1. What is an e-commerce Business?
E-commerce business refers to, according to TRAI, 70% of the world’s population using mobile phones, and this will reach around 80% shortly. That’s why people prefer online shopping, because of fast selling and buying products and services, easily transmitting the funds and data.
It is a fully online digital system, not a traditional system. Online Store prefer digital marketing over traditional marketing; it’s also cost-effective and a more profitable processing system because Online Store follow an automated inventory and auto data collection management system.
2.Why should you use an e-commerce business?
Because Online businesses start with less cost & have more profits.
3. What are the Benefits of Online stores?
1. Online Presence:-
In the e-commerce Business, Your Online Presence Will Help You Engage With Your Customers. Because from there they can connect to your landing page & social media worldwide, your online presence is most important because customers will not wait long for your reply. Customers expect to immediately solve their queries.
So, build a relationship & loyalty with customers. When users expect you to come online & start the Online Store, sell quality products & services.
An 80% growth rate in sales & purchases will occur automatically year after year.
For example:- Jio is a fast-growing company in India; its growth rate is 30.2% year to year.
2. Windfall Gain of a New Customer:-
E-commerce business is a windfall gain system; your market is very large, so a system in which suddenly unexpected customers connect with you and buy goods and services in the worldwide market.
In traditional business, only those customers who know you and are your relatives will come. The chances of new customers coming are lower.
3. Data Driven Selling:-
In starting the E-commerce business, you don’t provide perception-based offerings; you will provide data-driven offerings. You have established a digital marketing team because you have predicted the buying habits of customers with the data of customers to resell the product.
In a traditional business, when a new customer comes, you don’t predict what the customer wants to buy? Can you give him a special product? Which place is he from? What is his mobile number?
You have many options to connect with and build a relationship with customers, like customer name, email, and phone number. You have shown the ads on other platforms to customers.
4. Saving on operational Cost:-
E-commerce business is a fully web-based management system, not a manual.
Because you have followed the automated inventory management system, you have saved on operational costs because you do not need a teller, an accountant,
You have not paid the office rent, electricity bill, water bill, security guard, etc.
5. Remarketing & Retargeting in a boundaryless market:-
E-commerce business is a free-hand business. It’s a barrier-free market because any customer, at any time purchase any product.
Use a remarketing & retargeting strategy. Suppose the customer has come to your website, the customer has not purchased the product, but clicked on the add to cart. So you will get the customer’s data, and you will know their customer buying habits.
So, whatever new product & deal comes to your store, show it to customers on whichever platform the customer is visiting with the help of Google tools.
Traditional businesses do not use this strategy, it’s an easy way to grow your business & more profitable.
6. Affordable Employees and Affordable IT infrastructure.
You will start the e-commerce business. So, create a virtual office and hire a digital marketing team from other states and give them work from home.
If you then join Amazon, Flipkart, ePay, etc., they have already created an IT infrastructure.
So you will not be required to have a space for an office and go down. This reduces the cost of building your office and goes down. To see more advantages of an E-commerce Business
4. What are the Challenges of Online Stores?
1. Site crash:-
Every e-commerce business man faces the problem of site crashes. If you don’t follow the Google algorithm. Google can crash and ban your site .Then your sales will automatically decrease.
2. Customer can try before buying:-
Many users can use a product & service before they buy the product in the e-commerce business website. So in this, our marketing and animation team should try something in which the customer can try it first, can trust it, and then can purchase it after that. That’s why this is a big disadvantage.
3. Constant Upkeep of Technology And Inventory:-
Every day, technology & inventory will change. Because the environment is uncertain. If you show the product on your e-commerce Business website. but not available or in inventory so you will face to many losses.
Technology refers your software not update time to time & you don’t use new updates, you have face many problem if you want survive the Online Business in the market you have maintain the proper inventory & adopt new technology time to time.
4. Shipping can be delaying and irritating:-
Big brands like Amazon are adopting the fast shipping process. E-commerce businesses face the problem of shipping delays because customers can be irritated by delays in receiving the product. So you have to choose the fast shipping process.
If you do not adopt the fast shipping process, you will face the problem of a downfall in sales.
5. Limited Control In Somebody Else’s House:-
If you have connected your e-commerce business with Amazon, Flipkart, or ePay. You have limited control.
Because the customer is not yours but his, so whether he shows your entity or not is in his hands; you have limited data& control. So this may be a small limitation. To see more disadvantages of an E-commerce Business.
5. Follow the 8 steps to How Can We Start an E-commerce Business?
1. Key Strengths Of market place:-
A key strength of the marketplace is the most important for an e-commerce business. First, you have to keep this in mind: which market is suitable for the product you are selling, like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay?
There is a separate market for every product; for example, for hospitality Oyo, Yatra, Make My Trip, etc.; for food Food panda, Swiggy, Zomato, etc.; for property 99acres, Magic bricks, Rent mantra, Gumtree, etc.; for electronics Amazon, Home shop, Naptol, Croma, etc.
What is the market reach of the product you will sell, what is its goodwill, what is its transaction, the quality? you have select the best suitable market for your product.
2. Look for the level and Quality of your Competitors:-
A most important factor in e-commerce business: you have to observe thebehaviourr of competitors.
- What price should you sell the product at?
- What product range do your competitors offer?
- What policies are adopted by your competitors?
- What discount offers do your competitors have?
- What shipping methods are used by your competitors?
You have prepared a full mapping of the competition, looking for all the high competition & low competition. Create a team to work on customer feedback; see all the comments from your customers. What will happen from this is that you will get to know about new ideas and your mistakes, and from this.
You will understand what the customer is asking for, allowing you to work on that customer feedback and beat the competitors in the market.
3. Presentation and catalogue catches:-
Every e-commerce business is based on presentation & catalogue because customers don’t touch your product; they only see the catalogue. Customers only think about how to present it in your catalogue.
So you have prepared attractive color designs and photographs. Customers engage with your presentation, so you have options for details of price & offers in your catalogue.
By keeping easy access to details, they can easily understand the product information. After this, customers automatically purchase your product.
4. Merchant support service:-
Merchant support service is very important to every e-commerce business. You should see whether your merchant understands or not, like small merchants or big merchants; they will help you or not.
How can the merchant help you?
- The merchant should interact with or not with your customers.
- The merchant should display discounts or not for their customers.
- The merchant should display policies or not for their customers.
- The merchant should display products properly or not for their customers.
You need to know whether the customer is purchasing a product from the marketplace. if a any query is getting to immediately response or not .So you have to study whether the marketplace is suitable for your product. For example, eBay has a very slow response.
5. Margin and fees:-
You have started the e-commerce business to check the provide margin & fees of marketplaces like amazon,flipkart etc. You have check the How much margin will the platform you are working with give you?
What kind of fees does he charge you?
- How much is that marketplace charging you to return the product?
- How much is that marketplace charging you for product cancellation?
- How much is that marketplace charging you for a product unavailable?
You have selected the suitable market & study for margin and fees for your business
6. Shipping Charges & Mechanism:-
Every Big E-commerce business Platform is own shipping policies & strategy. See what is your opinion ,you have select own policies & strategy Or you would like to get your shipping done from another marketplace.
So you have select the fast shipping policies, you will get to see which marketplace is providing you shipping at how fast and low cost.
You can also join with shipping company, for example
- DTDC
- Ecom Express
- Xpressbees
- Blue Dart Express Ltd.
- Ocean Network Express Holdings, Ltd
7. System Access and Control:-
Every e-commerce business faces the problem of system access and control. You have to select a suitable marketplace for your product.
For example:-many platforms only support 20 products out of your 100 products. So, choose a platform on which your minimum products can be showcased.
Which things does the company control?
- Maximum and minimum number of listing control
- Restriction on selling in specific places.
- Access is provided to customer data.
8. Payment Mechanism:-
Every e-commerce business faces the problem of holding payments from many platforms. If you are doing business, you have to keep in mind whether your money will come on time or not, because if your entire product is sold, then you will need working capital, and then where will you get it?
For example:-Amazon holds payments to sellers for 14 to 90 days, Flipkart for 7 to 15 days, Myntra for 10 to 15 days, and Nykaa for 7 to 14 days.
So you have to choose such a marketplace that can give you your held payments on time. For More information regarding starting an e-commerce business.
Conclusion:-
E-commerce businesses provide many websites. It is very comfortable, faster, and an easy way to purchase products. People can purchase any product from anywhere with just one click. It’s most important to make a proper strategy to sell the product online. You have to follow the customer review system. Check this to see what the customer wants, which will grow your business, and you can beat the market competition. For More information regarding Social media marketing