e-commercise

Things to consider before you begin your ecommerce website

Is your product or service suitable for an ecommerce website?

This may seem like a very basic question, but you really need to think about whether an ecommerce website is the best solution for your idea.

If your idea involves an element of customising (whether in size or design etc) for a specific customer, then there is likely to be a need for additional support from a customer service representative to discuss or finalise options, unless you have a bespoke and highly technical website (which will be pricey!).

Is your product large in size, fragile, or perishable? Does it have a high value? Think about how the product will be delivered to the customer. Will a signature be required? Will the parcel require insurance? How much will it cost to package the product safely and appropriately?

How much are you able to invest in building your ecommerce website?

I don’t just mean how much cash, but also how much time can you spend on the project?

Unless you go for a ready-to-go ecommerce package, then you are going to have to think about, and plan for, what functionality you require; what level of security is required; and how you would like the pages to be laid out etc. In addition, whether you go bespoke or ‘off-the-shelf’, you will need to think about and create the content for the website. Remember – images are extremely important (a poor photo of your product will give the perception of poor quality). You may need to get your products professionally photographed (which can be expensive), unless your supplier can provide you with the use of high resolution images?

These things are not necessarily huge obstacles, but my point is you need to be prepared for these issues – don’t just stumble into ecommerce – you are highly unlikely to succeed that way; you need to enter ecommerce with your eyes open to all these factors…  the costs may be fairly fixed, but whatever amount of time you estimate it will take to get your ecommerce site up and running – double it!

Ecommerce websites require frequent maintenance to ensure a good experience for the end user

Many things do happen automatically on an ecommerce website, but there is still a need for maintenance. Obviously you will need to manage the orders that come in, and make sure your products are despatched in a timely manner, but also:

• When new stock comes in, you need to add the new products to the website
• You’ll need to manage seasonal sales, price changes, discount promo codes
• Returns – can the item be added back to stock, will it be written off, or returned to your supplier?
• In order to assist with building good rankings on the Search Engines, you will need to add regular, relevant content to your website (this could be in the form of a blog)
• Change the shop window and freshen up the look for regular visitors
• Marketing initiatives like ‘3 for 2’, or ‘gift with purchase’ will need to be managed

I hope this post gives you a little more insight… see you soon…

What will you sell online?

The idea… What to sell?

First you need to have your idea. What are you going to sell? There are many options here, each with their own upsides and downsides:

• Making your own products e.g. knitting scarves, hand-made greetings cards, celebration cakes
• Creating your own virtual product e.g. eBook, fitness video etc.
• Buying individual items e.g. used cars, antiques, and collectables
• Buying products in bulk from wholesalers
• Selling other people’s products for commission

Research is definitely the key here. Things to consider:

• The size and weight of your product; how much will it cost to ship to a customer?
• Where will you store your products?
• Where will you buy your products from?
• What price will you sell at?
• Can you compete on price with current online suppliers?
• Could the item become redundant, go out of fashion, be replaced with new technology etc?

Tips: Try and focus on a niche product. The more specialist or specific your product is, the more focussed your marketing efforts can be, and the more success you are likely to have online.

For instance, if your chosen market is Pet Products, this could include products for cats, dogs, fish, rabbits etc, but although the market is huge – competition will be fierce.

For the record – I wouldn’t recommend this market, it is particularly tough! 

Conducting a basic Google search can demonstrate the level of competing web pages on a subject.

For example:

By choosing a niche or specialist product, you are more likely to become the destination website, ‘a bigger fish in a smaller pond’ – you will stand a much stronger chance of competing, and succeeding.

Enjoy researching your future online business - I’ll be back soon

Why set up a business online?

More and more people are now considering setting up online businesses. The UK used to be known as a nation of shop-keepers, and the trend is continuing in a virtual way. The comparatively low start-up costs and convenience of setting up an e-commerce venture in comparison to a physical shop makes the entry level into self-employment far more accessible.
My business is open to customers based all over the world 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. I don’t need to recruit additional staff. I don’t pay rent, rates, or utility bills for shop premises. I don’t have to cash up at the end of the day and go to the bank with cash and cheques etc. I can work whatever hours suit me, without impacting on customer service.
With the population of internet users continuously increasing, and consumer confidence growing in online shopping – there are vast opportunities out there to run a successful business.
I started one of my e-commerce ventures in June 2008, within days of the UK officially going into recession. Despite selling a designer product, with a luxury price tag, the sales turnover increased by 33% during the 2nd year of trading.

So my question is – why not set up an online business?

The plan… (I think I have one?!)

In this blog I will attempt to summarise the main points that I believe all potential internet entrepreneurs should be aware of before they set off on their own journey. This blog will not go into lots of the technical details of each and every aspect, as there are plenty of experts who can provide up-to-date specialist advice as and when this is required; but, by reading this blog, you will hopefully gain a much better insight into what you may encounter, the kinds of decisions you will need to make early on in your venture, and it will highlight some of the common mistakes that either I have made personally, or ones that others have frequently made in their quest to generate an income on the world wide web.

I will also add a Resources section that collates all the websites and tools that I frequently use, or those I can recommend based on previous experiences, as and when I refer to them…

The advice I give within the blog will come with no guarantees – it will be straightforward advice offered in good faith from someone who has been there and done that…I hope that you find it a useful guide that you can re-visit regularly should you decide that the internet will become your new workplace.

Day One…

I have decided to start writing a blog about e-commerce today (the working title is: e-commercise), and so here starts my big adventure.

Why would I write a blog about e-commerce? Am I an expert?

Well I guess the critics/followers will decide along the way!

No, the reason I have decided to write this blog, is I believe there is a need for a non-geeky, simple, straightforward guide for wannabe entrepreneurs aiming to enter the world of earning money on the internet. However, I will not be going into the mechanics of eBay… there are enough books etc about that marketplace already!

My name is Neil and I quit my corporate job just over 2 years ago to sell underwear on the internet. For some inexplicable reason, I thought it would be straightforward – d’oh!

I can say now, with 2+ years hands on experience, that it can be quite straightforward. I have just set up my 3rd e-commerce website. But to get to this point, I have made a lot of mistakes, and learned so much.

I believe that I can now begin to share my experiences and write the guide that I would like to have read and used when I first started. The things I have learned will save you guys (if there’s anyone reading this!) lots of time, money, and wasted energy.

I shall post tips on this blog on a regular basis that may help anyone who is either thinking about it, just starting, or is already running their website venture.

OK – until next time….