Starting an online business require a lot of planning. It is a hard work and requires a lot of patience. Online business requires a lot than what you see on the surface as it has deep and complex processes. There are always ways of making the process smooth and easy going.
Research
Researching about the market is the very first step in determining what to sell or rather what sells. People now a day’s buy a lot of product online so there will be a lot of competition in the market. Research the product with low competition and high profit can let to greater sales and huge profit.
Planning
Planning is a very important step for any business. If you invest the most time in the planning of the business then there will be very less chance of the business going south. This prevents you from making an error.
Study the Product
Product planning is a process of creating a product idea by determining the market needs, features of the product, the utilization of the product etc. there are various factors that determine the product planning structure. By investing most of the time in this step will improve the customer experience and there will be less chance of error in delivering the kind of design to the customer that he desired for.
Brand Name
The brand name is very important. This is a mirror image of the image you want to portrait for yourself. Brand name should be simple yet elegant at the same time it should be easy to pronounce. Logo design is also included in this step, a unique logo which is remembered by the visitors is critical for establishing the brand image amongst the customers.
Website Technology
Website platform is a place where you operate your business. Although you not be from technical background but you really need to understand terms like Dedicated Hosting, Bandwidth, Disk Space, CMS, Window/Linux Hosting ect. Choosing the right platform for your business is the most important decisions you’ll make when running an online business. The platform should be empowering for the business. One of the most widely used online e-commerce stores is magneto, this is used by companies like Nike, Overstock Deals etc.
Payment Gateway
Your ecommerce developer will suggest you few options but the transaction charges remains the fact. You can negotiate with payment gateway companies, if you are sure that you will give them good business. At least have knowledge about what is the best quote they can offer you. Determining the payment options and prior planning of this makes the job easier for you as well as your customer. The payment option provided by you must be convenient for the customer as well as it should be trustworthy.
Logistics
The logistics are a department that should be taken care of the most. Today End to End solution providers are available but choose the brand that is reliable. Customer only knows that you are deivering the product. The above steps are usually constant and require just an initial setup. But the logistics require a regular lookout as all the billing is done here. The best logistics in the country is provided by the Indian post. The Indian post provides many payment options including pay on delivery and cash on delivery. The rates of the shipment are also very convenient.
Marketing
Marketing determines how much you will sell. There should be a steady and constant fund flow towards this department as this is the primary way of attracting the customers towards the business you are offering. There are two types of the marketing essential in making your business noticeable to the customer-
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is the primary source of lead generation for an online business and is often consist of a lot of competition. Digital marketing is a vast field and consists of SEO, SMO etc. This part of marketing should be regularly funded and taken special care of as it determined the position of the business for certain keywords. This also includes paid promotions and social media marketing utilized for attracting the customers toward your business.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is like an advertisement you run on the various places like hoarding boards, pamphlet distribution etc. This usually requires less effort for an online business as it usually targets a huge crowd and the conversion rate is pretty low.
User experience
User experience determines how a customer utilizes your product and connects with it on the emotional level. This connection is an essential part for any business. If you can create a unique experience for the customer and make him feel good about himself using your product then that experience will be unforgettable and the product will create a need in the customer mind.
Customer Reviews
Now, you have established a successful business which is getting a response from the customers. It’s time to analyze the response. This response can define how much of an impact the product is making in a customer life. The response can be negative or it can be positive and the job of a business is to make the negative a positive response and a positive an even more positive. Online reviews are like a personal recommendation that the customer reads in order to visit any business and make a purchase.