How to Start an Ecommerce Business – Here Are the First 5 Steps!

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The business landscape has changed dramatically in the digital world we live in today. Both small businesses and multinationals have had to move their operations online so they can reach out to a global online audience.

As per the Statista Digital Market Outlook, eCommerce revenue in the United States alone is expected to reach over $700 billion. What’s better, the tools and resources for any entrepreneur to tap into the online space are more accessible than ever before, and so are your potential customers.

Despite all this potential, opening an online business is not easy and needs an incredible amount of groundwork to get things started.

Let’s take a look at five vital steps on how to start an eCommerce business.

How to Start an Ecommerce Business – The Breakdown

1. Find a Product to Sell

The first thing you need to do to start an eCommerce business is to identify a product you want to sell by identifying a need in the market. Are you selling digital or physical products? How are you going to handle production? These are some of the questions you need to ask yourself to find out a unique selling point.

2. Come Up With a Business Model

The next step is to develop an eCommerce business model that will help you grow your investment. Remember that how you handle order fulfillment is a critical part of your model.

Start by identifying successful business models and using that insight to guide your business structure. Note that there’s no single eCommerce business model template that works for everyone so learn and adapt, but don’t imitate. 

3. Register a Business Name and Domain

You need a brand name that’s strongly associated with the persona of your products. Therefore, try and come up with a brand name that fits your niche before registering your business with the authorities.

 

4. Build Your Online Store

At this point, your vision should begin to become a reality at this point. There are plenty of crucial factors you need to consider when building your website to make it both attractive and functional.

What theme do you go with? How do you develop a user interface that customers will find easy to use and interact with? How do you make the customer journey simple and direct?

Remember to test your site’s Point of Sale (POS) to ensure it’s working as it should.

5. Market Your Business Online

Once you’ve built your website and launched it online, you need to go all out on your marketing. After all, you need to reach potential customers if you’re going to secure a steady stream of sales.

Consider using online marketing strategies such as social media marketing, influencer marketing, and search engine optimization to generate any traffic to your online store.

The Bottom Line

Although the eCommerce space feels relatively new, it can feel like more than enough vendors online. To avoid jumping into an already saturated market, you can further carve out your niche and research the market to find out what other businesses are doing right or wrong.  

All in all, succeeding in the online space requires hard work, incredible dedication, and the five steps highlighted above to come together for your enterprise to launch and succeed.