2020 was a crazy year for everyone. Never before has our new age economy have to come to terms with such a daunting amount of changes and economic twists and turns. Consequently, the eCommerce industry has absolutely taken off in the past year. While this industry was steadily growing for the past 10 years or so, the pandemic and related factors have exemplified what it means to be an eCommerce business and shown how profitable and convenient this industry can be. One thing I noticed is that there were many small attempts at various eCommerce businesses, but many small business owners seemed to struggle with the details and complications that arise from attempting to own and operate your own eCommerce business. I’ve made this list as a few tips and tricks to help guide you in your first eCommerce business. Time to get in on the action!
My first tip to you is to invest in some quality packing and shipping supplies. I’m talking boxes, poly bags, packing tape, bubble wrap, all of that stuff. Obviously, you don’t need to buy all of these things, but I wanted to give you a few examples of how important your packaging and shipping supplies are going to be. After all, this package going out to your customers is likely the only physical interaction your customers will have with you; you need to make sure you get it right. Different packages or boxes are good for different products. For example, clothing or similar items don’t need a cardboard box or something like that. Just use poly bags and a weather proof package and that will do the trick! More fragile or bulky items may need a box of some sort, so be sure to pack lots of packing materials like bubble wrap or packing peanuts in the box as well. Remember, this is likely the only physical interaction you will have with your customer, and it’s important to keep a healthy relationship with these customers.
Another tip I have for you is to take advantage of all the resources available to you online. Since you are owning and operating your own eCommerce business, the internet is going to be your best friend! There are so many different ways to get started with your business and start selling things online to people all over the world. There are specific apps and programs that make building your website, platform, and business easier and more efficiently. Certain programs like Shopify are designed for people who don’t necessarily know how to write code or work with designing websites in any complicated ways. This program is perfect for me, since I am a complete neanderthal when it comes to working with computers.
Another helpful tip is to, once you’ve established your website and store online, enable tracking via google analytics or something similar. This can help you determine who your customers are and what they like about your product. Knowing more information about your customers will help you create ads that specifically target them and will generate more traffic on your website, which translates to more sales. Gathering data on your customers will allow you to create ads through Facebook, Instagram, or other social media that you know your customers are regularly using. This is a super good way to generate more sales!
