2 Feb 2016

E-commerce Startup



E-commerce is a great way to start your own business, especially if you don't have a lot of money to invest in startup costs. There are multiple ways to do business online, including selling your own products, creating an affiliate site that has a functional store, drop shipping for a merchant or starting an information publishing business. All of these methods have their own set of advantages and disadvantages, which is why it's crucial to determine your business goals before deciding on a model. When starting any business, the initial market research phase is one of the most important steps. After all, without a buying market you can't sell any products!
After creating a business plan to follow, the first step to an e-commerce startup business is choosing a domain name. The domain should reflect your business, be memorable, and it should preferably be your registered business name. Think very carefully about this part because once registered and printed on your business cards, it will be difficult to switch to a different domain name. The shorter the name is, the easier it will be for people to remember.
The next step is choosing a web hosting company to host your e-commerce site with. You will have the option of paying monthly or for the entire year in advance; most people choose to pay monthly until they are sure they want to continue with their business. It's very important to avoid free hosting providers, especially ones that will place their own advertising on your domain, because it does not look professional to customers.
  • Paying for the year in advance can save money on your hosting plan.
  • Make sure you read your web host's terms of service to ensure the products you intend to sell don't violate any of the terms; they can shut down your website if these are violated.

Once you have redirected the domain name servers to your new hosting provider, it's time to get your website ready. This may include choosing a CMS, like WordPress, Magento, or Shopify, and then modifying your chosen web theme to reflect the type of products that you sell. If you are not familiar with CSS, HTML or PHP markup, then you can always outsource the modification and setup of your website to an expert that does. You will also need to sign up for a merchant account at an online payment processor so that you can receive credit card payments for your customers.
In most cases, uploading products and writing search engine optimized product descriptions is the most time consuming part of setting up your e-commerce business. Ideally, they should all have unique descriptions that accurately describe the product and its uses. Adding a blog section to your e-commerce store is a personal option, however, doing so can increase your chances of ranking well in the major search engines. Things to post to your company blog include tutorials on how to use the products you sell, guides that explain how to choose the right product, and general posts about company news.
  • The best way to use a company blog to attract new visitors is to follow a regular posting schedule.
  • It's always a good idea to build your list by having a company newsletter – this can lead to future sales, too.

After all of your products are setup and the website runs smoothly, then it's time to market your new business where your customers are. This can include participating on forums, content marketing, networking with other store owners, guest posting on websites that are related to your niche, and paying for PPC advertising. With the exception of PPC, all of the other methods of marketing your business are free – they just cost time. Creating videos featuring tutorials on your products and uploading them to popular video sharing sites is also a great way to drive traffic to your business for free.
When starting an e-commerce business, it's very important to remember that you won't get rich overnight. Instead, to succeed you will need to have a solid business plan in place that you can refer to frequently. The key is consistency, and to be prepared for a slow start until you start gaining repeat customers and word of mouth referrals. Doing business online is no different from running a brick-and-mortar store front; it requires just as much work and dedication to see it off the ground.
  • Testing how your website runs is very important – e-commerce businesses lose sales when the checkout process isn't intuitive for the customer or doesn't run smoothly.
  • Don't skip around to multiple business models; stick to one and remain consistent – it can take up to a year to see profit.

Objectives

The ultimate benefit of the program is that it enhances the overall image of the online merchant. Consumers demand not only convenience but a peace of mind. The proposed program offers both, and it will increase the number of online shoppers, thus causing a market expansion for online merchants. The first retailers who implement the proposed program will also be able to differentiate themselves and capture larger market shares in their respective segments. Once embraced by the majority of retailers, the program will become an industry standard. Due to lack of current competition, NoHassleReturn.com has the first-mover advantage and is well positioned to establish itself as the leader in the newly created service category. NoHassleReturn.com therefore has an enormous upside potential and is poised for rapid growth. By securing agreements with companies such as AOL.com and Yahoo! that host large numbers of merchants, NoHassleReturn.com will raise high entry barriers for possible competition and will significantly minimize the replication factor.
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Now you have to start first as startup...
THANK YOU..

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