E-commerce or electronic commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data electronically over the internet. The e-commerce industry is one of the fastest growing industries in the global business world.
Wondering what to do to start a successful e-commerce business?
Here are some enlisted pointers to consider before starting an e-commerce business:
- Sufficient Funds
The first and foremost important thing is sufficient capital to start or launch your business in the market. What will your startup costs be like? What are the legal or other formal regulations on your product or service that you need to keep in mind? Along the lines of questioning, you’ll also want to think about the business model you would want to take up and these questions will help you draft your business model.
- Strengths & Weaknesses
A thorough research on your business idea is very much essential in coming up with products that will meet the customer’s needs. Having an eye on your competitors and knowing their strengths and weaknesses is very important. Working on the strength to minimize the weaknesses. Alongside having an intimate knowledge of your competitor’s weaknesses and countering them can make a winning situation for your business. It enables leaders to create a plan of attack to enhance their strengths and deter threats and weaknesses depending on the scenario.
- Opportunities & Threats
Capitalizing on opportunities and being aware of the threats helps you develop business goals and strategies for achieving them. One tool to tell four stories leading to four comprehensive discussions on pertinent issues arising in your company. It can help leaders uncover opportunities for profitability or battle off new competitors in the market.
- Unique Selling Point
While devising your USP, be mindful of the company’s reputation. Your USP should be clear, verifiable and credible. Your USP should be based on what makes your brand and product stand out. A versatile Unique Selling Point is what makes you a brand from a business.
- Brand Name
Naming your brand the right way is yet another pivot you need to consider before launching your brand in the business grounds. Don’t pick up names that could limit your business in future from expanding. Think of five names you like and test market the name with your representatives, accomplices, financial backers, and expected clients.
- Logo Design
A well designed Logo entails that the brand cares about its reputation and the products it sells demonstrating that you are concerned about how your customers perceive your brand or product. A great logo shows customers that your e-commerce business is truly committed to the brand in every way. The traits of an outstanding logo are that it is simple, relevant, memorable, timeless and versatile.
- Social Media Presence
Social media is essentially important for businesses to build brand awareness, communicate with customers, and generate more sales. Posting online and building a social media presence lets you communicate with customers, meet their needs, and build trust hence building a direct relationship with your clients on a personal level in an environment in which common interests are shared.
- Marketing Campaigns
You have to be aware of the marketing strategy you need to follow to highlight your business. Choose your target audience wisely while strategizing your marketing campaigns. Put forth your creativity while devising your marketing campaigns, the more mesmerising your content is the more it catches the audience’s attention. Offering minimal subscription rates, packages, holiday discounts etc. are few other ways to catch your target audience’s attention.
- Delivery Service
Safe and fast delivery service is an essential aspect of an e-commerce business. The main idea behind e-commerce businesses is that customers can order products online and have them delivered at their doorsteps in a day or two. People now-a-days are getting more attracted towards services offering same day delivery for local deliveries and next day delivery for international orders which is the reason why many international brands are now looking forward to creating a regional distribution hub in every country. International brands are making investments in Malaysia to make last mile delivery possible. Special delivery offers can empower extra spending and attract more clients to your business.
Regional distribution hubs of Global Brands including IKEA, Nestlé, Tesco, Zalora and Lazada are being planned to be situated in Malaysia in an effort to expand their e-commerce footprint in the country.
- Reliable Payment Platform
E-commerce runs on a reliable payment gateway that leads to a smooth checkout. For entrepreneurs and small business owners who don’t have a payment gateway, Swipe provides a complete payment platform with preliminary security features that protect your payments from fraud where you can accept, manage and distribute payments anytime and anywhere in the world.
So Swipe away your worries and manage your e-commerce payments with Swipe !
