We’ve already collaborated with the Podnikajte.sk portal on several articles. For example, the last time we talked about how to increase sales and keep customers on an e-shop. This time, the editors have prepared questions for us about the creation of the e-shop itself and what entrepreneurs should focus on at the beginning. The final text can be found here. We’ve decided to offer you complete answers that offer an even deeper look behind the scenes of creating e-shops.
Podnikajte.sk: Starting an e-shop is also associated with creating a store website and programming various functions. What does such an e-shop require, what should it contain in order to achieve its goals?
Launching an e-shop may seem like a simple matter at first glance, but building a stable and successful e-commerce project definitely isn’t easy. Regular entrepreneurs should realize that they’re embarking on a completely new adventure that we believe is dramatically different from retail sales.
People wanting an e-shop should keep a few things in mind. Before we even get to the functionalities, it’s necessary to determine a person on the customer’s side who will take care of the e-shop. At the same time, the owner of the e-shop must understand that web management, in addition to routine maintenance (adding products, preparing quality product descriptions and photos, pricing, warehouse management) and the shipping process, also includes communication with the software team, of which they become a part of too. Regardless of the choice of technology, they will have to understand many things from the technological world and learn to properly manage the development and direction of the software they’ve purchased or rented.
Once these points are met, it’s time for marketing. Many people think that an e-shop will somehow find its own customers. The opposite is often true. It should be borne in mind that an e-shop requires much more attention than an “ordinary” presentation website. The owner of an e-shop should create a space for active online marketing that will get their products among people. Nowadays, when one bombastic online campaign comes after another, it’s a time-consuming and financially demanding matter, which you need to accept. Also, don’t forget about managing social networks, a blog… Simply put – regularly bring new and interesting content that will sell your products.
Once we have defined the conditions, we can start the programming itself. An e-shop should automate as many tasks as possible to make the process management simpler. You should definitely think about functionalities such as data transfer to warehouse and accounting software, or fast and efficient dispatch of goods (e.g. thanks to a feature of automated printing of labels on packages). I may disappoint many readers, but I personally think that there’s no magical bombastic functionality that would increase sales of a new project by 2000% overnight. It’s important to have a team of people who will try to understand the end customers. They should listen to them and carefully select the features that will help develop the e-shop step by step in the right direction. The hard part is figuring it out, programming it is then relatively easy.
Podnikajte.sk: What opportunities does a start-up entrepreneur have? Is there a difference between a start-up entrepreneur and a well-established company that wants an e-shop as a new sales channel? What are the costs when they hire professionals?
As far as software is concerned, we can divide it into 3 categories. The first is an e-shop for rent (Shoptet, Shopify), the second is an open source solution such as Magento, Prestashop or modified WordPress, and the third option is to program an e-shop tailored to your needs.
For a beginner entrepreneur who wants to try out how their product works on the market, we recommend choosing the first option. The advantage is a low price and a large number of functionalities. If they choose the second option, it should be taken into account that they will need a programmer who will take care of the solution from the technological point of view. The advantage is that such an e-shop can be customized. The last option is suitable for experienced entrepreneurs who know what they want, and their solution requires a comprehensive customization. Prices range from a few tens of euros to several tens of thousands a year.
However, investment in an e-shop needs to be well thought out and you always need to take into consideration the fact that it’s better to develop in smaller steps and immediately test new ideas on end customers. At the same time, it should be remembered that investing in marketing should exceed investing in programming itself. I’ll repeat myself, but improving an e-shop isn’t enough. It’s important to know how to sell products. Therefore, for starting entrepreneurs who don’t have experience, we definitely recommend choosing a quality marketing agency that can help with this critical point.
Podnikajte.sk: What should entrepreneurs focus on when choosing a web solution provider or a graphic designer?
There should be a certain chemistry between the supplier and the owner of an e-shop. It’s important that both sides understand each other and lead the project in the right direction together. When creating a website, it’s also necessary to bear in mind that the supplier should be a partner open to discussion. Together, you should form a team to achieve synergy between the experiences of both parties.
Podnikajte.sk: What to think about when creating a domain and what costs should be taken into account when creating a domain?
It’s advisable that the domain name has some connection with the business – whether with the company name or the offered assortment. It’s also nice if the domain is easy to remember and its reading and writing isn’t unnecessarily complicated. In the case of an international e-shop, this should also be considered in other languages.
The price of a newly registered domain is about 10 EUR per year. However, lucrative domains that are easy to pronounce, contain keywords and already have some history, can range in thousands of euros.
