Online businesses have boomed during the pandemic. During the lockdowns, there was an increase in online shopping.
McKinsey reported,
Emerging evidence points to a significant shift, as customers scale back their shopping in stores and instead go online.
Retail businesses are still looking to make their online presence known. The lockdown gave individuals the push to start up an online business. Whatever the reason is, there are some tips for launching a successful online business.
Market Size of E-Commerce Industry
Online business is a trillion-dollar market.
When it comes to the size of the international e-Commerce market, China is the dominant force. The US is a distant second, but these two countries combined account for a third of global online sales.
(Statista)
The latest global market forecast by Global News Wire estimates the market value to be at USD 18.57 trillion by 2026. The forecast shows an over 18% increase.
Every business has a virtual store globally, so this market size and forecast might increase exponentially. Some small-scale businesses start online before expanding to a brick-and-mortar store as a partner or as an individual store.
What Are The Impacts of Online Businesses?
Every technology has impacted. Similarly, e-commerce has an impact as well. Let’s look at some of these impacts.
The younger generation’s increased internet use made them the target market. This generation is the most users of online platforms. The increase in the use of the internet developed the online business market, digital advertising, and other e-activities.
Online businesses solely focused on the younger demographic by innovative products and services. One such tactic is discounts and offers. Online businesses attract customers away from traditional shops by providing better quality and competitive prices for products.
There are hundreds of the same products available online. Customers can get real-time reviews and characteristics comparisons. Consumers hold online vendors to a higher standard when it comes to the properties of a product. So, online retailers are constantly innovating products.
Seeing the potential of profit and ease of Access, many businesses are setting up shop online. They are constantly fixing and improving their websites and improving the security of payments.
Strengths of Online Business
There are strengths in setting up online businesses. Jotted down are some of the benefits of online business for either the customer or the vendor.
- 24/7 Access: Unlike brick-and-mortar shops, online shops are open all the time. Customers can shop at their convenience and access the website on any device at any time.
- Discounts: Online business has lower running and operational costs. Deals help the vendor attract customers with offers and discounts and increase customer loyalty.
- Competitive Pricing: The vendor can provide competitive pricing due to the low costs. Low pricing can provide an edge among competitors.
- Global Access: Websites are available 24/7 with global access in any location around the world. Global access means that people can order anything and deliver it to a local address, even outside the country.
- Inexpensive: The startup of online businesses is cheap. The domain name is under $20 a year, a single computer and website builders under $35 per month. So, a $100 starting capital is suitable for a setup.
- Growth Potential: Online shopping has increased with an increase in online users. There are newer users added globally every year. Online buying will account for a significant percentage of sales in a few years.
Tips for Online Business
Setting up an online business takes time. Like traditional brick-and-mortar shops, work, research, and money go into this initial process. It would be ideal to launch an online brand by parts.
Niche Business
A niche product can get more significant profits. So, finding a product that works in the area is a good strategy. To do this, first, identify the need of the population and then the market. After identifying the market, then find a suitable product.
Market Research
If the product is prioritized, there is a risk that it is unnecessary and has no market value. So, doing proper market research is critical. A data scraping service can be hired for market research. You can check the benefits of market research here.
Product Viability
Product viability depends on several factors which can make or break the business. These are shipping costs and competitive product qualities. Other factors include sustainability and profit with set pricing. If the product is not viable, its features or unique selling point does not matter.
Competitive Analysis
Part of market research is competitive analysis. Competitive analysis will give all competitors product information. The information will compare products and find a unique selling point.
The analysis will include market trends and pricing strategies to help set the product price competitively and forecast the expected profit generation.
Target Market
Once a product is chosen, the target market becomes essential. The ways to advertise the product are based on the audience’s age and interests.
The demographic and psychographic data help decide which online platform to use to get maximum reach. It helps identify forums’ activities, interests, and opinions during data collection.
The data obtained tailors the advertisement content accordingly.
Legal Knowledge
Like physical shop owners, digital shop owners need to know the laws and limitations of conducting business online.
The legalities include licenses, permits, copyright, patents, trademarks, and taxes. The vendor needs to reach out to a specialist who can guide them about these issues.
Product Sourcing
At this point, the online vendor has collected data for pricing, customer analysis, and product viability. Now the product needs to be sourced.
This is when the vendor needs to hire a manufacturer or a studio to make the product themselves.
In the case of a manufacturer, the rates need to be compared and discussed. The quality of the product needs to be checked by each manufacturer before deciding.
Choose a platform
The owner can launch the product on an e-platform. Currently, companies are starting up on Instagram, Facebook, and so many other social media applications.
Depending on customer psychographics and demographics, the business decides the platform. The data collected will aid in this regard.
Launch the e-business platform
Everything is ready for the launch. The products are stocked enough for an initial launch. The website/social media page is prepared.
Get some advertisements made. These can be shared on social media platforms. In the case of flyers, they can be dropped at homes.
The data collected by the scrapping services will provide sales information and customer information. These can be used to send advertisements to the customers.
Generate Leads
Once the business has launched, the leads need to be generated. The traffic can be diverted from competitor sites through different means.
Search Engine Optimization is a standard method of getting traffic. Keywords are used in Google rankings will be incorporated in a blog or website/social media content.
The vendor can develop these skills themselves or outsource this. If the budget allows, a professional can be hired for this task.
How can offshore help?
Hiring and maintaining professional teams for a newly launched business is next to impossible. Offshore vendors have units ready for clients.
Skilled business professionals can take up tasks at meagre costs. The online business owner has to pay the vendor a set amount. The vendor will pay the team members their salaries. They work at a flat rate which makes offshore affordable.
A new product needs pricing, placement, and other BI analytics data. An offshore vendor can provide fresh, current, and relevant data. This is obtained cheaply and regularly updated if necessary.
A sales team can be hired offshore to reduce operational and running costs and aid the business in obtaining newer customers. They can handle customer service as well.
When significant works get done by the offshore teams, the online business owner can concentrate on their job. They can maintain product quality and focus on promotional activities and financial works.
Offshore teams can be a consultant group. They can help analyze the data reports and create insights as well.
How can Mashkraft Help?
Mashkraft is a development company. We have clients in several parts of the world such as Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.
Our tool, Scrapcraft, has been used by several clients for data collection. Our scraper tool is unique and can be flexible for data collection. It can collect real-time data as frequently as needed. Scrapecraft is linked to a Business Intelligence interface that makes reports which are necessary for several business decisions. You can read more about our tool here.
Please reach out, and our experts will help you find the right solution that fits your budget and needs. You can find out more details about our services and successes at www.mashkraft.com.