Running an eCommerce site as a sole business owner can be difficult at times and particularly stressful. However, it is also very rewarding and worth every minute. When running an eCommerce there can be many things to think about, from your website to your website’s SEO and your branding, amongst other things.
To help you we have put a guide together of seven things to consider when running an eCommerce store as a small business owner
Payment System
When running an eCommerce store online you will need a payment system to take the payments from customers. This payment system needs to be secure and compliant with the laws within your country. When looking for your payment system there are a whole plethora of options that you can choose from. Most systems will take a small percentage of the transaction as a fee for using them, whereas others will just charge you a monthly fee. Make sure that the system integrates well with your website and if you have any questions, most of them will have a support team that you can speak to.
Your Website
Your website is one of the most important parts of your business. When running an eCommerce store it’s important that your website works effortlessly and that customers can easily make transactions without getting confused. If your website isn’t already, make sure it’s mobile responsive as this is vital in the modern-day – you may find more transactions coming from a mobile device instead of a desktop PC. If you want to track what your website is doing, make sure Google Analytics is installed. By using Google Analytics you can track how long a customer has been on your site, which pages they are viewing and if they are staying on your site long enough, or going onto it and just leaving.
Your Website SEO
Having a website is great but if you don’t use it in the correct way it can be wasted. One part of running an eCommerce business online is how well optimized your site is. It’s important that you have an SEO strategy in place and work towards improving your website’s ranking. By ranking for certain keywords, you will appear top of Google when potential customers search with that word. When appearing at the top of the search results, the likelihood is that they will land on your website, which could lead to a sale. If you aren’t working on your SEO, then the chances are your website could become static without having many users landing on it. The better your SEO the more new, potential customers you can reach.
Inventory Management
Looking after your inventory is important as not only will this allow you to keep track of your stock, but it will also help with alerting you when items are running out and to reorder them in. By using an inventory management system you will also benefit from making fewer human errors and maintain accurate product information. Always do your research when looking into an inventory system and get in touch with inventory management software such as eigenrun if you have any questions.
Advertisement
When launching a website you will initially bring in customers from natural search results, referrals, and customers who already know of you. In order to bring in new customers, you may want to consider allocating a certain budget to running advertisement campaigns. These campaigns can be done in a number of ways. You could contact influencers and work with them to advertise your products and increase brand awareness. Alternatively, you could look into paid ads and pay to be at the top of Google. Or you could work with other companies and pay for banner ads. When it comes to advertising online there are so many options to choose from, you just need to choose which one will be best for your brand and give you the better return of investment.
Your Branding
Does your branding match what you are trying to tell your customers? If you are a luxury brand, does your branding match the requirements of someone who buys luxury goods? Alternatively, are you a fun brand, and do your colors match that of what someone would consider a fun color scheme? Your branding is important as this reflects who you are and what you do. The more memorable it is, the more likely customers will shop with you and refer you to their friends and family members.
Shipping Management
Perhaps one of the most important parts of running an eCommerce business is your shipping management. After all, if your customers aren’t receiving their goods, you will soon know about it. Most companies will offer shipping software that you can integrate with your website. This software can calculate the shipping cost and charge the customer correctly depending on their location. With the integration of ordering tracking software, you will know where the goods are when in transit and so will the customer. This can help with keeping the customer happy and for them to shop with you again when they need your product again.
When starting an eCommerce store there are a whole plethora of things for you to consider. It’s important that you take your time and plan methodically. Make sure that you do your research and consider everything in order to give you the best chance of succeeding. Do what you can do on certain things, and then hire a professional to do the things you can’t as sometimes it’s good to have the support. Plus they can always help you when you start to procrastinate because the start you are doing is not what you want to do right at that moment of time.
Have you recently launched an eCommerce site? What is your site and how did you find the journey? When planning did you take into account any of the points above? Let us know in the comment box below, we would love to hear from you.
