Dropshipping and other e-commerce strategies to use in your business

Dropshipping is a good opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to try their hand at the e-commerce business, as the cost of launching an online store will be lower in this case. Dropshipping eliminates the need to pay in advance and then store the goods: suppliers sort, pack, and deliver the goods on their own to customers who have placed an order in the online store. And  SECLGroup.com can give you the best advice on any e-commerce strategy.

Thus, the costs of maintaining your own warehouse and logistics are reduced. In addition, dropshipping allows you to reduce the involvement of the owner in the routine work of collecting orders and interacting with the courier and postal services. Thanks to this, it is possible to pay more attention to marketing and SEO.

When using dropshipping, the profit of an online store is the difference between the final cost of the goods for the consumer and the wholesale price, including the cost of the suppliers’ services for the assembly and delivery of the order.

The disadvantage of dropshipping is that the owner of the online store cannot control the quality of delivery to consumers. As a result, delays and errors made by the supplier are the responsibility of the owner of the e-commerce business.

In addition, the number of online stores using dropshipping from the same suppliers can be large – you will have to make an effort to stand out from the competition. Therefore, before buying an e-commerce dropshipping business, find out if the seller has exclusive and long-term contracts with suppliers – this will be a serious advantage.

Business development strategies based on the e-commerce model

To expand the range and test the demand for additional products, you can use dropshipping – reserve goods in a warehouse with a supplier who will directly deliver orders to customers. This will allow you to avoid the cost of expanding warehouse space and understand whether it is worth making a large purchase of a particular category of goods in the future.

• Perform SEO-optimization of your site – competent work on promotion in search engines will increase organic traffic. It is best to entrust SEO to webmasters since mistakes made can not only not raise the site in search results, but also lead to falling under search engine filters. For example, some new algorithms detect overoptimized texts, that is, containing an excessive number of keywords. Thus, even the right semantics that meets the needs of users is not a guarantee of success.
• To increase sales in the e-commerce business, email newsletters work effectively. Collect an up-to-date database of email addresses of your current and potential customers who may be interested in information about ongoing promotions, new products from the online store catalog, etc. It is important to correctly determine the target audience and correctly compose the text of the letter.
• Diversify sales channels – additional sources of traffic, in addition to the site, will expand the audience of customers. Online stores can be effectively promoted on social networks, such as Facebook or Instagram. Often the share of sales through groups in social networks is no less than the number of orders made through the online store website.
• Take advantage of franchising opportunities. Transfer to interested entrepreneurs the right to run an e-commerce business under your brand and in accordance with company standards for a fee – a one-time lump-sum fee and monthly payments (royalties). This will expand the geography of sales and ensure business promotion in the regions by franchisees. The franchise buyer, in turn, will have the opportunity to work under a well-known brand and use proven sales methods, the necessary training, and support.

What to remember

Key indicators in the e-commerce business are the size of the average check and conversion.

The average check is calculated as the ratio of the amount of revenue for a certain period to the number of completed orders. The size of the average check depends on the assortment of the online store, and may also change, for example, during sales and promotions. It is best to consider it in dynamics for at least a few months – this will allow you to see an objective picture. As a rule, the presence of several products in the order and a high average bill indicate the correct definition of the assortment.

Conversion is understood as the ratio of all users who have visited the website of an online store and those who have made a purchase. Accordingly, the higher the conversion rate and the higher the average check, the more efficient the online store works.

For e-commerce, the volume of organic traffic is important, that is, the number of users who get to the site for key queries from search engines. When analyzing SEO traffic, pay attention to whether it is targeted – for an online store, users who can become potential customers matter. For example, if an e-commerce business sells goods or provides services in specific regions of the US, then other traffic geographies will not be of particular value.

Conclusion

When buying a business using the e-commerce model, it is necessary to take into account a high operational component – the owner must combine work in several areas, from marketing and purchasing goods to logistics. Therefore, in e-commerce, the involvement of the owner in business process management is very high.

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