Starting an eCommerce Business: What You Need to Know

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Starting an eCommerce business can be a daunting task and there are many eCommerce trends out there. There are so many things to plan for and consider before you even get started! And when all is said and done, it’s essential to keep in mind that your success will depend on how well you manage the day-to-day operations of your new company. Here are some tips to help make sure you’re off to a good start.

High-Functioning Site

One of the most important parts of running an eCommerce business is providing your customers with a high-functioning website. Your site should be easy to use and navigate, responsive on mobile devices, have fast load times, and provide secure payment options.

Your Brand is Your Purpose

It’s also important to think about your brand and what it means. Your purpose is something that should be reflected in everything you do, from the products you sell to how customer service-oriented your company is. What are you passionate about? How can customers relate to this passion?

To build a successful eCommerce business, it’s essential for both your brand and your purpose to align with what customers are looking for.

Site Should Feel Trustworthy

One of the best ways to build trust with customers is by providing them with a high-quality website, one that looks trustworthy and credible.

This means making sure your site includes plenty of information about products – what they are, how much they cost, etc. It also means designing an aesthetically pleasing layout for your site and including testimonials and reviews from previous customers.

In addition to this, you should also offer customer service – not just answering FAQs but responding quickly when there are problems or complaints. When your site is high-functioning and trustworthy, trust will build over time with each interaction with a new customer.

Utilize SEO

Another important step to make sure your eCommerce business is successful is to utilize SEO. This means coming up with a keyword strategy for your site and optimizing pages so they rank high in search engine results.

The key here, though, is not just ranking on Google – it’s about ranking highly across the board: Yahoo!, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and AOL. This makes your company more accessible to customers who are searching for what you offer from any search engine they might use.

You can also utilize SEO by doing things like writing blog posts or articles about topics related to the products on your site, coming up with catchy headlines that capture readers’ attention, and sell them on a product in an appealing way.

Use Original Photos and Product Descriptions

Another way to ensure your eCommerce business is successful is by making sure you use original photos and product descriptions.

Since most people research products online before they make a purchase, it’s important for them to be able to see the items from all angles – especially if there are multiple views of an item that can help with decision-making (like with clothing).

In addition to this, your product descriptions should be detailed and provide all the information a customer needs about what they’re buying. This includes sizing charts for clothes (especially if you sell products in different sizes), dimensions of furniture, or other items that can’t be seen as well on photos, warranty details, etc.

Transparency Builds Trust

Another way to help build trust with customers is by being transparent.

This includes having a detailed refund and return policy that makes it clear what customers can expect when they purchase an item from your site, providing plenty of information about how long the wait time for delivery will be if there are delays due to weather or other factors, and including any extra charges that might apply, like taxes or shipping.

It’s also essential to offer customer service and be prompt when answering messages – this helps build trust as well because the company is proactively communicating with customers who have questions about their orders.

Fast and Easy Checkout

One of the biggest hurdles for customers, when they’re shopping online, is that it can be difficult to complete a purchase – especially if there are different steps and forms involved.

It’s important, then, to make sure your eCommerce site offers fast and easy checkout so customers don’t get frustrated with their experience or abandon their cart before making a purchase.

Here are some tips:

  • Include a one-page checkout that’s easy to follow.
  • Make sure the forms and steps required for checkout are clearly listed on this page so customers know what they need to do.
  • Simplify your payment options (especially if you offer various products) by offering only major credit cards or PayPal as payment methods.

This can be done by using a third-party merchant who offers these options, by utilizing an eCommerce software that includes this functionality (like Shopify), or through another provider.

Boost Overall Engagement

Finally, another way to help your eCommerce business succeed is by boosting overall engagement.

This can be done through social media marketing – for example, sending out fun or motivational tweets every now and then that mention the company name (@yourecommerce) but don’t seem like advertisements.

It’s also important to pay attention to reviews on your site and respond to negative reviews. Even if it’s just a “Thank you for the feedback” response, this is something customers will appreciate because they know that someone at your company cares about their opinion.

Faheem Haydar
Faheem Haydar
Faheem is the lead editor for The Tiger News. Faheem Haydar is a serial entrepreneur, investor, author, and digital marketing expert who has founded multiple successful businesses in the fields of digital marketing, software development, e-commerce, content marketing, and more.

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