The 9-to-5 grind has become less desirable. Many people are leaving the cubicle to become a CEO of their own startup. This makes e-commerce very desirable. Having a successful e-commerce website lets you work on your own terms with more free time to pursue other passions.
E-commerce business is also booming. According to Statista, U.S. retail e-commerce sales are estimated to surpass $600 billion by 2021. The trending sales will continue as well, making e-commerce the perfect way to strike out on your own.
However, how do you lay the foundation for a successful e-commerce site that generates a full-time income with part-time commitment? Not sure where to start? The following are a few secrets to e-commerce success.
Identify Your Industry Niche
It is essential to identify your industry niche before doing anything else. This practice is a common misstep by many e-commerce site owners. Sure, everyone has an idea, but planning before you lock yourself into a business and domain name, it’s best to get your niche defined.
You may even be thinking about offering everything on your site. I like to call this the “Amazon Effect,” and it can ruin an e-commerce site in a heartbeat. The reason why Amazon lists every product under the sun is that they have a huge budget. For instance, Amazon’s 2017 marketing budget was $10 billion.
Keep this in mind and identify your industry niche. A successful niche should be competitive (meaning there’s a market), but not too saturated. You should know your competition, because going against powerful brands will be challenging. Ahrefs and SpyFu are good platforms for doing competitor research.
A niche that trends on social media is also beneficial. Since you may be relying on bootstrapping, think ahead with marketing strategies to facilitate growth and success on a tight budget.
Create Your Business the Right Way
Branding and how you position your business brand is the next vital step in e-commerce success. Think about the products you’ll be selling and who will be buying them first.
For example, ForeverLazy, an e-commerce site dedicated to onesies and loungewear did this very well. They identified the products they wanted to sell, who will buy them, and came up with branding that spoke to this.
Once you have this in place, it’s time to check to see if your business name, domain name, and social accounts are available. Namechk is an excellent resource for this. You can find a domain name and social media account availability fast.
Next, get your website hosting and site developed. There are plenty of options out there for this, so do your research on what is the best fit for your needs and goals. Choosing a WordPress hosting platform with WooCommerce-optimized plans will make setup a lot easier.
Treat it Like a Real Business.
When your e-commerce site is developed and optimized, you can register your business name and attend to other legal business requirements. This is important because you want to treat your e-commerce site like a real business.
One of the most significant catalysts for success in the online retail space is consistency. This means you need to approach it like a business that gets foot traffic, and not just a hobby.
Having a business plan, a projected growth outlook, tracking products, tweaking product descriptions, doing outreach, and more will make your e-commerce site a success. Sure, HQ is probably in your garage, but your mindset doesn’t need to be.
Know Your Customers
Once a business is all squared away, it is time to really get active and start connecting with your customer base. Knowing your customers inside and out is the bedrock of any business, especially when it comes to e-commerce.
The first step is to start blogging about your industry, products, services, brand, and anything else that can be naturally paired with your industry niche. Once you have this in place, blast your blogs, products, and other marketing materials across all your social media channels.
Social media is a valuable asset for online stores. You can churn your target audience down your sales funnel faster using social media ads.
“The best marketers in the world know that there is a psychological process that must occur for prospects to whip out those credit cards and turn into buyers or even hyper-active buyers,” R.L. Adams of Entrepreneur explained.
Choosing the right social media platforms are important too. For instance, if your target audience is mainly female, Pinterest should be your top social platform. Why? Pinterest users are over 80 percent female. The platform is also highly visual, allowing you to really showcase your products.
However, it doesn’t end there. You need to engage with your customers and potential customers to build that brand identity and confidence to buy. Remember, there are endless e-commerce sites online, so make yours stand out by having a powerful customer connection.
Are You Ready for E-commerce Success?
There are plenty of ways to go about developing an ecommerce site. But there are only a few ways to get it right for nurtured business success. From identifying the perfect niche to connecting with consumers in a powerful way, these ecommerce secrets can help you grow professionally and financially. Do you have an ecommerce success story?
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