As a professional e-commerce consultant I run into people all the time who are looking for the "get-rich-quick" magic bullet; the fast-track to developing a successful online business. Many seem to think they can open an online business -- any online business -- and then just sit back and watch the money grow in their bank account. If you are one of those people then you might as well stop reading now because I can tell you with some assurance you won't like what I'm going to say next.
There is no magic bullet. E-commerce takes work. It takes time. It takes planning. It takes knowledge and research. And did I mention it takes work?
Now, if you are still with me I can let you in on a little secret. Although e-commerce takes work, and all those other things, YOU can do it. That's right. You can. I know this because you have shown that, by getting as far as this article, you have the intelligence, basic skills, commitment and dedication that will be needed to build a successful online business. You see, you have the basic skills to use your computer and get online, the intelligence to know you will need help so you joined this association, and the the commitment and dedication to begin reading the information on this site and get to this point. All that represents exactly what you will need to be successful in an e-commerce business.
Now, I didn't say it will guarantee your success. It is just the right raw material you need to make it happen. What you do with that raw material, and what you do with the information you find here, is up to you. You have to add hard work, consistency and persistence into the mix and you have to develop the right business in order to be successful. It not only needs to be the right business for you, it needs to be the right business for your marketplace too. Probably trying to sell steak dinners to vegetarians isn't going to cut it. You need the right product(s) and/or service(s) for your available market.
One of the wonderful things about e-commerce is that nearly the whole world is your potential marketplace. You get to pick and choose where, and to what market segment, you will offer your products or services. Most of us typically try to market those things we know about or are comfortable with. This can be a good way to build a business. You will have knowledge and interest about your products or services already. Some will choose products or services because they believe those items are more marketable in the current economy. Some will try to select products or services to target a particular segment of the marketplace.
Let's look at a few of things that will help you get your business going on the right track:
- The Right Plan: a good business plan is not just a well crafted plan. It is also a well thought out and honest plan. If you lie in your business plan you are only building a false sense of security for yourself. You need to evaluate your personal skills, the abilities of those who will work with you, the product(s) or service(s) you will market, your target market, your competition and how reasonable your projected outcomes really are. Being honest with yourself is the first step on the road to your success.
- The Right Venue: where you sell is probably the second most important thing. You need to consider whether to spread yourself over multiple locations or to put all your e-commerce eggs in one basket. A lot of people have found that just because a given venue boasts the highest traffic numbers doesn't mean they will make the most sales there. The size of a site or its brand-name recognition doesn't mean it will be a good choice either. You need to evaluate the kind of traffic, not only the numbers, and what kinds of things are selling there. Just because a lot of the same kinds of things as you have are selling well doesn't mean you will do well. You may be lost in an already saturated market or other factors like price or quality or even perception may keep you from succeeding.
- The Right Merchandise: having the right merchandise for your market is critical. Having enough merchandise is also important. I often see sellers opening on online store with a dozen or so pieces of jewelry or vintage clothing or collectible dolls (all great product areas!) and finding they don't sell anything. They blame it on the venue or the customers or the economy when the simple fact is they didn't have enough items to give the potential customer the choice of something or something instead of something or nothing.
- The Right Pricing: having the lowest price isn't always required for success. I know one web designer who started out competing head to head with the lower priced designers. He did some business but lost out time after time to others. He moved his prices up a little and then a lot. He is now in the upper price range for general web design and he is busier than he can handle at times. Sure, part of it is that he became recognized over time, but part of it is that he draws the clients who can afford his work and who understand what they want. Don't over-price yourself, of course, but if you are offering good merchandise at a fair market price you don't need to worry about being undersold either.
- The Right Service: offering great, friendly service, prompt delivery, and excellent communication will set you apart from the crowd. It seems so easy to do and yet so few online business people bother. This can be the sure-fire way to carve out a niche for yourself no matter what your product, price, or market.
- The Right Visibility: even if you have the first five points 100% right, if your business isn't seen, if your products or services aren't found, you will have a hard time finding success if at all. So many things come into play on this point -- having the right website or selling on the right venue, doing the right promotion and doing enough promotion, optimizing your website, portal page, and item listing pages for good search engine results, all of these and more -- and yet so many online business people don't do enough promotion, marketing or SEO work, or just do the wrong things, that most of them are bound for failure.
There's always more but these six are a great start. Look for more details on each of the above points elsewhere on this site. Make notes and develop your ideas. Remember, it takes work. I think I mentioned that.