Selling online can be a great opportunity or, on the contrary, a complicated adventure in which we can easily get lost if we have not thoroughly analyzed the sector, the market, the real business opportunities, etc.
In this post, we are going to analyze the main guidelines so that you can be clear about them if you are thinking of starting an online business or if you want to explore more on this topic.Â
Market analysis and e-commerce business model
In the first place, we will have to start with an analytical phase and strategic definition of objectives as well as the model through which we will present ourselves to the market and offer our products or services. At this point, it is important to know that the model will change a lot if we offer a product or a service, and also if our model is direct sales, intermediation, etc.
If we start with the market analysis phase, first of all, we will have to quantify the need that we are covering, the size of the market, what share we can aspire to have, and, ultimately, what is the real opportunity to generate income. We will also have to analyze the costs related to the operation to see if the business we are considering will not only generate income but also provide us with a good return.
At this point in the analysis, it is not the same if we already have a business running offline and we want to expand sales via eCommerce, as if, on the contrary, we are creating a completely digital business from scratch. It will depend on each case, but in principle, the risk is greater when we are creating a business from the beginning and, therefore, this part of the analysis will have to be much more detailed, rigorous, and in-depth. The fact of not having a presence in the market makes us face more unknowns: how the market will receive our product, whether will we be able to face the competition, is our positioning correct, etc.
The second key aspect to define is the business model that we are going to establish. In the first place, we will define if we create a hybrid model in which we sell both through physical stores and our online store. This can be as variable as we want: for example, we sell the same thing online as offline, or we choose to segment our offer and we will sell certain products offline and others we will sell online.
We will also define if we focus on a Marketplace or our Platform model. In the first model, a Marketplace focuses on bringing buyers and sellers together. For example, businesses like Airbnb, and Booking are a marketplace and put guests (buyers) in contact with hotels/apartments (sellers). While a proprietary e-commerce platform focuses on the company itself and the ability to sell its products.
Steps to follow in the start-up of e-commerce
Once we have the strategic part clear, we move on to the tactical points of launching our online store.
Here we detail the main steps:
- Choose the technological platform: today, we can have an e-commerce very quickly since there are already developed platforms that adapt to practically all business models. This will make our time-to-market very fast.
- If, on the other hand, we need custom development, we can also develop our own sales portal with custom development, it will be more personalized but it will also have a higher cost.
- It generates trust and differentiation: one of the challenges when it comes to selling online is that users trust our website and that the value proposition is attractive enough for them to buy from us compared to the competition.
- Segmentation, personalization, and user experience: to achieve a good conversion rate (relationship between visits and transactions) our ecommerce has to focus on our target audience and offer a personalized experience to facilitate the purchase.
- Aspects such as remembering the credit card to facilitate the purchase in fewer clicks, saving preferences, and suggesting related products, are some of the aspects that facilitate the purchase for users and will make them return to our website again.
- Take care of the content: maintaining quality content, with videos and photos, is essential for our portal to be attractive and, in turn, generate trust. We have to think that users are not physically seeing the product, or if it is a service, we have to be able to explain it very well.
- Incorporate customer comments: this aspect is essential to also generate trust and make the sales arguments more solid. Today, users trust content generated by other users like themselves more than content generated by the company itself.
Are you currently working on an ecommerce project? What was the result? Are you thinking of a new online business model? We would love for you to share your experience!