Let’s try to understand what is E-commerce and its types.
E-Commerce or Electronic Commerce means buying and selling goods, products, or services over the internet. The standard definition of E-commerce is a commercial transaction which is happened over the internet.
Electronic commerce or E-commerce (sometimes written as e-Commerce) is a business model. that lets firms and individuals buy and sell things over the internet.
E-commerce operates in all four of the following major market segments:
- Business to consumer.
- Consumer to consumer.
- Business-to-business.
- Consumer-to-business.
E-commerce can take place on two main platforms: online storefronts and online marketplaces. … Online marketplaces are websites that facilitate the buying and selling of goods and services between merchants and customers.
There are some pretty major examples of E-commerce businesses that have made it big, including Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, Myntra, Shopify, Quikr, Olx, Warby Parker, Toms, Birchbox and Dollar Shave Club, etc.
Here is the list of E-commerce Platforms of 2021
- Overall: BigCommerce.
- Small Business: Wix.
- For Startups: Squarespace.
- Large Business: Magento.
- In Dropshipping: Shopify.
- International Sales: Smoolis.
- For Ease of Use: GoDaddy.
- Best Affordable Option: Square Online.
Starting an E-commerce business is hard work and demands many steps and decisions, that need to come together at the right time.
Let’s discuss some of these steps hereunder
Choosing or finding a product to sell
The first step to building an e-commerce business is to know, what products you want to sell directly to consumers. This is often the most challenging part of starting a new online business. In this section, You should highlight the strategies you can use to find product opportunities. Explore the best places to look for product ideas, then look at trending products to consider.
Evaluating your idea
In this section, You should use a few approaches, that active entrepreneurs have used to validate their product ideas and the potential market.
Obtaining your product
After landing on a strong product idea, your next step is to figure out where, and how you’re going to obtain your products. That you should Make, Manufacture, Wholesale, or Dropship. Along with the pros and cons of each model.
Research your competition
You’ve found your product, evaluated the potential, and sourced your supplier. You’re now ready to write your business plan, but before you get into that you’ll need to thoroughly research your competition.
So you know what you’re up against and how you can differentiate your business. And how to Conduct a Competitive Analysis.
Writing a business plan
Once your competitive research is complete, it’s the perfect time to write your business plan. A business plan will be your roadmap that helps bring your ideas and thoughts together. Or how to effectively reach new customers.
Naming your business
Aside from finding an actual product to sell online, another challenging decision is determining your business, Or brand name and choosing an appropriate and available Domain Name.
Creating a logo
Once you’ve selected a memorable name and registered a corresponding domain. It’s time to craft a simple logo.
Understanding SEO
It is almost ready to begin building your online store, However, before you jump into it. You should understand the basics of search engine optimization. So that you can properly structure your site and pages for Google and other search engines.
Building your store
With a better understanding of search engines, it’s time to build out your store. There are many crucial elements to consider. But now you build high-converting product pages, write captivating product descriptions, shoot beautiful product photography,
Choosing your sales channels
One of the best ways to reach new customers is to choose sales channels where they already shop. The right mix of sales channels will depend on your products and your target customers. but there are a number of great options that can complement and support your self-hosted store.
Preparing to launch
As you prepare for the launch of your new business, there are several shipping and fulfillment elements, you need to prepare for. You should determine your shipping strategy. It’s also a good idea to define your key performance indicators upfront so once you launch. you know what measures of success to track.
Post-launch
Now that you’ve launched your product, so the hard work of marketing your products begins. You will have multiple options to do it.
While many new store owners should consider selling their physical products in person. The rest of digital marketing rests on doing one thing well: driving targeted traffic.
Starting an E-commerce business is easy with platforms like Amazon, Olx, Myntra, etc enabling brands to go online in just a few weeks.
Starting a brand means consistent hard work and continual market research to improve your business blueprint. So make sure you have read all our guides on how to start an online business before you set up a store.