In the digital world, there are few better ways to start making money than setting up an ecommerce business. Of course, there is nothing to stop you from running a shop if you like paying rent, working long hours and dealing with customers face-to-face. However, if the idea of automating transactions, running your business from home and leveraging the power of the internet is more appealing, then what it takes to run an ecommerce enterprise is probably worth looking into. Read on to find out three key things you’ll need to get your business up and running.
Three Ways to Start an eCommerce Enterprise
1. Get Online and Get Registered
There are plenty of online tools to help your ecommerce shop deal with the mundane things, such as displaying items, providing stock details and even taking transactions over the internet for you. However, one thing you will need to do is to give your online shop a home. In this regard, what you will need is a website even if what you’ll fill it with comes from other sources, such as your supplier’s product descriptions, for example.
Choose somewhere you can register domain names for your ecommerce site with ease so that your business and its brand identity will be future-proofed. What you won’t want is a great logo and recognisable brand that is let down by a website domain that barely relates to it or that isn’t memorable. Registering a website domain takes minutes but is vital for the long-term success of your entire business model, so get this bit right before you begin thinking about anything else.
2. Streamline Transactions
Although it is possible to deal with transactions by having customers confirm orders by email and provide you with their debit card details, this will slow you down and ultimately lead to a loss of custom. What you need to be able to do is to take credit and debit card details online while holding them securely. The security and data protection ramifications of this part of your ecommerce site are profound so it is usually best to outsource this sort of function to a specialist third party.
Most importantly, such services won’t just help your business to be compliant with data regulations but they will also allow you to avoid potential fraud by assessing customers and whether they are real or have cloned bank details from someone else. Payment optimisation isn’t just about making the customer experience better but protecting you from problems, too.
3. Market Your Site
With your ecommerce site set up and ready to start taking orders, you’ll want to attract your first customers. Word of mouth will only do so much so you will need to market your presence. The best way to do this for an online business model is through digital marketing.
By creating compelling content on your site, you will be able to start ranking higher on search engine results pages. Therefore, add a blog and landing pages about product groups – not just product descriptions of individual products you’re selling – to add value to your site.
Conclusion
With some modest marketing activity, a properly registered website domain and the ability to take payments securely, you’re on the road to making your ecommerce business a success.
