There is quite possibly nothing worse than having an e-commerce store that has thousands of products but with no clear focus or direction. There is a high chance that the store will have around a hundred categories as well, and this just makes things way more confusing for your customers. If you ever want to be able to get the best result from your customers then you will want to have a store that is clearly set out and easy to use. This is also way easier to do than you?d think!
Choosing a Niche
This is quite possibly the most important step when you open up your own online business. You can start this whole process by identifying any successful companies who are working in the space. It also helps to make sure that you are being competitive as well. If you don?t have any competition then there is a high chance that there is no market for what you are selling, so some competition is always a good thing. The main thing that you have to remember here is that you won?t want to choose a niche that is overly crowded. You also need to make sure that you take into account the size of your competition as well. If you have a lot of competition and they are huge companies then consider trying to narrow down your niche a little and be more specific.
Your Business Model
There isn?t one business model or structure that works for everyone. If you have a focus on physical products for example, that doesn?t mean that you have to fill your entire warehouse with products because this will make it harder for you to track your inventory and you may even find it hard to source products as well. If you want to make a profit then it helps to invest in drop shipping. If you want to have a warehouse then you will want to have a full warehouse model and a business idea to support it.
Persona!
Now you have your niche and you also have how you are going to identify your business model, you may think it?s time to search for products that you can sell. You should avoid doing that, and if you want to find out more about this process then check out this guide to running an online store. Right now, you need to focus on who you are trying to sell to. You need to think about who your online customer is and you also need to make sure that your branding is very consistent. For example, if you pride yourself on being organic then you won?t want to start selling products that are full of pesticides, even though you may be getting a great deal on this product, it will compromise your brand, customer trust and the people you are trying to target.
After you have done that, you can then start to look into a ton of new products and this is a great way for you to get started with your new-found store.
