E-commerce Business : Key Essentials for a Startup to Grow

The popularity of mobile devices has birthed a sprawling multi billion dollar e-commerce industry. Perhaps that is the reason for the presence of a multitude of E-commerce Business startups, each of which greatly relies on a group of e-commerce developers or an e-commerce development company. Unfortunately, only 1 out of 10 startups actually survive the cut-throat competition and live to bask in the glory of success while the others fail and fade into oblivion. That one startup doesn’t do anything out of the ordinary, but follows some simple rules of the game. We have collected a list of key essentials for an e-commerce business startups to groom an  eCommerce business effectively.

1. Website

For an e-commerce business, its website is of utmost importance. It is a gateway to the business. Therefore, when entrepreneurs approach an e-commerce website development company, they need to very explicitly state their requirements for their website. Ideally, an e-commerce website should be user friendly so that a customer doesn’t find browsing the products overwhelming. E-commerce website developers should avoid complicating the website with unnecessary features, and invest more time and energy in quality search functionality. You should realize that a user will not be able to touch and feel your product. Therefore, a detailed product description with some high-quality photographs and product reviews might help customers make up their mind. Besides those features, the website should also have a search bar, preferably at the default location, which is the top right corner of the website. That search bar should be able to offer suggestive search as well as corrective search functionality for the ease of customers. The target of your e-commerce website is to compel customers to convert, and hence, everything about an e-commerce website should be user-oriented.

2. Marketing

A great website may not be very beneficial for an e-commerce startup if it fails to draw any traffic. It is, therefore, recommended that you have a marketing plan that complements your website. For e-commerce business startups, a healthy social media along with sponsored contents and paid adverts may work wonders. Additionally, entrepreneurs should engage an e-commerce app development company to determine which SEO method would best suit the requirements of their e-commerce website, because the right set of SEOs can enhance their startup’s presence in the virtual world. As part of your marketing strategy, you should create a logo and display it often on your products as well as your website. This will let your customers know that they are visiting the right website and will promote recognition and trust. The success of any business lies in its marketing, and therefore, it is important that you invest in it accordingly.

3. Payment System and Shopping Cart

If you have on online store, then you should certainly provide for fast and easy, yet secure payment methods. If you don’t do that, even your most loyal customers will start shopping elsewhere. Therefore, it is recommended that you invest in software that allows you to amalgamate retail, online, and mobile payments into a single system. Your shopping cart should be intelligent enough to retain your customer’s selections so that if your customer steps off your page momentarily, they don’t have to start selecting products all over again. Reports show that one-fourth of customers leave their online shopping cart and revisit the website, at times on a different device, to continue their shopping.

4. Maintain an Optimal Inventory

Maintaining an optimal inventory is very critical to the success of an e-commerce startup. You should keep a close watch on the products that you sell so that you avoid overstocking of the products and at the same time do not have to go helter-skelter at the eleventh hour for more stocks. The trick to such scenarios is to determine the current demand for a product and the time it takes to refill your stock. If you could learn the art of forecasting demands, then you will see your business grow in leaps and bounds. If you sell your products on multiple e-marketplaces then you should centralize your inventory to one dedicated system so that the moment your customer hits the “confirm” button, you, your supplier, and your warehouse gets the notification.

5. Research and Prepare

Before you jump into the market, you should do a thorough research so that you know what you’re up against. It will help you formulate a business plan, which will be your roadmap that will assist you in bringing your thoughts and ideas together. This will help you in identifying your best move forward to compete with your rivals most effectively.

6. Referral and Loyalty Programs

Perhaps one of the most effective ways to spread a word about your business is through referral and loyalty programs. You can incentivize a customer’s purchase by giving them rewards such as cashback on purchases from specific payment gateways, amounts, or dates, and rewards on newsletter subscription, referrals, social shares, reviews, or social media interactions

7. Customer Support

Apart from a good website, a good customer service can help you keep your customers satisfied. Since you don’t have the privilege of a face-to-face communication when running an e-store, you must provide your customers with numerous channels to contact you and you should also be really prompt and helpful in answering their questions through each of those channels. Additionally, providing quality customer support will help you make your customers loyal. Also, it will help you create new loyal customers.

Everything said and done, before building an e-commerce business you need to have very strong determination and follow an intelligent strategy to put together the different pieces of the puzzle in order to succeed. You can also check the Paytm Success Story the Revolutionary in Indian E-Commerce to grow. You will need to choose a product, evaluate its viability, identify the source; and then build, launch, and grow sales. However, maintaining the above essentials will certainly help you eliminate a majority of obstacles in establishing and growing your e-commerce business.

On a side note, we are glad to share that Tvisha Technologies has been listed as one among the best Ecommerce Development Companies across the world. You can find us on DesignRush.