Ecommerce has been huge for years. The big news though? It’s really set to blow up in the next few years. Think about it, how could that not happen? The world is getting more and more connected, and everything is going online. Eventually, the offline world is going to be the niche.
So obviously everybody wants to get into Ecommerce. Before you go charging in though, here are 5 tips that just might make the difference between failure and success for you.
- Secure Your Name & Domain
The first thing to do is sort out your business/brand name and make sure it’s available. This means checking whether the name is already registered as an official business and whether the relevant domain names or account names are available.
When you do start registering the various names and domains, do it all at once. It’s not unheard of for people to buy domain names when they know a business with that name exists. These ‘domain-squatters’ will hold the domain to ransom, especially if your brand takes off. Auto-renewals are important for this reason too.
- Study the Competition
Get a good idea of who your competitors are and what they do. Studying this before you get into the market is how you determine whether there’s profit to be had or not. You can usually get a good idea of overall market demand from the competitions sales if you know how to look.
It’s a good idea to check feedback on your competitors as well, so you can learn what they do well and what isn’t so great about them.
- Find Your Angle
Studying your competition is only one angle of studying the market overall. You need to really get stuck in and learn what people in this area are looking for in their products – what do they like about existing ones, what do they dislike, and what do they want to be different? These questions usually give you a great idea of the key points needed to crack this market.
From there you can decide what your particular angle is going to be. Are you going to compete on price and offer a similar service? Go totally no-frills and sell purely on being the cheapest? Or maybe you want to charge higher amounts and give a luxurious, specialist experience? There are many more niches and angles to get creative and see what you can figure out.
- Stay Fluid
Once you are up and running, it’s important to stay fluid. Don’t be stubborn and stuck on doing things in a pre-defined way if they aren’t working. Check your approaches and check what products are selling. You might have to drop a product or switch to a completely different market to stay successful – do it, as not making the right changes is the same as leading a brand to death.
- Market Hard
Once your products are working, and your brand is up and going, it’s time to maximize. This is done by pushing your marketing and getting it out there as much as possible. Reinvest your profits here to boost sales even further and capitalize on the profits.
