In an era where everyone can start a business, e-commerce entrepreneurship has become a shortcut for many people to realize their dreams. However, when you are ready to make a big move, have you ever experienced such a dilemma:
● Hesitant in the face of a wide range of product categories?
● Feeling overwhelmed by the blank store page?
● Looking at the few orders with a frown?
Don’t worry, HONIK Biz has compiled an e-commerce survival guide to lead you through the layers of the novice village and unlock the hidden skills on the road to entrepreneurship!
What should e-commerce entrepreneurs sell? 3 popular product selection directions
The question of “what to sell” is undoubtedly the first hurdle on the road to entrepreneurship for novice entrepreneurs who have no experience in physical stores. Instead of blindly following the trend and bumping around like a headless fly, it is better to calm down and think about the following three forward-looking and practical product selection directions.
● Handmade cultural and creative products – use uniqueness to capture the hearts of consumers
In the era of consumption upgrading, consumers’ demand for products is no longer limited to practicality. They pursue the uniqueness and personalization of products, and handmade cultural and creative products just meet this demand
. Whether it is exquisite handmade accessories, each one contains the creator’s hard work and inspiration; or creative personalized stationery, which adds a different kind of fun to learning and work; or unique customized gifts, carrying the deep friendship of the gift giver, as long as your product is unique enough, it can attract the favor of a specific group and become unique in their hearts.
● Hot products nowadays – keep up with the trend and go with the flow
If you are not good at handicrafts and don’t have any particularly novel ideas, then paying attention to hot products nowadays is a good choice. You can log in to large online shopping platforms or browse social media to observe the latest trends. From fashionable clothing, trendy electronic products, to practical household items, they can all be your selection range.
When choosing popular products, you should combine your own business budget and hobbies to select products that meet market demand and make you passionate about running them. In this way, you can not only keep up with the trend, but also find fun in the process of starting a business.
● Self-operated factories and direct delivery of products from the place of origin – control quality and create differences
If you have a way to cooperate directly with the factory or establish contact with the place of origin, then self-operated factories and direct delivery of products from the place of origin will bring you huge advantages. In this way, you can bypass middlemen and avoid being exploited at all levels, thereby reducing costs and increasing profit margins.
More importantly, you can add some small ideas to the products, such as unique packaging design, personalized customization services, etc., to make your products obviously different from other stores, so that consumers can remember your brand at a glance.
Four winning strategies for e-commerce operations: How to make customers pay?
After determining the products, the next step is how to successfully promote the products to the market and start the journey of opening an online store. The following four strategies will provide you with practical guidance to make your online store opening journey smoother.
● Good customer service attitude – serve with heart and win reputation
In online shopping, consumers cannot personally confirm the quality of the goods, so they will have many questions to ask. From the material and size of the goods to the delivery time, logistics information, and even matching suggestions after placing an order, consumers have a variety of questions. At this time, your customer service attitude is particularly important.
Most consumers hope that they can feel respected and valued during the shopping process, just like when shopping in a physical store, the friendly smile and enthusiastic service of the clerk will make people feel happy. In online customer service, you also need to use a friendly tone and polite words to reply to consumers’ questions, so that they can feel your sincerity and care. Moreover, the speed of reply should be as fast as possible. After all, consumers hope that their questions can be answered in time. If the reply speed is too slow, consumers may feel impatient and even give up buying.
● Distinct brand style – create unique charm and attract target customers
Imagine that when you are shopping online, facing many similar styles of goods, will you feel aesthetic fatigue? And when a store with a unique style suddenly appears, will it make you brighten your eyes and can’t help but click in to take a look?
In e-commerce entrepreneurship, it is crucial to find your target customer group and attract their attention. And an obvious brand style, like a flag, can make your store stand out among many competitors. Your brand style can be reflected in the decoration of the store, the display of goods, the writing of copywriting and other aspects. For example, if your target customer group is young and fashionable women, then your store can adopt a fresh and sweet style with some fashionable elements; if your target customer group is middle and high-end consumers who pursue quality life, then your store can create a simple and atmospheric atmosphere to show the high-end texture of the goods.
● The website has a certain texture-create a high-quality facade and enhance trust
A textured storefront will make people feel good subconsciously, and the same is true for websites. A web page with an old version and rough design can easily make people feel that the store is not being maintained and operated seriously, thus doubting the quality of the goods. On the contrary, a website with good texture will make consumers feel that the store is very attentive, and then believe in the quality of the goods.
When creating a textured website, pay attention to the layout of the page, the matching of colors, the quality of the pictures and other aspects. The page layout should be concise and clear, so that consumers can easily find the products and information they need; the color matching should be coordinated and comfortable, avoiding too glaring or messy colors; the picture quality should be clear and beautiful, and can truly show the details and characteristics of the product. In addition, some dynamic effects and interactive functions can be appropriately added to enhance the user’s browsing experience.
● See the needs behind the customer’s purchase-insight into the essence and meet expectations
There is a very famous case. The late Harvard Business School professor Levitt once said a classic saying when explaining the need to see the real needs of customers: “People who buy drills don’t want a quarter-inch drill, but a quarter-inch hole in the wall.” This sentence deeply reveals the essence of doing business, that is, to see the real needs behind the customer’s purchase, rather than just being satisfied with superficial transactions.
In e-commerce entrepreneurship, we must always keep this in mind. When you are thinking about the store design, product selection, slogan copywriting, etc. of the website, you might as well try to put yourself in the role of a consumer and think about what you really want if you are a customer. For example, when customers buy clothes, what they really want is not just to buy a piece of clothing, but to show a beautiful and stylish self through dressing, so that people can see the light when they go out. Then, your website can set up a special dressing area to provide everyone with some dressing suggestions and inspiration, so that customers can feel your dedication and professionalism.
Although the road to e-commerce entrepreneurship is full of challenges, as long as we master the correct product selection direction and business strategy, we will be able to overcome many difficulties and realize our entrepreneurial dreams. If you want to know more about store opening skills or are hesitant about whether to open a store, please contact HONIK Biz. We will share a lot of store opening experience or government funding application skills with you, and even recommend the partners you need, so that you can spend the least effort and make the most money.
