A few things that go into running a successful eCommerce business:

One: Good inventory. There is a market for people interested in your products! You’re interested in your products, so out of the 7.5 billion people in the world (or 350 million in the US alone), there are others looking for what you’re selling. 

Whether your products are stocked at your own place of business, inventoried at a distribution center, or are drop shipped from a far off place, you’ll need to have interesting, relevant, and preferably quality products. 

Whether you have a few curated pieces or own a warehouse full of products, have good inventory. 

Two: A successful eCommerce business is rarely run on an outdated website. If a shop website is older than three years, it’s out of date. Time for a refresh!

Don’t just create your own website: hire a professional web developer to build an eShop. When getting your website off the ground, bootstrapping your own shop is acceptable. eCommerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce enable business owners to design their own stores, which allows businesses to at least launch. 

Successful eCommerce businesses, on the other hand, have their stores built by professional web developers to run on Shopify or WooCommerce. The professional touch is obvious! Instead of only attracting your fans, you’ll attract new customers who were previously wary of spending money at hacked together eShops.

Three: Payment gateways are a must! 

Getting started with PayPal is ok, but there are still a lot of people who don’t use PayPal. Include a payment gateway that processes credit cards or even Amazon Pay. 

Give people a few options to choose from and your sales will grow! 

Four: The most successful eCommerce businesses have a following! Get on social media in the right places. Are you selling services? Try Twitter and LinkedIn. Do you sell physical products? Visual platforms like Instagram or Facebook are a must. 

Experiment! Don’t feel like you need to be on every single social media account, but try a few and see where your customer engagement is strongest. Think about where your target audience is spending their time and go to that platform. 

When you have that following, always share your latest products with your fans. Encourage them to tag you when they take a picture with it. Consumers love to show off their favorite brands, so make certain your products are being noticed with the right tags!

Bonus: 

The person running the show has to have a reason for running the eCommerce site that speaks to them. If you haven’t already read this modern business classic, check out Simon Sineck’s Start With Why. Get back to the true reason you want to run a business and identify your why. When you know why you’re running a business, you’ll run it efficiently. 

Want to know more? Contact us at Opichi. We offer business consultations to help businesses strategize to grow their sales and develop websites to manage that growth. To take your business to the next stage, let Opichi be your guide.