For an in-depth look into building an eCommerce site read our "Ultimate Guide to Building Your ECommerce Website".

Step 1

Choose your product wisely

We’re sure you’ve spent more than a few sleepless nights thinking about your business idea. You’ve talked to family, friends, even work colleagues. You’ve spent some time developing something that has a unique selling proposition. You’ve asked the question “Why would someone want to buy my widget over someone else’s in a crowded market place?” You have identified a particular niche, offer more competitive pricing, or provide specific benefits over your competitors.  

Eg. Your coffee pods are made from recycled, biodegradable plastic. Your product appeals to the millennial generation who demand a better, well thought out product from a company that cares about the environment.

Step 2

DYOR - Do Your Own Research

Doing market research is incredibly important to understanding and defining your market place. Asking questions like:

• Who is your immediate competition and why? Consider competitors hyperlocal (your neighbourhood), city-wide, state and national. 
• What are their sales channels? Do they have a sales team with a well-established client base that you are going to try and crack, or are you going to focus on new businesses opening up?
• Do they sell online, bricks and mortar or use wholesale channels and partnerships?
• Your pricing structure. Are you going to be wholesale? Retail? Or a combination of both? Does your competition do one or both or all?
• What are your competitors market share? Company structure? Overhead and facilities/equipment? This comes in handy if you are a small agile business that can pivot quickly to capture a segment they are unable to serve because of their size!
• Research them on the internet, check their Google My Business Reviews, Yelp and any retail platforms they may use. Find where their weakness is and surpass that. Maybe it’s better delivery options, packaging options, payment terms.
• What channels do they use to market? Traditional PPC? Blogging and SEO? Affiliate marketing? You can replicate what their successful strategies have been or do a 180-degree turn and do what they can’t or haven’t. Use the trends to your advantage. Look at how Dollar Shave Club has transferred the razor business, or Warby glasses, Zappos. They have bucked traditional marketing channels and 3rd party businesses to go direct to the customer.
• Check for product reviews and forums. It’s a great way to research what people are talking about.
• Research for your competitors on reselling platforms such as Alibaba, Amazon, eBay, AliExpress.

Step 3

Write your business plan

When you have nailed every aspect of your product, it’s time to write a business plan. This will help you gather your assets, ideas and plans into one documents your business road map.

It’s a decision-making tool that will clearly demarcate your goals, objective and targets that are measurable. 

Include an executive summary, business description, SWOT analysis, competitive analysis marketing plan, management summary, operation plans and financial plans, achievement and milestones. This will help your refine your pitch and presentation.

Step 4

Choose your eCommerce platform

When deciding on which platform to use for your eCommerce business, there are several types to consider:

1. SaaS Self Contained eCommerce Platform (Shopify). This independent self-contained platform allows you to build your store without having to worry about hosting, payments and security. You have a set monthly fee, it’s easy for anyone to set up, and you can be selling in a matter of minutes.
2. Independent Modules (Magento, WooCommerce) For more robust solutions and larger websites you will need to move onto a web platform with modules and web development specialists. If you had thousands of products and specifications, then this is the only option. It does also allow for a more robust design and functionality.
3. 3rd Party Platforms (Google Shopping, Alibaba Express, eBay, Amazon, Etsy). These type of platforms take the marketing, build, payment, and shipping into a nice, easy to use and manage platform for worldwide distribution. Their massive reach and marketing mean you need to spend very little time managing the process - it’s an instant market...but buyer beware, the listing fees and sales percentages can add up very quickly. You will also have a lot of competition for similar products, resellers, etc.

For more about platforms read more here.

Step 5

Website design & content oh my!

Now that you have your platform decided upon it’s time to make your visual design sing. There are many things to consider about design including: 

• Your Brand - If you haven’t already as part of your business development plan, Images photograph, stock and graphic elements.
• Logo - Your logo is the first visual representation of your business. Be it a word stamp, symbol, colours, its the feeling your customers get when they think of your product. Take the time with a professional to truly explore your visual appearance. You never get a chance to make a first impression and your brand mark needs to stand the test of time.
• Website Content - page content, product descriptions, SEO, keywords, marketing content blogs.