People who are willing to take risks are making more and more online stores as time goes on. Still, it’s a good idea to start your own e-commerce business, but you need to offer something that no one else does. Don’t be one of a million people.
You have to make sure you offer great service, high-quality, unique products, and a good customer service (CS) (customer service). If you want to have a great online Shopify store where people are willing to buy what they need because it seems like a good place to buy, you will have to take many steps. Make people happy, make them want to come back and become fans, and make sure that everyone will want to visit your store at first sight, such as through a sale or someone’s recommendation.
Let’s look at the things you need to pay attention to if you want to run a good online business.
Content:
- If your visitors don’t feel safe, they won’t make a purchase.
- How can you make people want to shop at your online store?
- Why should people come to your store instead of others?
If your visitors don’t feel safe, they won’t make a purchase.
This sentence says almost everything there is to know about this subject. First, you need to find a way to get people to come to your store. What do you do? Google and social media sites are the most common ways to get people to your site these days. To show up in the first few search results, you will need good SEO and a good reputation. Don’t worry if you don’t know what to do on social media sites. If you have good content and hashtags, both your followers and visitors will like your pages.
You need to know how to market. Make images that grab people’s attention and use lines that make people want to read more. In short, you can bring people to your site by posting on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest and promoting content on those sites. You also need to do Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and buy paid search ads to get people to your site. Things like Google AdWords and Facebook Ads come to mind. You can also work with people who have a lot of influence, but be careful who you choose and make sure it will be worth it.
Attract people with marketing
But you are not ready once you have set up your online Shopify store. You can’t just do nothing and wait for the money you deserve. The hardest days are just around the corner, because you need to make sales and let people know about your shop and products. Do marketing. But you have to be careful because bad marketing can easily destroy your business.
Everyone knows that a good first impression is important, especially online. People tend to judge a website, and by extension, a business, in a matter of seconds. This is why you need to use a clean design, offer good products and discounts, and keep your ads interesting.
Let’s think about why people want to shop online. There are three main reasons why people like to shop online: most things are cheaper than in stores, it’s easier to just sit down, click, and buy, and there are a lot of things to choose from. Also, why should these possible customers buy from you? We’ll talk more about this in the sections that follow.
How can you make people want to shop at your online store?
Your brand or online store needs to show your target audience what makes you different. Before you start selling, you should think about who your products would be best for. It’s better to aim for something specific than to just jump into the ocean without knowing what you’re doing or what to expect. After deciding on your likely best-selling product and your target audience, you need to figure out your message and think about why your service is different and better than others’. USP stands for “Unique Selling Proposition.” Have you ever heard of it? It means, in a nutshell, that you need to have something that makes you stand out, something that people will remember and that will make them trust you and your business. You need a goal you want to reach and a message that will help you sell. Compare yourself to your competitors and offer products and services that are different and better. You can let people know what makes you special through marketing (ads, free promotion ways, design, products).
A brand promise is something like this. Starbucks’ mission is to inspire and nourish the human spirit, one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.
And explain in a few words what the benefits of certain products are.
Keep in mind that your domain name also needs to sound good and describe your service.
Avoid insecurity
There are many ways to make sure you don’t make people feel unsafe. We can talk about design, customer service, guarantees, products, shipping, and other important details. Let’s see in details.
Have a neat design
The way it’s made affects our eyesight, which is one of our most important senses. Not only do the colors and layout of your website matter, but so do the name, product, packaging, marketing materials, and social media activity. You need to find your own style so that people will remember you.
Your website’s design is the cover of your book
Online stores have to find a design that works for everyone. Don’t make it look too simple, but also don’t use too many bright colors and bad pictures. Your site also needs to show that you are a professional and can be trusted. It’s a factor that helps you make a sale, so it affects the actual buying.
People spend a lot of time on their phones and use them to do things they used to do on their laptops. Not having solutions that work well on phones is a big problem in today’s world. With a responsive design, the user experience is better on both a phone and a computer.
Your site shouldn’t have too much content in one place or a structure that is hard to understand. Don’t make the font size too small or too big, and also make it easy to read. Visitors don’t like it when there are a lot of pop-ups and ads on a website. If you want them to buy from your online store and not just click the X in the top right corner, don’t bother them with too many of these. If the way something looks becomes more important than how well it works, and if beauty comes at the expense of functionality, it won’t help you reach your business goal.
Check to see if the page loads as quickly as possible. This can depend on the design, the size and resolution of the images, and the number of images you use.
Create cool product pages
Make sure that these pages have all the necessary product information and that people know everything there is to know about the items.
If the page for a product has nothing but the name and price, it won’t make people want to buy it. Show as much information as you can, including the exact name, size, color, use, features, delivery time, and warranty. It would also be helpful if you could upload pictures of the items you bought from other people. If you can, also put a short description of the company that made it. The whole product page needs to be easy to read. Use headlines in the product description to make it easy for people to read, and don’t forget to use good grammar, which is very important. You can also make menus within menus. It’s also a good idea to give buyers the chance to write a review. Also, submenus like “Description,” “Details,” “Reviews,” and anything else useful. Add small logos to the product pages that link to social media so that people can share with their friends what they like about your store. I’d also suggest putting a rating scale on the product page. This gives customers more confidence to buy and helps them. Make product pages look good.
Find a niche
It’s a never-ending list. There are some basic product ideas like clothing, electronics, bag, jewelry, and you can also think about more specific markets. The most important thing is to find a niche. So even if you are selling products in one of the common fields, you can find a unique niche, because everything depends on the location, customers, quality, exclusivity etc. However, do not sell items that are out of fashion, no longer trendy. And be different than others.
Sell products that people need. It’s better to not get them from marketplaces like eBay or Amazon because everyone sells items from there. People can find those products everywhere, it’s not unique at all. You won’t be special, you can’t get a lot of income. Also, people will recognize that those are from the marketplaces, so they will go there, and just simply buy what they want for a lower price. And they are right.
Check others’ techniques
Don’t worry about it. It’s a normal thing that every business owner does. What you should do is easy. Just go to the sites of your possible competitors and see what they sell, how their website and social media pages look, how much shipping costs, if they offer any extra services, and if they have good customer service, among other things. If you’re really interested, you can order a small item from any of them, and then you might be able to find out what supplier they use, but it’s not a sure thing. If you do this, you can also check the quality of their products, how they are packed, how long it really takes for them to ship, and so on.
Every purchase is about emotions
Try to make people feel something. This is what purchases are all about, both in real life and online. When you’re walking down the street and stop at a pretty shop window, it’s because you see something amazing. When you’re in a store, a lot of things affect you without you even realizing it. Think about nice posters, tables, discounts that are worth it, music, etc. It’s good if your service makes people think of feelings and memories. For an online store, you can use enticing texts, beautiful images, and discounts that are hard to pass up but don’t last too long. It needs to feel like time is running out. Inspire people, get their attention, and convince them of something. Visitors should start to feel like they need something from you. Join stories.
Set good pricing
When you have an online store, prices that are too low or discounts that are too big can hurt your brand a lot. You need to set prices that will get people to buy. This will give you a good income, but people will still be willing to pay the price.
Incite customers to leave a feedback
Make your customers tell you what they think of your service. They can do it on your website, in the comments section of a product page, or on your social media accounts. It will help you and people who come after you. On the one hand, you can find out what people think of your business and change anything that needs to be changed. On the other hand, people who are interested in buying from you can read these reviews to make sure that you really do guarantee high-quality items, fast delivery, good customer service, and reliability. Let people say what they think, and don’t act like a company that doesn’t want to hear what people think.
Appropriate time at the check-out step
When your customers have put everything they need in their carts, they can go to the check-out page. The process should not take too long, and you should only ask for the information you need. Don’t make too many steps and pages, because people can change their minds until they click the final “Buy” button.
Have the best customer service
This is what a good business is made of, and not just online stores. Branding includes a good customer service. People can say whatever they want about you online, so it’s important to talk to your customers in a way that makes them feel like they’re important, that you’re always ready to help them, and that you won’t betray them. If you treat them badly and don’t answer their questions, you could lose a lot of potential buyers.
Why should people visit your store instead of others’?
Here are 8 reasons why people should come to your store instead of your competitors’ and buy from you. Even if you sell clothes for women like a lot of other stores, you can be different and make it worth it to buy from you. It depends not only on the product, but also on where it is, who buys it, how good it is, how exclusive it is, and your whole service.
One thing to keep in mind is that you need to get people to come back. Just think about what you do when you go to an online store. You might do the same things that many people do these days. This is the fact that most people won’t buy anything on their first visit to an online store. They just go from site to site, and even if they find the one they want to buy from, they leave and plan to buy later. To get people to come back, you have to give them a good experience. To reach this goal, you need to pay attention to the tips we gave you above and below.
The customer is the first
Since you run an online store, and the main goal of a store is to sell more products, you have to care a lot about your customers. There are many ways to make them really believe that your service is trustworthy and that they can get a good deal there. Think about our tips and use smart ways to get fans.
Make sure people can reach you if they have any questions or complaints. Give them your email address, links to your social media accounts, or even your phone number. Check your messages more often, and keep your phone with you at all times. Be nice to others. Having a business with customers is always like this. Sometimes it’s hard not to lose your cool. You have to answer a lot of questions, but you should just focus on the customers and have fun. Be respectful. If you want to make your job easier, make a “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) menu where people can find information about every important topic that people always want to know more about, and answer their questions in advance. You can also add a live chat to your site so that people can talk to you right away without having to go through a lot of trouble. Last thing for now: start a blog where you talk about how your products are used and anything else that has to do with your service.
Customer service is one of the most important parts of a business.
Reliable e-commerce platform
It’s important to use a trustworthy e-commerce platform so that you and your customers know they can trust you and that the orders will go smoothly. We suggest that you try Shopify, which is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms. Shopify works with big companies like Red Bull and Tesla, but it also works with a lot of smaller companies, like people who run their online store from their bedroom.
If you use Shopify, you won’t have any problems with the checkouts, and you can use a lot of apps that can help you sell more and help you with everything else so that everything goes well and your site is fine. They also offer a service that is safe and quick, which is good for both you and your customers.
Unique and quality products
Find a niche. This means that your target audience or location needs a certain product, and you are willing to provide it. How can you think of new things to sell? How do I find good suppliers? Well, you can get ideas for what to sell by sitting down and thinking about what you need, asking your friends, looking at what’s popular right now, and making smart choices. You can’t close your eyes. Work on something that interests you. As for suppliers, you can find drop-shipper and wholesaler directories online, use Dropship Empire Marketplace, ask for company recommendations on forums or Facebook groups, go to trade shows, or check out your competitors.
Do you know drop shipping? This way of doing business online is used by a lot of people, but many people think it’s dead now. It isn’t. It all comes down to how you run your business. What about warehouses that are far away? This is the new way of drop shipping. It is a mix of the usual wholesale business model and the usual drop shipping. But let’s keep drop shipping for now. If you want to be successful and make a lot of money in the long run, the most important thing is to stay away from marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. You should work with local suppliers you can trust. This way, the quality of the items you sell is much better, and you don’t sell the same things as everyone else. Your store can be interesting and stand out with unique content. Working with a local supplier also means that the delivery time is shorter, the prices are lower, and you get and can give a good warranty. People often get cheap, low-quality goods from marketplaces that aren’t worth the money. But if you buy from a real local wholesaler or manufacturer, the items will be of higher quality and definitely be one-of-a-kind.
You just need to ask the suppliers for a data feed file that you can use to import products into your Shopify store. This file URL will also help you keep your online store’s virtual stock up to date.
Up-to-date products
When a customer orders a product and you have to tell them that the item is out of stock, or they just see the “not in stock” symbol, it’s the worst thing that could happen. When the prices are wrong, you have to deal with a lot of letters of complaint. What if you have this happen to you all the time? Most likely, this is because you aren’t using a product sourcing app and are doing these things by hand. You might also not be working with the best supplier. If the customer runs into this problem more than once, you can be sure that they will stop doing business with you and tell their friends, who could also be customers, not to do business with you.
It’s very important that your virtual inventory is always up to date. If you use a good program to manage your products, you can save time and money and get more customers, which means more sales. If you automate product management, you can have more products because you don’t have to spend all day updating each one by hand from the source file you get from your supplier. If you have a lot of items to choose from, you can sell to more people.
You don’t have to worry about dropship-empire not taking good care of your products. You can set up times for updates. You won’t lose fans, customers, or sales. There is also a “upsert” function in the app, which means that new products will be added to your store and the ones you already have will be updated.
Reliable service
When people go to your online store, they need to see right away that you offer a reliable service. There are many parts to it.
- have an ever-helpful customer service
- provide good warranty
- recommend additional products when people put anything in their cart
- read customers’ mind
- make sure that everything is going well with the purchases and check out process, work with reliable companies
- have quality products
- work with quality suppliers so that everything can go well with the orders
- make sure that visitors can reach every important information easily
- always send the products to buyers in time
- provide contact addresses
- tell people that if there’s something wrong with the product they’ve ordered, they can send it back to you
- do not send people too many newsletters, do not bother them needlessly (if you want to look nice, send “I’m on my way” e-mails as for the product orders)
Good prices
Well, this is probably the most obvious reason why people should visit your site instead of others’. But the price is not the only thing that matters. When prices are too low, people may feel suspicious and turn away. This is also true of discount rates that are too high or too large. Your prices should be in line with the quality of the things you sell. Don’t turn it up too high or down too low. Be different in the market of your target location so that you won’t have many competitors. But if you do, you have to make sure that people can’t get them cheaper or better elsewhere. People are always trying to find the best deals. Don’t be too greedy, and don’t set your own prices too high, or no one will buy from you.
Easy-to-use website
Make sure your website is easy to use. This is how you can change. It’s like going to a clean house, which makes you feel better than going to a place that smells bad and is messy. People will want to spend more time on your site if it’s nice to look at.
If your website’s navigation is too hard to use, people will get lost. Make it as easy as possible for people to buy from you on your site. Don’t hide important information and don’t make too many submenus that are hard to find at first. Also, don’t put too much information on one page, because that makes it hard to understand.
Have a responsive design. People will think you are out of this world when they see this. You will be cool and easy to use if you use responsive web design. If you have this, the structure of your website will adapt to your devices and the size of the window on your screen as you change it. Make sure you can be read on each device, and you’ll have done a good job optimizing. Even though this seems like a small thing, it can make people’s lives easier.
Your site should also load quickly and use high-quality images that aren’t too big or high-resolution.
Your site’s content needs to be easy to understand.
Fast delivery
If a customer has a choice, he or she will choose an online store with fast shipping. If someone has to wait weeks or even a month to get the package they ordered, that’s not the best situation. If you work with a local supplier, you can avoid this. The most time it could take to get to you is between 3 and 5 days. But the less of them the better.
If you have any more advice for other business owners, feel free to leave it in the comments section.