Preparing for Online Business in E-Commerce

In this digital age, it feels like almost everyone has experienced shopping online. The development of technology so that various shopping platforms that can be downloaded to your smartphone certainly make the online shopping process easier for anyone and anywhere.

Generally, online shopping activities are liked by young people. However, now many elderly people are starting to be interested in buying products online. In the last five years, the trend of people to shop online has increased by 13-17%. Because of this, many entrepreneurs are starting to expand their business into the online realm.

Why People Love Online Business

Online shopping is in great demand by today's consumers, one of which is because of its convenience. By facilitating your business online, you can reach more potential customers who even live hundreds of kilometers away.

With internet capital, you can not only market your products or services at the local level, but you can attract potential customers from abroad. When expanding your business from offline to online, here are the benefits you can get:

• Convenience to operate a business from anywhere and anytime
• Lower operating costs
• There is no limit on shop operating hours
• Ease of reaching a wider market
• Ease of tracking business performance

Preparation to Start Online Business

Seeing the benefits that can be obtained above, are you interested in developing your business into the realm of e-commerce? Can't wait to start your online business? Here are the steps that you should pay attention to when starting an online business.

1. Prepare a Solid Online Business Strategy

The first thing you need to know is to identify the characteristics of the consumers of your product or service. Because the reach of an online business can be very broad, you also have to ensure a marketing strategy that can be accepted by many people. This knowledge will help you and your company determine the right marketing strategy.

The digital world is synonymous with the rapid transfer of information, making online businesses have to be able to catch up. So, online marketing strategies must also be full of interesting ideas. To prepare for this, you also have to prepare various marketing content that will appear starting from the product launching period.

2. Start by creating an e-commerce platform

The site on the online shopping mechanism can be likened to a store in an offline mechanism. When you move to an online business, it is possible that you will be seen by people who were not regular customers of your store before. Therefore, this site can be used to build a brand image to the wider community and attract new customers.

Ensure that your site is designed so that it can be comfortably accessed through various devices, both laptops and cellphones. The site can indeed function as a storefront to provide various information regarding your product or service. You don't have to create a website, you can also start by creating an official store account on the marketplace.

You also need to include information regarding contact customer service and various company policies, such as the mechanism for returning goods or shipping. This will show that your company cares about consumer rights and has a commitment to transparent and credible business.

3. Provide Excellent Service

Even if you don't meet directly with consumers, you are expected to continue to provide convenience to consumers. One of them is the existence of a choice of various payment methods, of course it will increasingly attract consumers to make transactions.

There are various choices of payment methods that you can provide, ranging from bank transfers, credit cards, e-wallets, or even cash on delivery (COD). You can also work with payment service providers and provide attractive offers, such as discounts or installments.

Apart from payment, one of the most important things in online business is the delivery process. Of course you don't have to do the delivery process yourself. Because now there are many shipping or shipping services that will help you to send products quickly and safely. Providing traceable delivery services is now a special attraction for consumers.

4. Ensure that Customer Always Being Updated

When your company starts moving online, make sure loyal consumers know about it. Without prior notification, consumers may think that your business has closed. Therefore, providing this information is very important. You can convey the information via short messages, email, or various social media platforms that can reach the public.

Preparation and careful strategy are the main keys when switching to online mode. This is expected to be able to help the company to continue to develop according to the needs of the community. Take time to conduct market research, internal discussions, and prepare various other innovations that will increasingly attract consumers online. Careful preparation will certainly help your business trip go smoother.