10 tips for launching an online business
Getting ready to start an online ecommerce business? Are are 10 steps to follow.
Starting an online business is very exciting, but like any business, a great deal of work has to go into getting an eCommerce business ready for launch.
Break your launch down into manageable chunks to help you launch at the best you can. These steps are some of the most important stages to get your online business ready to go and positioned to succeed.
1) Find a niche
Before you start selling anything, you need to find a product that has the potential to be successful and earn you a profit. You should look into some different niches to find a problem that you think you can solve with a product or service.
2) Evaluate market viability
You’ve come up with a business idea, you now need to look a little harder into product viability. Consider the things that could make or break your business, such as shipping costs (now’s the time for searching for ‘courier services near me’.
3) Conduct market research
Do some keyword research and study which products are being searched for to make sure there is a demand for what you’re offering, and to identify a gap in the market that you could take advantage of.
4) Conduct competitive analysis
Who will be your biggest competitors? What is helping them to succeed and what could you improve on? Study your competitors especially on their strengths and weaknesses. Do most customers complain about long delivery times? You may want to use the best delivery driver app so that you have a planned route for efficient and quick delivery service.
5) Learn online business laws
Depending on where you plan to ship to, there may be shipping restrictions, zoning laws, and trademark considerations that you need to know about. These are very important. If you understand these laws, you can avoid problems that could cause big issues for your business before you get anywhere.
6) Analyze your target market
You need to do serious research to understand who your ideal customer is. Create detailed buyer personas. How can you tailor your offering and your website so it will appeal to this persona?
7) Source your product
You know you have the right offering, who your ideal customer is, and how you’re going to set up your business. You now need to source the physical product. Will you make it yourself, or do you need to find a supplier?
8) Choose the right eCommerce platform
None of the work you have already done will help you if you don’t have a strong eCommerce site in place to actually sell anything.
This site must be usable, easy to understand, have a good user experience, and be functional. Get the design and usability right. Open a business bank account that can link directly to your site to make taking payments simpler.
9) Launch your store
You’ve sourced products and built your website. Now you need to launch and start telling people that your business exists and is ready to sell.
10) Drive traffic
When you’ve launched, you need traffic. There are lots of ways to generate website traffic, such as SEO and content marketing. You need to either learn those skills yourself, hire someone who can do this, or outsource.
Photo by Christina
