These days, many people choose to open online stores because of the affordable overhead and ease of handling. According to Experian's PriceGrabber.com online retail statistics, Black Friday online sales have had double-digit increases in past years. Many customers cite lower prices and more variety as the main attractors to online shopping, along with convenience. Why not get in on this fast-growing retail sector? This is a walk-though of what opening an online store entails.
Instructions
Online Business Basics
1. Start by establishing a business presence in the official sense of the word. Obtain state licensing, tax identification numbers and incorporate as needed. Some of these documents will be necessary to get wholesale product pricing. If in doubt as to what documents are needed, contact the Small Business Association in your area for help.
2. Develop a business plan with sales goals, a mission statement and customer demographic information. This will serve to create focus and lay down a solid foundation for development. Banks and financial backers will also require your business plan when considering any sort of venture capital, if necessary.
3. Sign up for business savings and checking accounts, as well as accounts for online payment processing such as Google Checkout or PayPal. Most banks offer merchant accounts for credit card processing, but these can cost several hundred dollars for sign-up, along with a monthly fee. Research options thoroughly before adding to the site.
One good thing about online retail is the flexibility online retail stores can offer customers for payment choices: have one choice or many choices--just check fees first.
4. Buy a domain name for your site. The best domain name, of course, is the actual name of the business with a ".com" suffix. If that name is taken, try other options including words that remind customers of your product. For instance, Sally's Jeans Store would be best with "www.sallysjeansstore.com," but might have to get "www.sallysjeans.com" instead if the first option isn't available.
5. Decide whether you wish to host your own store or if you want to buy a hosted store. Several excellent hosting sites exist, such as Yahoo! Stores, that include hosting, customer service and analytics. These are great for first-time shop owners. However, these stores cost $39.99 a month plus a percentage of sales; this can mean a deficit before a new merchant even gets started.
Another option is free shopping cart software. This probably isn't the best choice for those who have little programming knowledge, but they are simple to configure for those who know their stuff. Top names include OS Commerce and Zen Cart. For these, a hosting account is necessary.
6. Select a host for the store. When purchasing hosting, buy a package that runs on Linux hosting. Many of the top shopping cart programs require Linux programming language to work. If you're a new merchant, it's not necessary to buy a whole lot of bandwidth. Sites such as GoDaddy.com specialize in first-time online merchants, and even offer automatic uploading of shopping cart software.
When purchasing hosting, buy an SSL (secure socket layer) certificate. This certificate will run credit card sales through a secure, encrypted server and serves to verify the worthiness of the online merchant. Many customers will not buy from a merchant who takes their info without encrypting it first. This is an important trust issue, so spend the $20 and buy that certification.
Product Setup
7. Now that the store structure is set up, start uploading products. Most wholesalers have CD-Roms of digital photos available for little or no cost. However, it's better to take your own photos. They may also have product descriptions that can be downloaded from spreadsheets. These are convenient, but are not the best for search engine optimization purposes. Write your own copy, or hire someone to do it for you.
8. Price your products competitively. Because there may be others online with the same items, do a bit of searching to see how competitors sell their goods. Do they offer package deals or incentives? How do other merchants do sales? Don't forget to allow for payment gateway fees, hosting costs and other overhead when calculating what you'll charge.
9. Write a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page detailing shipping, return policy and contact information. Customers like to see that online merchants are human, with an attitude of service. Many people get nervous with online shopping because of the possibility of fraud, so it's important to make things as clear as can be.
10. Increase sales by adding valuable knowledge. Buying guides, reviews and blogs are all excellent trust builders because they give a human face to the business. These are terrific for building search engine power, which is what's going to help people find your store in the first place.
Tags: online retail, shopping cart, along with, business plan, cart software