The wonderful thing about the internet is that it enables users from all over to connect. People are now able to communicate and conduct transactions remotely that would have previously required an in-person interaction. This opens up myriad new opportunities for consumers around the world—as well as for ecommerce merchants looking to build a business capitalizing on this remote connectivity.
It’s true the internet removes many barriers to entry for sellers. But it’s still highly important to understand the ins and outs of launching an ecommerce store before you act. Why? Because you want your store to do more than just exist on the internet; you want it to successfully turn a profit.
Here are some ecommerce basics to consider when you’re in the planning stages of opening your own ecommerce business.
Ecommerce 101: Selling What to Whom?
The crux of your ecommerce store depends heavily upon two factors: the actual products you’re selling and the audience to whom you’re selling them. It’s important to avoid the fallacy of thinking any and every ecommerce customer will be interested in your offerings. The truth is successful online stores thrive because they know their target market inside and out.
But fear not, targeting a subset of online shoppers doesn’t mean you’re automatically excluding anyone who fails to fit the bill. As one contributor writes for Inc, targeting “allows you to focus your marketing dollars and brand message on a specific market that is more likely to buy from you than other markets.”
This makes it the best way to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to launching marketing campaigns. Plus, you’ll have a customer profile in mind when you design your site, helping you keep messaging relevant to the wants and needs of the people who are most likely to buy from you.
Here are a few questions you can ask yourself when you’re narrowing in on your target audience
- Which consumers can your products benefit the most?
- Which types of consumers are your competitors targeting?
- What is the demographic profile of your “ideal” customer? (Inc. age, gender, location, job, etc.)
- What values does your “ideal” customer hold and how does this influence their online buying behaviors?
Breaking down broader audiences into target segments allows merchants to sell similar products in vastly different ways: One cosmetics company aims to appeal to urban professionals, while another markets their lineup toward brand-conscious teenagers.
Even if many of their product lineups share similar ingredients, the branding is completely different. This is because each of these companies took time to understand their target audience.
Building and Supporting Your Online Store
The basic definition of ecommerce is described as the buying and selling of goods via the internet. In other words, you’ll need an actual platform to support these transactions. Luckily, entrepreneurs today can build functional and aesthetically pleasing websites without extensive knowledge in design and coding. The look and feel of your website affect consumer trust, so it’s important to create a site that looks appealing and works well if you hope to optimize revenue.
The basic components of any given ecommerce website include
- Site Structure: Your site structure affects how shoppers navigate through your landing pages to find what they need. Focus on building an intuitive, understandable linking infrastructure so customers can move forward and backward with ease.
- Content: Populate your website with content that conveys your unique brand personality and gives consumers the information they need to make purchasing decisions.
- Calls to Action: Make calls to action (CTAs) obvious so shoppers know exactly where to click to perform desired actions like “Add to Cart,” “Learn More” and “Proceed to Checkout.”
- Checkout: Optimize your checkout process to reduce shopping cart abandonment—an unfortunate phenomenon that occurs when customers become confused or frustrated just before making a purchase. Ask for the least amount of information you need to complete the sale. You can always ask for additional information afterward.
- Web Design: Design around a theme to marry appearance with functionality. This includes everything from page layout to photography style to color scheme.
Unlike brick-and-mortar retailers, ecommerce sellers must convince customers to stick around long enough to make purchases without the benefit of interacting in person. Thus, it’s imperative your store makes a good impression and facilitates a smooth purchasing journey.
Stocking Your Store and Fulfilling Orders
You’ll also have to figure out how you plan on stocking your inventory. Some sellers warehouse their own product lineup; others arrange to drop-ship orders through the manufacturer. Each method has its own strengths and drawbacks—it will ultimately depend on the nature of your products, your sales volume and the degree of control you wish to exercise over order fulfillment.
Prioritizing Cybersecurity
Ecommerce companies are susceptible to security breaches because customers’ personal and financial information is valuable to hackers. This means online merchants must take cybersecurity seriously, lest they face the reputational and financial ramifications of comprising buyer data.
Start by ensuring your store’s payment processing operates in compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) security standards. Although this step may sound like the bare minimum, only 61 percent of retailers strongly agree that they are able to remain fully compliant with PCI standards. This will help you store and process credit card payments securely, lessening the risk you’ll violate customers’ trust by compromising their card details.
It’s important to employ secure payment gateways and firewalls on your website. But it’s equally important to let consumers know the measures you’re taking to keep your site safe. Displaying trust seals and badges prior to checkout will remind customers of your efforts to offer a secure shopping experience from start to finish.
These cover some of the basic ins and outs of launching an ecommerce store in today’s competitive marketplace. It boils down to understanding what you’re selling, how you’re selling it and to whom—then working hard to facilitate a flawless experience for first-time and returning customers alike. Taking the time to weigh your options before you go live will enable you to hit the ground running.
[Image credits – FreePik, Business photo created by rawpixel.com – www.freepik.com; Pixabay]
Kris Olin, MSc (Econ.) * Editor in Chief at Social Media Revolver * Web Designer * SEO Specialist * Author of the Facebook Advertising Guide. Follow Kris on Twitter and LinkedIn. See his photos at Flickr.