Small and medium-sized businesses are being hit hard by the pandemic and have seen the number of customers visiting their stores drop dramatically, but they still need to sell. Among so many negative aspects, Covid-19 has brought with it the boom in Ecommerce. And now, should you set up an online store?
The answer isn’t simple and, in fact, not every business that has a physical store should have an online store. Baffled? Today we’ll explain why and what you need to know before developing an e-commerce project.
Work tool
Having a store that is accessible to everyone 24 hours a day is an extremely valuable resource for companies, but before you create it, you need to understand that the online store is a working tool – this is the most important lesson we can pass on to you.
You can’t imagine buying software that you don’t need, can you? And a car that you don’t need? So you have to assess, among other things, whether:
– faz sentido para o vosso público-alvo;
– é viável vender e expedir os vossos produtos online;
– há resources financial e human para gerir a loja digital.
Quality
We’re sure you won’t put unsightly products on your shelves, so the same applies to the online marketplace. The web design, product photos and text must be PERFECT! Anything less is not acceptable!
According to a study by Kissmetrics93% of buyers attach importance to the visual appearance of the website before making a purchase.
Don’t forget that a bad online experience can lead to a bad reputation for your brand, whether as a physical or digital store.
Orders, Billing and Shipping
The following questions are fundamental to validating the project:
– as vai fazer a gestão do stock?
– qual será o processo de expedição da encomenda?
– as será feita a recolha do produto e enviado ao cliente?
– as vão funcionar as trocas?
And, after analyzing the above questions, what is the profit margin?
Communication Channels
In digital, competition is global, so it’s essential to advertise and use multiple communication channelsnot only to promote yourself, but also to analyze the market and find out what the feedback is on your products.
E, por falar nisto, tornam-se relevantes atividades as dinamizar parcerias com Influencers, criar passatempos e incentivar as reviews, o que nos leva ao seguinte tópico…
Time
If you thought all you had to do was put the products on sale and you’re done, you’re wrong!
Online stores require time because, we repeat, they are a working tool! It will require maintenance, updating and, above all, changes, according to feedback, whether written, oral or through reports such as heat maps, which you must analyze thoroughly.
In addition, changing images, offering incentives and discounts are other examples of work that should be carried out at least monthly.
Teams like ours help with these issues, especially those related to marketing and advertising.
Investment
One of the questions we get the most is “how much does it cost to set up an online store?”. The answer is easy to give as soon as you answer the following: what is the number of categories, products, specifications for each product; how will stock management, shipping and integration with the billing system work; is it for national shipping and the Islands, and Spain and the Islands? There are more questions!
There are other options you can and should consider, such as the Marketplace, the Facebook and Instagram Shop, among others, which, because they are not customizable, have low investment costs.
More advantages
Today we’re asking difficult questions for those just starting out, but the truth is that there are more advantages than disadvantages to having an online store, so if you’re ready to set up your online store, follow these steps steps from our previous post.
