There are many advantages to opening an online store rather than a brick and mortar business: fewer overheads, access to millions of customers and the ability to remain open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
That’s not to say opening an online store is easy though. You’ll need a superb product, a well-defined marketing plan and a thirst for learning the technical aspects to running a modern e-commerce store.
1. Find Your Niche
Finding the perfect niche to exploit can be tough work even for experienced marketers. It’s a very important part of online marketing, businesses that discover their perfect niche and USP (Unique Selling Point) have a far greater chance of success than those that don’t.
2. The Business Plan
Before you start building the store, you’ll need to plan the process of opening, running and turning a profit. You’ll also need to work out your operating costs and a reasonable set of sales figures to prove your new business can become profitable.
You’ll need to consider:
• Fees for running the store (Hosting, Maintenance & Transaction Fees)
• Production costs (If you’re manufacturing the Product)
• Shipping costs.
• Taxes.
• Wages (If you’re employing Staff)
• Overheads (Office / Warehouse rental, Heating, Lighting, Internet Access, Telephone)
The business plan forms the basis of how your business will become profitable. Spend as much time as you can developing it, you’ll be thankful later on!
3. Choosing A Web Host / Store Service
In the modern era, you don’t actually need a dedicated website to sell goods. Ebay is the most recognisable option, yet many hosted shop fronts are available to take advantage of.
• Ebay
• Shopify
• 1and1
• Big Cartel
• Etsy
• Sell Simply
• CaféPress
All services have their plus and minus points and not all are suitable for every type of store owner. This is one area where research and patience will be required to discover the right option.
Ideally, this should be factored into your business plan because it’s one of the main operating costs.
4. Getting The Design Right
Whatever you do during the design phase, steer clear of flashy gimmicks. Keep it clean, well designed and add a touch of flair rather than heavy handed branding.
Choosing a good web / graphic designer is a great investment at this point. A great design will boost your SEO, Conversion Rate and help draw customers back to your shop again and again.
• Collect email addresses (Great for advertising sale events and new Products)
• Pick a color scheme and stick with it. Your web / graphic designer will be able to help you with this.
5. The Payment Gateway
To take debit / credit cards, you’ll need to open a payment gateway account:
• Paypal
• WorldPay
• GoCardLess
• Stripe
• Nochex
• Sage Pay
Important: Most payment gateways have high security measures for new account holders. Always take the time to fill out financial forms properly and ensure you have all the details ready to hand. It’s also worth noting that many payment gateways will use a credit reference agency such as Experian or Equifax to check your credit score. If you’re concerned about this, it’s worth conducting a check yourself to see what financial data is held about you before you make your application.
6. The Marketing Plan
Most online stores use a variety of platforms to market to new customers:
• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
• SEM (Search Engine Marketing) & PPC (Pay Per Click)
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing
In the early days, you may have to work hard to attract an initial crowd to your website. Time spent crafting and implementing a marketing plan early on will make a huge difference to your business profitability long term though.
It’s also worth understanding that different demographics reside in different places online. Take the time to understand who your customer is and where they spend their life online. Once you have this information you’ll be in a great position to target them with adverts and promotions.
• Offer regular promotions and sales.
• Keep social media accounts updated frequently.
• Discover where your customers live online and target them.
7. Start A Blog
Content Marketing is one of the most popular marketing methods online right now, with good reason. Running a quality blog about your product and interesting aspects of your niche will help you.
• Attract more customers.
• Give them inspiration and ideas.
• Help boost your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Most online stores update their blog at least a few times a week. You might consider employing a copywriter to help build your online store blog and keep it updated with fresh content on a daily basis.
Another positive aspect to running a blog, is the easy integration with social media. If your marketing plan involves Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest then operating a WordPress blog is a great idea.
8. Don’t Forget To Register The Business
Depending on where your business is located, you’ll need to register it and fill in all the relevant legal paperwork. You might need to consider:
• Tax laws and book-keeping.
• Registering a Limited Company or Incorporating.
• Business permits.
• Business liability Insurance.
• Financial registration and accounting.
The legal aspects to running a business are very important. If you’re building a business for the first time it’s always worth getting expert help from an accountant, solicitor or even using an experienced business person as a mentor. They’ll help you perform the correct duties at the right time and might even offer you a few tips to help your business thrive!
That’s not to say opening an online store is easy though. You’ll need a superb product, a well-defined marketing plan and a thirst for learning the technical aspects to running a modern e-commerce store.
1. Find Your Niche
Finding the perfect niche to exploit can be tough work even for experienced marketers. It’s a very important part of online marketing, businesses that discover their perfect niche and USP (Unique Selling Point) have a far greater chance of success than those that don’t.
- Check out the competition. A good niche is one that’s both profitable and not saturated by competing businesses. If you’re going to be using popular marketplaces to sell your products, check how many other businesses are selling your product right now.
- Offer originality, experience or quality - Ideally all three! Small retailers often compete with larger ones by offering something they can’t - typically service, quality or experience.
- Check out the SEO. (Search Engine Optimisation) If you’re going to be operating your own website, a large route to market will be Search Engine Optimisation. Check the keywords for your main products and seek the advice of a seasoned Search Engine Marketer to discover how easy it will be for your website to compete on Google.
2. The Business Plan
You’ll need to consider:
• Fees for running the store (Hosting, Maintenance & Transaction Fees)
• Production costs (If you’re manufacturing the Product)
• Shipping costs.
• Taxes.
• Wages (If you’re employing Staff)
• Overheads (Office / Warehouse rental, Heating, Lighting, Internet Access, Telephone)
The business plan forms the basis of how your business will become profitable. Spend as much time as you can developing it, you’ll be thankful later on!
3. Choosing A Web Host / Store Service
In the modern era, you don’t actually need a dedicated website to sell goods. Ebay is the most recognisable option, yet many hosted shop fronts are available to take advantage of.
• Ebay
• Shopify
• 1and1
• Big Cartel
• Etsy
• Sell Simply
• CaféPress
All services have their plus and minus points and not all are suitable for every type of store owner. This is one area where research and patience will be required to discover the right option.
Ideally, this should be factored into your business plan because it’s one of the main operating costs.
4. Getting The Design Right
Whatever you do during the design phase, steer clear of flashy gimmicks. Keep it clean, well designed and add a touch of flair rather than heavy handed branding.
Choosing a good web / graphic designer is a great investment at this point. A great design will boost your SEO, Conversion Rate and help draw customers back to your shop again and again.
• Collect email addresses (Great for advertising sale events and new Products)
• Pick a color scheme and stick with it. Your web / graphic designer will be able to help you with this.
5. The Payment Gateway
To take debit / credit cards, you’ll need to open a payment gateway account:
• Paypal
• WorldPay
• GoCardLess
• Stripe
• Nochex
• Sage Pay
Important: Most payment gateways have high security measures for new account holders. Always take the time to fill out financial forms properly and ensure you have all the details ready to hand. It’s also worth noting that many payment gateways will use a credit reference agency such as Experian or Equifax to check your credit score. If you’re concerned about this, it’s worth conducting a check yourself to see what financial data is held about you before you make your application.
6. The Marketing Plan
Most online stores use a variety of platforms to market to new customers:
• SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
• SEM (Search Engine Marketing) & PPC (Pay Per Click)
• Social Media Marketing
• Email Marketing
In the early days, you may have to work hard to attract an initial crowd to your website. Time spent crafting and implementing a marketing plan early on will make a huge difference to your business profitability long term though.
It’s also worth understanding that different demographics reside in different places online. Take the time to understand who your customer is and where they spend their life online. Once you have this information you’ll be in a great position to target them with adverts and promotions.
• Offer regular promotions and sales.
• Keep social media accounts updated frequently.
• Discover where your customers live online and target them.
7. Start A Blog
Content Marketing is one of the most popular marketing methods online right now, with good reason. Running a quality blog about your product and interesting aspects of your niche will help you.
• Attract more customers.
• Give them inspiration and ideas.
• Help boost your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
Most online stores update their blog at least a few times a week. You might consider employing a copywriter to help build your online store blog and keep it updated with fresh content on a daily basis.
Another positive aspect to running a blog, is the easy integration with social media. If your marketing plan involves Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest then operating a WordPress blog is a great idea.
8. Don’t Forget To Register The Business
Depending on where your business is located, you’ll need to register it and fill in all the relevant legal paperwork. You might need to consider:
• Tax laws and book-keeping.
• Registering a Limited Company or Incorporating.
• Business permits.
• Business liability Insurance.
• Financial registration and accounting.
The legal aspects to running a business are very important. If you’re building a business for the first time it’s always worth getting expert help from an accountant, solicitor or even using an experienced business person as a mentor. They’ll help you perform the correct duties at the right time and might even offer you a few tips to help your business thrive!
