We’re living through some pretty odd times. At the beginning of 2020, hardly anyone could have anticipated the major changes that the majority of us would experience in the upcoming months. Now, we’re in April and many countries around the world are minimising movement across their borders. Citizens in most countries are being discouraged from leaving their own homes – being asked to only head out for essentials such as food or medication. When we do leave our houses, we’re being asked to socially distance, staying at least two metres away from others who may be out getting food or picking up their medication at the same time. This is all important to slow the spread of the virus, protecting ourselves, others and supporting our healthcare systems. But this also means many of us have faced unprecedented change in our day to day lives. Many of us are now unable to work and are looking for ways that we can generate more money to tide ourselves over during this hard time. Many of us are also having time to reflect on our lives and are finding that we’re unhappy in our current roles and could do with something different in terms of work. For all of these people, setting up an E Commerce store could seem like a great idea! It’s a source of income that you can generate from your own home. It allows you to be your own boss. It lets you choose your own career path. So, what will you need to do to get your E Commerce site up and running!
Come Up With a Product
When you enter the world of Ecommerce, you’re going to be striving to stand out in an extremely saturated market. So, you need to come up with some sort of innovative item. If you have something completely unique, you aren’t going to have any trouble standing out from the crowd. Instead of having to convince people why they need your product over someone else’s, you can focus on promoting your product. It will stand out in its own right. Sometimes this will mean catering to a niche. Sometimes this will simply mean filling a gap that nobody else has thought of yet. Alternatively, you can produce something that’s similar to other products out there with a slight differentiation. Regardless, you need to spend a fair amount of time on product development!
Get to Know Your Demographic
If you’re going to make sales, you’re going to have to get to know your target audience.Market research tends to be the best way to go about this. This is basically research into your consumers and the behaviour that they exhibit. It will help you to get to grips with what they want, how much they are willing to pay for your products, how you should package them and more. You can carry out market research by outsourcing to an agency or you can take things into your own hands – conducting surveys, getting people to complete questionnaires, holding focus groups and seminars and more. Just make sure to get consent and to record all data you take properly!
Create a Website
If you’re going to set up your business online, you’re going to need a website. It also needs to be highly effective at capturing people’s attention and encouraging them to make purchases. Studies show that the majority of people decide whether they’re staying on a website or not within a matter of seconds. They’ll either click the exit tab or they’ll stay and take a further look. Web design is extremely important, so you do need to invest in it. Focus on how agile website design can be both fast and effective. Bring in a professional web designer and a web developer who can work together to make sure your site works well and looks great at the same time. Some good tips include limiting your colour palette, making sure the majority of any given page is white or another neutral colour. Your designer and developer should be able to give further recommendations that will cater to your audience perfectly. You also need to place a lot of emphasis on user experience, also known as “UX”. A UX specialist can help you with this part of your venture. They will basically ensure that people who land on your webpage need to be able to find their way around easily and will have an enjoyable experience. Important pages focusing on products, shipping info, FAQs, an about page and contact details should be extremely easy to find. Carrying out transactions should be simple. Getting in touch should be a breeze!
Invest in Product Photography
When you operate online, your website serves as your physical store. It’s where people will browse your products. But unlike a brick and mortar store, when they shop online, they largely rely on visuals to get by. After all, they can’t pick up, touch or try out your products until they actually purchase them. So, you want your product photos to be the best possible. Sure, smartphone cameras are growing increasingly better and can produce some pretty impressive images. But they won’t compare to the work of a professional product photographer. They’ll have the right equipment, experience and know how to capture the best images possible!
These are just a few different areas you’ll need to focus on if you’re planning on getting your Ecommerce site up and running. Of course, this is the very beginning and you’ll have to focus on all sorts of areas to keep expanding and progressing. But it’s a good space to start off from! Never underestimate any area and put your most into each. You’ll be established and generating sales and profit before you know it!
