Looking to start out in E-commerce? This is great! Selling your products and services online is a great way to reach out to a wider audience, boost brand exposure and maximise sales. When you sell online, customers can access your goods around the clock, turning your business into a 24/7 venture. But what should you take into consideration when starting out?
Here are just a few areas to focus on.
Building Your Site
Web Design and Development
The first people you’re going to need to work with to create your site are web designers and web developers. While there are plenty of platforms that will allow you to easily create a site from a template, they do charge an ongoing fee for the duration of the time your store is open. It can actually work out cheaper in the long run to create your own site from scratch. This is web designers and web developers come into play. They’ll be able to listen to your needs and preferences and create a site that ticks all of your boxes.
Product Photography
If you’re selling products, you’re going to need the helping hand of a product photographer. Sure, smartphones may be pretty advanced and the cameras on them are pretty good. But only a professional can really show them off in their best light. They’ll have the skills, expertise and experience, as well as the equipment and lighting, required to get quality snaps of your products, making them look as appealing as possible to your customers.
Copywriting
Copywriting is another essential. A good copywriter will create all of the content across your site, promoting and selling it to customers while creating a brand tone of voice. Most will work on a freelance basis, accepting a number of projects for an agreed fee.
Accepting Payments
Of course, if you’re selling online, you’re going to have to accept payments online. There are a number of ways to do this. First, you should offer the option of paying by debit or credit card. Your web developer will be able to integrate this feature into your site for you. You should also make sure to offer payment methods such as PayPal by creating a PayPal business account, as this can encourage customers to check out quickly and easily, even if they don’t have their card on them. You also need to decide where you will accept payments from – nationally, internationally or both. You can find everything you need to know about accepting foreign payments here.
Customer Service
You need to let your customers and potential customers get in touch with you. Remember that when shopping online, people may have more questions about a product, as they aren’t being assisted in-person by sales staff. Have some sort of contact options, ranging from your business phone number listed on the site, a business email address available and maybe even instant chat options. Customer service is key to success!
While these are just a few starting blocks to take into consideration, hopefully, they will get the ball rolling on a successful website that will generate plenty of sales for you!
