These days it seems like everyone is selling online, doesn’t it? From traditional brick and mortar stores migrating to ecommerce to online-only sales models, online sales dominates. Have you been thinking about moving that way with your own business?
What’s been holding you back? Are you not sure where to start? Are you just overwhelmed with all the options? Well before you dive in, let’s take a step back and talk about the three things you need in place to be successful with online sales.
Which Camp Are You In?
When people come to us to ask us about setting up online sales, we generally find they are in one of two camps. They are either:
- Not yet selling online, but have a great idea or product and think they could make some money with online sales or
- Have tinkered with selling online and tried a couple things, but never really went all in and focused on making it work.
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Are You Ready?
Whether you’ve never tried it or are just ready to get more serious about it, there are three main things you need to be successful with selling online. Before you can dive in, you need to have these three things secured and in place.
1) A Strategy
Sure, you could post some products on an e-commerce site, but if no one is coming to your site or looking for your products online, then it will fizzle.You need a strategy to get people to your site to buy. This could be by moving your current, in-person customers toward online purchasing behaviors or by creating new markets online. It’s more than just putting up a website. You need a business strategy that draws people to your product.
2) A Budget
Online sales is not a matter of “Build it and they will come.” Your strategy will need to be supported with a budget. First, you’ll need to make sure that you e-commerce system is integrated with your accounting and fulfillment systems. This could cost time, in the case of DIY, or money if you are going to outsource to a marketing technology company like McNary Marketing.
Don’t forget also that you will need a solid advertising strategy, to support the business strategy above. However you plan to get the word out will likely be an investment.
3) A Willingness to Adapt
Ready to do this for the long haul? Then you have to be ready to make changes. Being willing to evolve as opportunities change will set you up for success. You have to be ready to re-evaluate every few months, to see what’s working and what’s not, and change direction to tap into the right market, in the right way.
So what do you say? Are you still itching to sell online? Do you have those three critical components in place? Then, we say “Go for it!” It’s a great time to sell online, with so many opportunities left untapped. If need help getting set up or want to learn more about how to do this well, we would love to talk with you.
Ready for more? Click here to dive into our whole e-commerce series.
Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash