In this article, I’m going over the 7 things you absolutely have to know Before starting a successful eCommerce business. That brings great profits…
Things I wish i knew before;
These are the things i wish i knew before starting because if i did it would have made my life a lot easier,
If you follow these tips i guarantee you, that you’ll have
- A better vision
- A more successful launch
- A Long-Lasting company, That pays you for years and years
Let’s get started the first thing you need to know about eCommerce is that the opportunities are vast a lot of people think that e-commerce is oversaturated and that it’d be impossible for them to start up a successful business.
The truth is that ‘yes’ it is harder to start an e-commerce business today than it was maybe five years ago… but there is still so much more opportunity available.
I really want to make this point clear because I think a lot of people are on the edge of starting a business, but just never follow through with it because they get discouraged.
Let’s take a look at this chart which shows the eCommerce share of total global retail sales from 2015 all the way to 2023.
As you can see e-commerce has been growing very very strongly since 2015, with the year-to-year growth getting higher.
This shows that there is more opportunity today than there was. Maybe five years ago I think, if I had known this I would have put a lot more time and effort into my own eCommerce ventures which I do now on the side.
Well, they aren’t my main focus make sure to check out my 10 sources of income at age 28 video if you want to see what other things I do.
But yes eCommerce is one of my side hustles it’s not one of my main businesses but seeing this growth of eCommerce absolutely makes me think, maybe I should spend more time on my eCommerce businesses.
The fact is that direct to consumer and private labeling is growing at an extremely fast pace.
Manufacturers and brands are realizing that they don’t need to work with these retail partners, they can bypass them keep their profits high, and be more in control of their brand and their audience.
Private Labeling
So that is where you come in 🙂 with that private labeling, there are so many different opportunities in this field and I suggest you guys if you’re interested in e-commerce in any way do some more research into this business model.
It’s such a great way to make money and it’s not just US global eCommerce sales will top 4 trillion dollars in 2020 and reach 6.5 trillion dollars by the year 2021.
Every retailer is shifting more and more towards e-commerce investing more in their digital footprint as well as their online presence.
Even chipotle is investing heavily in their online platform.
So if restaurants are doing it then of course retail is like 10 times more likely to.
Basically, my point is that there is so much opportunity for you to do well in this space.
There’s always going to be way more consumers as there are creators and sellers and there is a never-ending and growing group of people who buy everything online so take advantage of this huge shift to start your own business.
This first point should really speak to you if you’ve been on the fence of starting your own e-commerce business and think that e-commerce is something that is
- Too late to get into or..
- Too hard to get into
It’s not too late people are starting e-commerce businesses today and a lot of them are seeing success and two regarding the concern that it might be too hard.
Well, Yes it is a hard business to get right but if you are able to succeed it’s gonna change your life completely… and create a whole brand new stream of income for you, it’s also extremely scalable which is one of the most important things i look into before starting a business.
Marketing is King
All right next up is the fact that marketing is king this is stuff that you really should know yourself before you hire it out.
To other people first, there are hundreds of ways to market and get sales and it’s a field that’s always evolving so you constantly have to be experimenting or learning in order to get the best ROI (return on your investment).
Visibility of your Product
Now, why is marketing so important I think the main factor is visibility.
Without visibility, no one will buy your product because no one will see and no one will know that it exists.
It could literally be the best product in the world but without adequate marketing, it’s going to be very hard to succeed.
And you know I’ve learned this personally the hard way with my first clothing business called Shopplax.
This company ultimately failed because I just did not understand the importance of marketing I spent so much time;
building the brand, building the clothes, designing them, getting them made. That i didn’t apply any effort into the marketing side.
So while I think that my products were pretty good the fact is that not enough people knew about the brand.
I was also very stingy with my marketing dollars i’d run one campaign stop it after spending maybe 20 and just be like why don’t more people know about my brand.
Lack of Marketing
Well, it was because of the lack of marketing I really wish I had this expectation before starting my own first e-commerce brand because you know it affects your priorities.
I always like to say that marketing is first and your product is close.
Second, there are two types of marketing;
- To raise brand awareness and,
- Increase your sales
You want to have a marketing plan and this marketing plan totally depends on your type of business and product for some Instagram influencers,
Marketing might be the best ROI for some youtube ads, google ads, sponsored posts, social media, Those could be a lot better.
Trial and Error
It does involve a fair degree of trial and error, so you have to enter with the expectation that the first few dollars that you spend on marketing aren’t going to fully work out.
But if you keep trying and trying you will stumble upon a type of marketing strategy that works for your brand or company.
A mentor will for sure help and a marketing agency would be great but that’s only if you have the money to spend.
There’s gonna be a time where every dollar you put into your marketing strategy is gonna generate.
Let’s say three, five, even ten dollars of profit. When this does happen you can scale this campaign and that’s really going to help you make your brand successful.
How I Started eCommerce Business
Alibaba.com they’re the first company I’ve ever worked with, to find all my product suppliers and chances are 99 of you guys will as well.
Well, go over two events that they’re hosting for e-commerce sellers that you guys will find super helpful basically they connect buyers all across the world with over 100,000 suppliers on their eCommerce marketplace.
They have over 40 different product categories and you can search for good products to sell. Send buying requests to get quotes and work directly and safely with suppliers.
Right now they are having their super September annual event which helps small and medium-sized businesses find great deals on new products to sell.
It’s a live stream event where you can connect directly with suppliers as a buyer you can browse new product assortments and design solutions in 3d reality and virtual showrooms.
If you’re thinking about starting your own e-commerce business, then this is the perfect event for you and i totally wish i had something like this when I first started, also they’ll have tons of big discounts for buyers during the super September event.
I’m positive that it can save you a lot of money for example they do have benefits like reduced transaction fees 60-day payment terms without any fees as well as big discounts on shipping costs.
The second thing i want to talk about is that they are giving away 50,000 to spend on products, as well as 30 other winners of smaller products it’s called their 50k challenge 2021 campaign.
Your Business Story
To enter; follow alibaba.com on Facebook and then share your own 2021 business story so basically like; what your business is, how you got started, the Roblox you faced, your successes.
Pretty much anything else you want to share the post with your network and then take a screenshot of your post and send it to them by the deadline that is listed on their Facebook page.
The 20 posts with the most likes by September 21st will move on to the next round where a panel of judges will select one winner, who will win that 50 thousand dollars to spend on products.
They’re also picking the 10 best stories every week for other special prizes so if you potentially want to win 50,000 to start off your e-commerce business then this is a pretty cool opportunity.
I’ll post a link to their Facebook page here so that you can enter.
Your Customers Should not be Everyone
You read right !! Your customers should not be everyone.
This is a very important part because I think that a lot of new e-commerce people think that if they make a product that appeals to everyone then everyone will want to buy it.
The truth however is that if you do have a product that appeals to everyone that product will likely only appeal to everyone a little but certainly not enough to get them to buy.
Hump & Purchases
There’s a certain tipping point or a hump that the customer has to get over in order to buy your product and based on past experience general products are just not likely to make that cut instead that customer is likely to just purchase something that’s more specialized or more directed.
At a certain need, the most successful products and this is especially true for private labeling are niche products.
Niche Products
This is a type of product that you don’t think that there would be too much demand for… But there actually is so when you are creating your first product.
Just note that it does not need to appeal to everyone… it should be a product that clearly fits the bill for a small group of people.
Like for example, rose-gold rimmed plastic cups OR a journal with specific prompts OR questions that only a small subset of people would like.
Aiming your product at a smaller audience also helps with your marketing return on investment.
No one has enough money to market to everyone in the world. so don’t even think about it instead, what you want to do is…
You want to market towards a specific crowd of people and for most, the more narrow this crowd is the better.
Much Better for Advertising
Not only does it make your marketing budget smaller… but also makes it far more effective and it makes your conversion rate way better as well.
Think about your gold buyer,
- Their age
- Demographic
- Their interest
- Location
- Gender and Values
That is something you need to have in mind when developing that product.
If you can pinpoint a certain type of person that is most likely to buy a product then that is a great sign.
Pre-Launch Your Business/Products
The next thing I want to talk about is the fact that your pre-launch is more important than you think.
A lot of people think that if they make a good product then sales will start flowing at the moment they launch it.
However you guys this is just not true there are just too many different products brands OR services in the world and the fact is that without a proper pre-launch strategy no one is going to buy your product.
Market BeforeHand
On the first day, it’s launched one crucial thing that a lot of companies miss is starting to market before they create the product
This can be done by creating an audience
- A newsletter
- Website or
- A social media account before the product is ready to sell
Personal Branding
A lot of successful e-commerce companies are started way after that initial audience is created and this is why I’m such a big fan of personal branding.
This is one of the most powerful ways to build an audience before you ever start a company.
By having a successful personal brand you have this pre-built audience who’s going to support, Whatever business you have in the future.
The same goes for a popular website or a social media account with a lot of followers, as long as these accounts are targeted to specific interests.
Then they should react pretty well to any future marketing for a company that you create.
The sort ties into marketing but this type of marketing is done way before a product is built and even before a product is conceptualized.
Guarantee a Successful Launch
This is the number one way to guarantee that your company has a successful launch and sees sales at the beginning.
As you guessed my company charge did not have a good pre-launch strategy so on the first day we launched, I got zero sales.
Differentiation
The next thing on my list is when you find a product and you start building a product you have to change at least one thing about it this differentiating factor.
This is probably going to be tied to some type of solution for a problem, but I have to emphasize that you don’t need to completely reinvent the wheel.
A solution to a Problem
If you’re trying to create a product you know what you want to do is take an existing product and ask yourself is there one thing that I can change about this that is going to make it better;
Things to change
- It can be the price
- The design
- Color dimensions
- functionality etc
We don’t need more sellers selling the exact same product. What we do need is more sellers finding solutions to existing problems.
Creating something that is a little bit better and then selling. That is when you create real value and that is also when you can differentiate your product from the competition.
Look at Reviews
So how do you do this, well one of the best ways to do this is to look at reviews of the types of products you’re trying to sell.
Look for certain pain points or common feedback that you see in Multiple reviews.
Take that and use it as free market research for your type of product and then, of course, implement it before starting eCommerce.
You just need to know that differentiation essentially keeps your competition farther away and it’s giving value to your customer… you aren’t giving value to your customer, if you’re selling them the exact same thing that everyone else sells.
But you are; if yours is a little bit different AKA it matches their needs a little bit better or is just an improved product overall.
All the products I’ve ever sold in my entire life have always had some type of differentiating factor I’ve done,
- Bundles
- I’ve done different dimensions and sizes
That i thought would work better and I’ve also made cheaper alternatives to name a few this is an important strategy that I definitely recommend, implementing in your first e-commerce business.
Because without this, your life is going to be a lot tougher.
Create a Story
Another thing that is imperative to the success of any brand especially its long-term success is creating a story around that brand.
I know this sounds sort of cliche but storytelling plays such a vital part in creating an identity as well as an authentic relationship with the buyer.
Not only does it help with your brand loyalty but it also helps with your marketing.
Connect with the Audience
So when you are marketing using a story or emotions this allows that ad or whatever it is you’re using to connect with the audience on a whole different level.
That’s really why I wish i knew this before I started, it would have changed the way that I shape the brand,
For example,
- The motives
- The brand slogan and images
- Most importantly the website
For the website, I totally would have changed the way that I portrayed the brand for example; with my clothing company charged, instead of selling the clothes!!
and how great they were I should have tried to sell the story and experience of actually wearing the clothes people like to buy, not only a product but also the story behind it.
When they do participate in the story that creates a big win for you.
For example;
Take a look at the brand Patagonia who does such a good job at this their buyers completely feel like part of the brand…
When they wear their clothes so this will not only boost your short-term growth although you know it is harder to market initially with a story than vs just peer marketing.
Long-Lasting
It also ensures that your products and your brand last a long time a story. Is hard to create but it’s like building equity in your company.
The stronger you get your story to be more efficient your marketing will be and hence you will have a better return on investment.
Word of Mouth
It also encourages people to share the story and the brand this word of mouth will pay huge dividends throughout the course of your business.
Customer Service is Key
The last thing you guys need to know before starting your eCommerce business is that customer service is key.
If you take a look at some of the most successful e-commerce businesses one key reason why they succeed is because of their customer service.
For example, take a look at Zappos and their CEO tony 75 of their purchases are from returning customers;
You can see that they are extremely loyal.
Also, about 44 of the customers heard about them through word of mouth.
Unconventional Approach
A huge contributor to this is, how they treat their customers their CEO Tony Shea is known for his unconventional approach to customer service.
He said; that his goal with customer service is not to save money and it’s not to be highly efficient instead the only metric that he uses is how happy and how satisfied that customer is.
At the end of that service interaction, i wish i knew this before starting my own eCommerce business because you know lots of businesses just don’t prioritize customer satisfaction as they should.
This is another means of differentiation but it’s more on the company level and not really the product level.
Placing your customer first places money into your future business and gratitude bank account.
The more positive customer service interactions, the more full this jar gets.
So this point is crucial for both you as the CEO as well as any customer service representatives that you hire in the future.
Priorities
You have to train customer service representatives well and you have to make the priority of top-notch customer service extremely clear.
I guarantee you that any of those extra minutes you spend making the customer happy or any extra dollars you spend making them happy will pay off in the long run.
Plus it’s just a better way of running a business… so yeah you guys those are my biggest takeaways things that you need to know before starting your own eCommerce business.
It’s not easy and it certainly takes a lot of time to set up any good business but the more you wait the harder it’s going to be.
Take that Leap 😉
So you know I just really encourage you guys to take that leap and learn from the process.
I’m so grateful that I took the chances with my own e-commerce businesses and yes some of them have failed and some of them have been successful.
But really you don’t know until you try.
So hopefully you guys found this article helpful if you did… make sure to share it with a friend who’s thinking about starting their own eCommerce business.
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Thank you so much 🙂
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