Today, when everything is available at just a tap away, consumers prefer to sit at home and purchase the things of their choice and need online. So, no matter who you are, a store owner or a beginner, you need to start an e commerce business as well for a successful and profitable .
Here is a detail write –up on how you should start and run a profitable and long-term e commerce business.
Why do you need an e commerce business?
There are mainly three reasons for which you should start with an e commerce business in India:-
- You get a wider exposure for your business as you will have more and more customers, regardless of their geographic location, as long as they have an internet connection.
- Your shop will be on for 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. 24/7 shop
- You can start with a little amount of money.
How to Start your e commerce business?
For a successful e commerce business, you need to follow some steps, which are as follows:-
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Determine your niche and products.
For a successful business, firstly you need to choose the right products. For this, you should first analyze the products that are in demand in the present market. Besides, you need to focus not just on the products, but the niche as well. Niche is the category of products you sell and helps you in defining your target audience. In online business, you can sell anything, from art and clothes to grocery and plants.
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Do market research
For a successful e commerce business, it is necessary to determine if your business idea has enough scope to succeed and grow. For this, you need to conduct a market research. You can conduct this market research through Google search, defining your target consumers and researching about your competitors.
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Create a business plan
Creating a perfect business plan will give you clarity for running a successful business. For making a business plan, you need to have a branding of the product, execution plan, market, marketing and sales and plans related to finance and funding of your product.
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Sourcing of your products
As far as sourcing of your products is concerned, you can make your own products, especially when you are selling digital products. For physical products, you need to source raw materials and bear the costs of manufacturing. So, you can contact wholesalers, who could provide you with products in bulk at a very cheap rate. Apart from this, you can also find a dropshipper, that would allow you to sell your products without keeping an inventory of products.
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Find your business name and logo
Choosing a brand name is a very important part of your business. So, find an quick and unique name for your brand. Also, do check for available domain names for your brand.
The next important part is to find a logo for your brand, as your logo is a part of your brand’s identity. A logo is one of the first things that people recognise and remember. So, choose it very carefully.
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Create an e commerce website
The initial stage of an online business gets done by the naming and finding of a product. So, now you need an e commerce store, where you can not only sell your products online, but also run your whole business, from customer acquisition to shipping and fulfilling demand of the customers. The easiest way to create an e commerce store is through an e commerce platform. By this, you can get your own customised online store and start selling instantly. Since it’s a huge part of your business, you need to choose an eCommerce platform carefully.
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Prepare for the launch of your e commerce business
Once your online store is ready, you can start preparing for the launch of your online business. However, before your online store goes live, you need to take care of a few things, such as quality and quantity of product, photos of your product, its description, some good reviews, and shipping strategy.
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Your first customer
After you are ready with the launch of your business, just be prepared to get your first customer. It depends upon how you have marketed or endorsed your products. So, carefully choose the strategy to get your first customers. Take help from social media in finding your prospective customers. You can also give some inaugural offers to attract the customer.
