There’s never been a better time to launch a business in ecommerce. As many brick-and-mortar stores were forced to close during the pandemic, consumers shifted their shopping habits online. The growing trend towards online shopping has opened up some incredible opportunities for ecommerce entrepreneurs! Of course, you will need to navigate a number of demanding steps and decisions before you can get your online business up and running. If you’re looking for guidance, check out the following tools and resources from Scotland Malawi Partnership!
Research Your Business Idea
Before you can do anything, you need to decide what products you want to sell and who you will sell them to. Since this step can be overwhelming, we’ve gathered some resources below to help you out.
- Make sure there is sufficient demand for your business idea.
- Research your competitors and identify what sets your business apart.
- Conduct a financial feasibility study to ensure your business idea makes financial sense.
Set Up Your Business
From registering your business properly to investing in time-saving tools, all the work you do now to get your business set up will pay off in the long run.
- Tackle your legal obligations, like choosing a name and registering your business.
- Instead of developing a website from scratch, build your online store on an established ecommerce platform.
- Invest in a simple inventory management system to automate online order management from your desk to their door.
Attract Customers to Your Website
Convincing people to visit your brand-new ecommerce store is one of the hardest steps. Don’t get discouraged if you aren’t seeing the traffic you were hoping for. Here are some ideas to help you get more leads!
- Learn how to find your first customers.
- Once you’ve built a customer base, focus on encouraging repeat business over acquiring new customers.
- Try different marketing strategies including social media and email.
Improve Your Conversions
If a lot of people are visiting your website but few are converting to paying customers, it’s time to focus on conversion rate optimization.
- Make it as easy as possible for customers to purchase your products, subscribe to your email list, and find what they’re looking for.
- Learn fundamental copywriting techniques to better engage your visitors.
While starting a business of any kind is hard work, launching an ecommerce store is one of the easier ways to become an entrepreneur. You don’t need to lease retail space, hire employees, or invest in inventory. Once you check all your legal boxes and launch a great website, you can start finding customers right away!