manually because compatible apps automate the process for you.
And this is a good way to save a lot of time and effort. There are many business apps that you can integrate into your e-commerce solution. For instance, Shopify uses business apps like QuickBooks, TaxJar, ShipStation, etc.
These apps can perform activities like running financial reports, sending all the updates, and preparing shipments. And speaking of shipments, if you are moving large quantities, you won’t want to make daily trips to USPS or UPS. Set up an account so that you can schedule manual pick ups from your office or shipping location so you can get back to work selling more items!
Reliable customer support
Your e-commerce solution should enable your customers to contact you easily. You need to respond to emails as soon as possible. If your website offers phone support, ensure that your hours and time zones are marked. Include your expected response time on your website so customers know what to expect. (i.e. “We will respond to all inquiries and requests within 24 hours during business hours, M-F, 9 - 5 EST.) It is a good idea to offer live chat on your website because you can solve customers queries without them ever leaving your site. You can also connect an auto-responder to your Facebook business page, and pre-plan for any Frequently Asked Questions by typing in the questions and responses. Add these same frequently asked questions to a dedicated page on your website.
Conclusion
E-commerce solutions can help you manage your online business more effectively and set you up for success. Although there are many vendors out there, the best choice you can make is a decision! Don’t spend months doing research. Research your options for a few days, ask others whose opinions you respect, and then decide and move into the implementation stage. The worst decision you can make is the decision of inaction.
To recap, ensure that your e-commerce business has a great product people want, an unforgettable and unique domain name, reliable web hosting, customer support, and is manageable and scalable. And always remember that the right e-commerce solution for your business is the one you believe in that helps you deliver your products and services to your ideal customers.
