Creating and owning an online ecommerce business is one of the modern ways of not only making a living, but also leading a life of wealth. Although it may seem like the online marketplace has been saturated, and hence not a really accommodating place for business, you can rest assured that with a little thought and a spark of ingenuity, you too can launch a successful online business.
That, then, becomes the first great tip:
- The Other Angle – although it looks like there are no more possibilities of coming up with a new formula for online success, you must know that you can create wealth by simply taking an old idea and adding a new twist to it.
Factors you can play on include things like customizing your product or service for a locale that hasn’t been covered yet by, for example, changing the language with which you bring your business to a specific demographic. Do you see people who haven’t been able to get their hands on a food item that caters to their unique palates? How about switching a few ingredients on a common dish and bringing it to them as a new product?
- Creating Reliability and Dependability – one of the main reason businesses lose their clients is because they cannot be relied upon to deliver their services when and wherever they are required to.
Right off of the bat make sure you build your website on reliable platforms. For one, always seek to deal with a hosting provider that you know will never let you down. Take time to do your research and find one that has a good reputation, has proven records of perfect up-times (at least 99 percent), has flexible and scalable plans so you don’t face interruptions during upgrades and also has a reputable support system in place that will guarantee the shortest website downtime in case of a problem. That way, you’re already well on the way to becoming a reliable service provider.
- Killer Marketing Instincts – selling goods and services online requires, for the most part, great marketing skills. Right from the beginning put in place a marketing strategy that will have the highest impact with the least possible costs.
This means you will need to focus on free social media platforms that require a dedication of time and effort. You need to be relentless (without being annoying, of course) in pushing your products out there.
- Piggyback Rides – although it might appear so, no budding company ever made it to the top without the help of a larger, more successful company. Whether it is to use their products on discounted rate, use their platforms for advertisement and/or sponsorships, or even having an understanding where you will recommend each other’s services for clients that need it – the sky is the limit if you think about it. Don’t be afraid to collaborate with bigger companies (even if they are your competition) to your mutual advantage.
- Simplify Everything – no one wants to come to a website looking to make a purchase and arrive on your page only to get lost in a myriad of buttons to click, forms to fill in, articles to read… they just want to grab what they want and move on.
This means you need to simplify everything. If your purchase process takes too long from start to finish, look for a shopping cart that does it in less time. If there are too many forms (or even too many fields in one single form) cut out the information you can do without and move it along. Whenever possible uses images and graphics to explain things – it is financially economical for you and saves a lot of time for your customers.
- Build an Article Base – whether it is about your product or on topics that are related to it, you need to build an article base that your visitors can go to do some research or just find out about your goods. This is a non-stop process that should keep your clients and customers (new and old alike) coming back for more. Once you have a decent collection, start creating a mailing list so those that are really interested can get your news and articles directly in their email inboxes.
- Create an Early Rapport – your customers will be the best indicators about how well your business is doing, therefore take everything they say seriously. As a matter of fact, right from day one, make sure you have a customer relations management (CRM) system in place. Make sure it is manned round the clock and give honest, straight-to-the-point replies – especially when you are at fault.
- Test, Test, Test – right from day one, make sure you are constantly testing your website’s performance and business processes to see what your visitors and customers experience. Whenever you see something to improve, get on it right away. This too is a non-stop process as technology will always keep changing and you will find tweaks that will make things run smoother.
Finally, know that you are just starting out and no one reached the top with one giant, magical leap – they all had to pay their dues. Never give up and keep looking for ways to improve things on your site, and your products and/or services.
