Starting an eCommerce business has become one of the most popular ways to get into business, so make sure you do the right amount of research and learn from the successes and failures of others. The most important thing you can do, no matter what stage you’re at, is planning your strategy out in detail. There’s no substitute for a good strategy, and it will allow you to avoid walking into any situations blind. Take into account everything that could possibly go wrong, make an honest assessment of your finances and get your expectations down on paper. Consider these five tips for running a successful eCommerce business when making your plan.

Marketing

Marketing is essential at all stages of your business, and it isn’t just an expense that you can wait until you can afford. It’s vital that you generate interest for your company even before you launch it, but that doesn’t mean you have to go the whole hog and contract an SEO company. You can do much of your own content marketing on a blog section on your website, you can offer promotions on social media, and you can improve the quality of your website to improve your search engine ranking.

Location

The location you choose will have a big outcome for your business, as it will set the atmosphere that the work is conducted in. Before you are at the stage of choosing offices, however, you should make use of more cost-effective solutions such as operating over the internet at first. This will save overheads, but at some point, it will be necessary to conduct group strategy discussions, which can only be done effectively in person.

Human Resources

The team you choose to take your business through to success will have a big impact, so make sure you choose the right people. Interviews can be difficult, but decide what qualifications and characteristics you’re looking for before you meet with any candidates. This will save you hiring someone based on superficial qualities or personality traits.

Post-launch

When your business is up and running, you can’t afford to lose customers because of basic issues with your website, as in all likelihood you’ll struggle to get them back. Use a company that performs website testing, like BugFinders, to make sure there aren’t any problems for customers trying to use your site. It might be that your site doesn’t work so well on mobile devices or in other countries, so don’t accidentally alienate these customers.

Expansion

If your business has survived through its infancy successfully, then it should be strong enough for you to think about expansion. However, make sure that you strategise your plan to expand in as much detail as possible. Find out whether you can hire out more rooms at the offices you use already and make sure the new members of staff are right for your business. Timing is essential, as expanding too soon could stretch your finances while a late expansion could be too little too late if you’re losing interest. It’s up to you to find that balance.