In an emerging global economy, e-commerce applications coupled with secure electronic funds transfer have been key success drivers for the e-commerce business. For many merchants, an online e-commerce store offers incredible RoI along with great user experience. However, with increasing competition, you really need to make your store stand out to create a positive impression.
And how would you do that?
Simpl, by keeping in mind a few essential points when you start off with your very own e-commerce venture. In this post, we have compiled these essentials in one interesting list -
- Research your idea:
The most important aspect of a product is how competitive is it? Before you even design or decide your products for your e-commerce store, it is advisable to carry out a market research of your ideas and see how the market is responding to these ideas.
Talk to people around and get a fair idea of whether the idea of a business that is on your mind connects with people. Spread your research target geography from your locality and seek opinion with a network of people who matter.
2. Assess your e-store design:
There is no fixed design that will guarantee an e-commerce store to get profitable faster. Spend quality time to think and ponder over designs that relate very closely to your products. Sometimes, a very close comparison of a product that will gradually lead to buying another product is a trick to maintain business.
Secondly, focus to create a website that will brand your business as a whole and just not as an e-commerce store. Building brands help in establishing recognition. It promotes an emotional connect with customers and builds credibility. This allows customers to buy from your site without fearing about the product’s quality, the reliability of your site’s shipping system, or the dependability of the payment gateway.
3. Start your business:
A very economical way to start an e-commerce store is to physically start selling your products to a few customers. Similar to beta testing, this helps in understanding the viability of your business. It could be a count of just few customers, but it definitely will help to build the e-commerce store.
Experience helps to form the base for any process. The physical selling experience will help to design the e-commerce store at the basic level. The first look and feel customers get will stay in their minds for a very long time.
4. Set a target:
A target can basically be a goal that you want to achieve. Every motive has a target and setting the target actually lays the foundation for a successful journey. So, before you start off with your new creation, invest time to set your target.
Spend some time on financials to create a mock budget sheet. Complete it thoroughly so it provides a very good base for your journey in setting your new venture. Start with a sample data that you have with your physical selling. This will set the tone to help you determine whether the business model you will follow has the potential to be lucrative.
5. Build a website:
Build your e-commerce store with a base thinking in terms of a customer. There are two critical objectives to serve with a website –
- Attracting visitors to your site
- Keeping them hooked for longer on the site.
Remember that any visitor visiting a website decides in few seconds if the website will offer what they have been looking for. Hence your e-commerce store design should allow them to find what they want in quick time.
Once the base template for your website is ready, share it with a few well-wishers or industry peers, and implement their opinion about changes to the website. It will also be a good idea to ask for honest reviews from your initial customers.
6. Perseverance:
Determination, stubbornness and patience – Though all of them point towards perseverance, the base of the thought process should coincide to survive any new venture. Turn on analytics features in your store, and monitor and learn from your experience. It will be ideal to still continue your physical selling until your e-commerce website reaches your margin targets.
Good Luck!
If you need proficient experts working with you for your own e-commerce store, it will be worth your time to check out CIGNEX’ capabilities in e-commerce portal solution development. Our comprehensive solution lets you manage the entire relationship cycle through a unified technology solution. We offer the twin benefits of lower TCO and better visibility of your e-commerce portal in front of your target audience.
Do feel free to connect with us for a quick consultation and our team will be happy to assist you with your e-commerce venture, the right way.
