What is e-commerce? The word, which stands for electronic commerce, can be interpreted simply as all types of buying and selling transactions of goods or services that occur through electronic systems, such as the Internet, telephone, and television. So, it’s not only limited to the virtual world online ( online ). But lately, people are more likely to identify the term e-commerce with buying and selling online.
In modern times like now, many people choose to enter the world of online business, one of which is through e-commerce intermediaries. However, you can’t just start this business. To help a little, here we explain how to start an e-commerce business that is good and right.
Successful Business Idea
The first thing to do when starting a business is to think of a product idea that has the opportunity to make a profit. There are many promising e-commerce business ideas, especially in the midst of a pandemic like now. This is related to the restrictions on interaction and social distancing that the government has called for to minimize the spread of the Coronavirus. Therefore, shopping activities are becoming more and more done online.
Here, we present some business ideas that have the opportunity to make a lot of money in e-commerce.
- Beauty product: Beauty products are one of the business opportunities that can never die. Everyone wants to look more attractive; therefore, they need products that can make their appearance more attractive. No matter what the conditions are, usually, people will attach importance to buying beauty products.
- Children’s toys: The second business idea is children’s toys. The human population is increasing day by day, meaning that children will always be there all the time. Children’s toys are also relatively more prone to damage when played with, so parents will buy new toys more often in the near future.
- Fashion: Fashion, in this case, is clothing, be it for children, adults, men, and women. Clothing is an unavoidable basic need of everyone, so the demand will always be high.
- Household appliances: Household appliances are one of the needs that are in high demand. Usually, housewives like to browse and shop for home furnishings for various rooms. For example, cleaning furniture, bathroom equipment, cooking equipment, and so on.
- Online Classes or Webinars: The last most profitable eCommerce business idea is online education classes. During the pandemic, the need for online classes soared because there were no face-to-face classes at schools. You can give short classes such as specific skills courses or subject-specific tutoring.
Business Idea Research
The next step is to research the business idea to find out its potential in depth. This is the basic thing that is needed so that you know exactly what the product to be sold is like and how. You also need to study the climate of the business so that the steps taken can be right.
The research in question is the level of demand, the location of the highest demand, the amount of supply over time, and, the most important thing is the issue of price. These are just a few things. Just do it and later, you will find out for yourself other things to research as your knowledge grows.
Choosing a Supplier
Suppliers are one of the most important keys in the trading world, especially if you use a dropshipping system. This system is very profitable because it does not need large capital and stock of goods because you are only a third party who helps sell supplier products. But you still sell it using your own store name, so consumers still think of it as your product.
Choosing a supplier is not easy. Many factors are taken into consideration, such as price, stock of goods, location, and quality. Choose the right supplier with high-quality products. Don’t just choose a supplier because once you get a bad product, consumer confidence will decrease.
Determining Store and Product Name
After researching business ideas and selecting suppliers, it’s time to determine the name of the store and give the product a name. This name cannot be taken lightly; in fact, it is very important. This relates to branding and images that will later be displayed to the public. When your product is popular, people will recommend one of two things to their friends: the name of your store or the name of the product you sell.
Determination of this name is very crucial. You have to think of an attractive name to make it easier to recognize and not be the same as competitors.
Website Making and SEO Optimization
You also need to build your own website so that consumers can see all the product collections that you have in more detail. Marketing it on the marketplace is indeed a brilliant idea, but if you want to look more professional, also build a website with your own store name. If likened to, a marketplace is a shop owned by someone else and you only sell there with other merchants. However, the website is your own store and you have full control over the store.
After building a website, technical issues that must be addressed are SEO optimization on-page and off-page so that your website can appear in the top rankings on search engines such as Google.
Utilize Marketing Services
After everything has been arranged properly, then the next is the problem of marketing or marketing. One fast and efficient way is to use online marketing services.
Website, SEO, and online marketing are three things that cannot be separated in the world of e-commerce. Therefore, usually, all three are included in the same type of service, namely digital marketing services. Suppose you want to focus on the business side and want to hand over these three technical things to the experts. In that case, there’s no need to worry because, currently, there are many good and quality digital development services.
Determining the Payment Method
If we follow the rules of e-commerce, then there are indeed many payment methods that can be done. For example, using an e-wallet, PayPal, virtual account (VA), or direct bank transfer. However, if you have your own website, you can choose the bank transfer method to make it easier to build the system. As time goes on and sales increase, you can later add other payment methods.
Thus, a brief explanation of the steps to build an online business through e-commerce. It’s not peeled down to the smallest detail, but hopefully, it can spur your curiosity to explore it further and start your own business immediately.
