Virtual market is growing bigger and bigger every day. Most of the population relies on the Internet to shop or get things done. From sending an e-mail to banking, shopping, purchasing services and packages, everything can be done in few clicks. This brings a lot of opportunities for new entrepreneurs, but to make the best use of this opportunity you have to follow the right track. There are few points that one should consider before starting an online business. These are:
Focus on Local market: You should not avoid small steps to achieve big goals. Instead of trying to reach the global market and providing everything, study local market, gather knowledge about demand and customer’s taste, and offer them something unique or different from your competitors. If you want to capture the market you should have something unique to offer, but before going further do check out copyright infringements.
Logistics: The product you choose at the initial stage of your online business, matters the most. You should be very cautious about it. The product should be:
- Non-fragile (it will end up in pile of damaged returns)
- Easy to make (so that it takes minimum time)
- Low making charges (so that you do not end up in investing huge amount)
- Should be easy to ship (should not be heavy or too big, as it will cost more).
It is not easy to manage supply chain and fulfillment of orders at the initial stage of business, but as you gain more and more experience you can try your hands on the variety of products. So it is advisable to start small and get adventurous later.Don’t opt for any popular product because someone is definitely providing the best of it and has probably already captured the market. It is rather a better idea to specialize in just one specific product and make a place in the market.
Understand your customer: Choice of the product as per the customer’s requirement is very important. Always focus on impulse buys and make sure you give satisfactory service to your customer because a happy customer always returns. Better the experience, more the chances of the customer coming back again and again. Once you have a good number of repeat customers, it is the right time to introduce a new product into the market.
Adding value to your product: Customers always like if they get something extra. If you provide extra service along with your product, it will not only help you retain your customer for a lifetime but also help you earn more customers. For example, if you are selling camera only, give offers like photography classes; which will be an add-on to your product and will also help in increasing sales. Similarly, if you are selling books on learning the particular language, start language classes as an add-on. These kinds of offers attract the attention of customers and might create customers for a lifetime.
Comfortable buying experience: If your experience is good, it is quite possible that you will visit again. It is very important that your process of making payment is simple and easy. It is advisable to provide a variety of payment options to the customer so that he/she can choose the method with which he/she is comfortable. If you do not provide payment options according to the customer’s choice, you might end up in losing the customer. It is very important to make the customer comfortable with the purchasing and payment method. For creating a smooth online shopping, it is important to work with a payment partner who provides you with features and services you want and in terms and conditions that are comfortable for both the parties.
Internet security: For an e-commerce website, it is important to take extra measures on Internet security as there are thousands of prying eyes looking for an opportunity to hack and misuse data or information. Customers are well aware of security threats and are quite cautious about making purchases online. Purchasing products or services online means that you are sharing your sensitive information like credit card processing number, address, phone number etc.; and if this information falls in the wrong hands, it will not only affect the customer but also hamper the reputation of your business. So it is important to take special measures to provide Internet security and make the website, and the payment process safe.
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