what is E-commerce? How to start an E-Commerce Business in 2023

E-Commerce

Overview

This is the story of my first ever successful e-commerce venture, selling flowers. It was something I started on my own, but it took time for me to develop enough expertise that I could launch a brand new online store. The good thing about starting on your own is that you don’t need to worry too much about customer experience and sales cycles, which are important in traditional retailing. You can focus on growing an audience and increasing revenue. You can start with one or two items rather than a global range of goods. Plus, there’s no pressure to have everything perfect in place before launching, either; let the work go into getting ready to be launched. After all, you’ve only got yourself and your store, so perfect isn’t always necessary. All you really need is some initial momentum.

What Is E-Commerce?

E-Commerce refers to the sale and purchase of goods over the internet. Customers order items online using their computers, tablets, or smartphones. From this point on a physical retailer will not exist — until someone places an order through the site. By contrast, if you’re just setting up a local storefront that sells handmade handicrafts, you’re almost certainly going to need to visit multiple stores and do most of your sourcing out-of-town as well. (If you’re a brick-and-mortar retailer, you likely already have the means to source goods from other regions of the world.)

Although \E-Commerce don’t have to pay any delivery fees, they do have access to inventory availability in bulk through third-party wholesalers, and some may operate as e-tailer-run businesses where customers use company-owned carts to complete purchases. However, while many online sellers sell directly to consumers through websites like eBay and Etsy, others rely on middlemen — such as Amazon, Alibaba, or Walmart — that act as intermediaries between buyers and sellers. This method is known as “full-service e-commerce.”

What Exactly Does A Small Business Need To Know About E-Commerce?

Whether you want to get ahead with your small business, make a jump start on your future startup costs, or simply boost your reputation by being better at marketing your products, here are some things you should know about e-commerce. Keep in mind that this article applies to both B2B and B2C businesses.

Let’s dive deeper into how to start a profitable e-commerce business with these tips and resources.

1. Understand Your Competitors:

Before you sign up for a shopping cart account, learn who else is selling similar products on the web, and find ways to differentiate yourself. For example, consider creating unique packaging for each item, like I did by customizing ceramic mugs made of recycled glass and metal. Or, build links to your online store on sites like Shopify and Square so potential customers can easily navigate to your shop. Be aware of the competitors’ pricing strategies too (they are also likely doing the same stuff) so you aren’t missing anything when possible.

2. Get Customer Reviews And Testimonials On Search Engines

Customer reviews and testimonials on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook can help strengthen your reputation. When people discover how satisfied your customers are with your product’s design, service, and overall value they recommend it (and maybe even return the favor!). Find out which review sites provide best results and why. If you want to compete internationally, check out Google My Business and Yelp — those are top sources of information for international shoppers.

For non-personalized search, use Bing or Yahoo! to see what search engines come up for you. There’s a lot of competition from smaller businesses trying to out-do themselves, so stay competitive with quality goods. Also keep in mind to include keywords throughout your content. These days you can often expect to see long tail terms — for example, “flower crown boxes” — which might not be relevant to you as a jewelry seller, but are popular among shoppers looking for different types of flower arrangements.

3. Optimize Your Website

Your website is the centerpiece of your online presence because if you don’t give it attention, nobody else will either. Here are some helpful tools and tips to optimize your website for SEO, SEM, and Conversions:

Optimize Your Site for Keywords

Make sure there are keyword phrases related to your product(s). For instance, instead of saying, “flowers on the table,” say, “flowers on decorative wicker-trays.” Include long-tail keywords, and aim for fewer words, like 50,000 to 1,500, for maximum impact.

Optimize With Images

Your website’s visuals are extremely valuable for branding — think about adding logos or images of yourself or your clients to enhance visitors’ experiences with your business. Remember, eye contact is critical for success in a retail selling environment. Think about using professional photography studios or hiring freelance photographers to create visual assets. Consider making stock photos available so you can repurpose them in your next campaign.

Optimize Your Page Speed

When visiting your page speed, try to stick to one second intervals between content sections and ensure you include clear calls to action (CTAs) or callaways, as well as clear headers and descriptions. Make sure text and graphics load fast and display without distractions.

Optimize Product Pages

Make a commitment to optimizing every section of your product pages. Use headings in appropriate positions to structure information. Add subheadings if needed. Use your pictures sparingly because people will be less inclined to read through large amounts of text. Avoid blocky fonts or overly saturated colors and add color contrasts to improve readership. Don’t forget about heading tags. Always use hyphenated words in titles and subtitles for easier reading throughout the product page.

Optimizing Your Checkout Page

Your checkout page should be simple, straightforward, and easy to understand. Ask yourself: Can it answer all your questions, or should you contact your customers to resolve the issue? Do you need more information or a different way to pay? Look for ways to shorten the steps, include payment methods, and present payment options in creative, yet informative ways.

Start Creating Products

With e-commerce becoming increasingly digital, the creation process has changed from paper to electronic. You must have a platform for storing or shipping the products in order to achieve maximum profits. Even if you plan on selling directly to consumers, a dedicated online store makes it easier to manage orders, fulfill orders, manage communications to customers, track inventory, and provide customer support.

4. Invest In Promotions

The beauty of promotional campaigns is that you can do them in nearly every channel imaginable. Using email, blog posts, social media sites, ads, PR, etc., it’s possible for anyone to take part in promoting your brand effectively.

We will discuss many of these channels later, but we should mention this today: Email Marketing.

Why is email marketing important?

Email marketing campaigns can reach audiences outside of your daily life: You could have 100,000 followers or 10,000 daily subscribers on Instagram, but if you don’t engage with them consistently you could miss several opportunities. Imagine how many emails you might open if you had the opportunity to share them all! Instead of having to spend money sending spam out in the mail, try posting messages with offers or discounts, like this one featuring $100 off any Moka Pottery website. As you create your promotions on social media, consider utilizing live videos too, especially when it comes to specific topics.

5. Focus On Lead Generation & Conversion Rate Maximization In 2023

It’s crucial to generate interest in your product before you actually start working on generating leads to attract new customers. Since I’ll be focusing on lead generation at length, I’m including the following sections for inspiration:

Promote Without Spam

One way to promote on social media platforms is simply providing free samples of product(s) (whether that’s t-shirts, mugs, gifts, etc.). Another option is to partner with influencers. People tend to trust brands with personal relationships. Influencers have millions of followers and can help promote your product in a personalized way that resonates with real people in your audience. You can also choose to run contests that allow users to enter for various prizes based on their responses, like this giveaway drawing contest I ran last year.

Advertise Once For Long Form Content

While companies like Target and Best Buy are famous for showing every single product they carry, you may be surprised to hear that they’re not the only ones to do this. At Capterra, we try our best to show long form content: blog posts, infographics, white papers, video series, and so on. But you can still use short form content, as long as it’s engaging and provides an informational overview of your business. Simply creating an eBook, landing page, email, or even a YouTube tutorial is a great way to begin.

6. Measure Results Before Launching

Once the launch date rolls around, get feedback from early adopters like friends, family, and coworkers to measure the performance of your product and strategy. They’ll most likely be happy to report back on whether it works and needs tweaks to be able to sell across mobile devices. Although not ideal, having key opinion leaders and key stakeholders on hand at launch.