Starting an e-commerce business is not easy work. You need to find a manufacturer or supplier, get certifications and permits, get inventory and shipping set up, market your business, and do everything every company does.
However, there is an alternative: you can sell items on Amazon or Etsy. These platforms provide e-commerce capability just like you might see on the big business websites like eBay or Alibaba, but they also offer ready-made customer bases. That means you don't need to find your customers; you can sell on Amazon and take advantage of their marketing prowess for sales.
Another option is to build your website and sell your products there. Customers will visit your site and choose among the great selections of products you are offering. Your costs will be lowered because you are not dealing with the eBay or Amazon market.
The downside is that neither of these options provides all the services that most modern businesses need. You cannot store inventory on another site; you cannot use pre-designed templates, and there is limited marketing capability. You can find these things through a business partner that specializes in e-commerce.
Here are some business partners you will need for your e-commerce startup:
Web Designers and Developers
Web design is not just about the look and feel of your site. These services need to be e-commerce enabled to purchase items and view their shopping cart and checkout options. Web designers will help you get set up on a secure server for this type of website so that you can take advantage of all of these great features.
After your website is set up, you will need to find a web design company to develop e-commerce applications. You will find plenty of companies that offer this service under one roof, but you may want to separate the two services to get better quality and lower prices.
The best way to find these partners is to look through your social circles. You may know some business owners or employees that can recommend their favorite website design and development partners.
SEO Professionals
Search engine optimization (SEO) is another essential service for your e-commerce startup. When you first launch your website, it will not be on the first search results page. You need SEO professionals to improve your site ranking over time so that customers can find you more easily when using Google or Bing.
There are many ways that you can optimize your website to make it more visible, and you can even choose a partner that will offer different types of services depending on your budget and needs. Some professionals may help you get set up with Google Analytics or other platforms, while others will create content for your site, while others may focus on improving page rankings over time.
Courier Service Provider
You do not need to go through all the hassles of shipping when selling your products online. You can pay a door-to-door courier service provider to handle that part for you. You have to provide them with your inventory list, and they will take care of the rest. Some companies will even let you print out shipping labels directly.
Email Marketing Services
If you do not want to manage your email marketing in-house, you can always hire a company to help. These professionals will design and send out emails for promotions or newsletters. You can choose from different services depending on your needs: some companies may help with the creative process while others may help with the sending and even managing your email lists.
Some companies may charge per campaign or create a monthly rate based on how many emails they send out. When you search online, you will find plenty of different service providers, but it is crucial to remember that not all services are created equally. Some companies will only help you with the creation process, while others will offer to handle all aspects of email marketing.
Social Media Marketing Services
If your e-commerce startup is already attracting customers through social media, you can hire a company that specializes in social media marketing. These professionals can handle everything from creating posts on Facebook and Twitter to scheduling these updates using tools like Hootsuite.
There are many types of services offered, but you will find that most of these companies provide monthly rates based on how many hours they spend creating posts for you. You can also choose to have them create posts in advance so that your social media is not neglected while your team works on other projects.
Running an online business is not easy, but with the right strategy and partners by your side, you can start selling products online and turn your e-commerce startup into a successful business.
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