Suppose you are considering initiating an online store and do not want to get into the production. In that case, inventory, shipping, or other backend and back-store intricacies, a drop shipping business could be the thing you should dig in.
This could be the starting point to comprehend the drop shipping business thoroughly. After reading this, you would know what it requires to initiate and maintain & sustain it for the long-run. It begins with IEC code online application, and to make it a successful business, you need to follow the steps mentioned here. Following these steps can offer you an ample profit that might entice you to quit your 9 to 5 mundane job and start the business.
Step 1: Defining the dropshipping business.
Simply put, the dropshipping business is one kind of intermediary. All you do is you lookout for potential customers, another company manufactures the products and ships the products to its destination point and what you get in return is your cut of the earnings.
Manufacture companies might produce the products that people have been demanding in the market, but who does not want to get into marketing. They are already reached half of the point by producing goods and products. Here, your dropshipping business would help them to cross the line. You can deploy your marketing capabilities and customer service skills to engage with potential customers, building loyalty with the existing ones, and being their trusted source that they can rely on.
Wayfair is one of the acclaimed drop shipping companies. They do not produce anything, nor do they manufacture anything. What they do is they muster the list of various home furnishings, which have been manufactured by the motley of other companies. They offer all the products in one place, making it more like brick and mortar. They purchase from vendors, decides the price, magnetize the customers, and earn profits from their sales. You can also make something like this for your dropshipping business.
Now, let’s look into the five steps that can help you in doing so;
– opt for a better niche.
It would be best to opt for your niche, as there is no single business that can sell everything to everyone. A top-notch niche is one where people are willing to pay for the products online. Find the products that have demands in the market, you should not choose untested products.
There is no boundary for selecting your niche; you can choose any recreational or sports activities to sell on your platform so on and so forth. Here, every niche would have it’s own sub-niche such as pens, fountain pens, gel pens, drawing pens, etc.
The demographics can further illustrate it; you can pick to target potential customers like car owners, Haute bourgeoise consumers, and college students, etc.
One question that pops up in our mind is that why is a niche so vital? Because it can differentiate you from the market rivalry. As the drop shipping business is flooded with competitors, some sell the same products, which could be too generic.
Opting for a better niche would offer the following things;
– you can charge reasonable prices.
– Catching the attention of audiences.
– Exceptional from the competition.
– Turing into a go-to source for the line of products.
You should be specific to avoid any potential nip and tuck price competition.
Step 2: Choose products and reach out to vendors.
Your success depends on how well you can find out the critical vendors before initiating your business. Many vendors have a great list of products to offer, but you do not know how to market them efficiently. Demonstrate your skills and knowledge concerning the selling of such products, along with your expertise in understanding the customers and industry, and they would be willing to do business with you. Propose a plan to them, about your strategy to catch a customers’ eyes. Implement this strategy with numerous vendors so that you do not have to rely on anyone. Secondly, pick the products you want to sell and that fit into your niche.
Step 3: Make your marketing plan.
The first step in the rulebook of marketing is to understand your niche and your audience, without which you would go in the long run. A lot begins with when you register private limited company and carve the brand identity. Later on, you funnel it to who are you marketing and for what reason? It is about getting the right ones and expelling the other. To engage with your audience, you will have to know about their demographic. How could they be reached via online/offline, in-person, mail, or via some other mediums?
In a book titled ‘This is Marketing,’ authored by Seth Godin, he has mentioned the four elements of marketing as stated below;
Advertisements can be free of cost on social media, targeted mail, paid ads, webinars, etc.
– Response, which occurs to make a sale on-spot or to earn consent to persist the conversation. It relies on the product you want to sell, customers’ expectations and needs, and your industry. It could Ad click or visit the website.
– Sale generated profit, which further leads to another sale, positive feedback, testimonials, positive reviews, etc. Let your customers be your marketeers.
Conversation occurs when the response does not lead to an instant sale but instead gives consent to foster the relationship.
For your dropshipping business, it would be like this;
– Create a Facebook ad, promulgating one or more products.
– When someone clicks, it will direct to your product page.
– Person buys the product.
– Later, they would follow your page on Facebook.
Implement this to your business, and you will reap the benefits from it.
Step 5: Keeping an eye on expenses.
As you will not be entangled in the packaging, material and manufacturing, and stuff, your business would still recur the expenses. Your fundamental expenses would go the customer service and marketing as customer service is essential to stay ahead in the game. As you do not have any say in controlling the shipping, you should have your team to keep the customers in the loop regarding their orders. If anything goes awry, customers will contact you first rather than going to the vendor. This could require money, hence, save and manage your pockets accordingly.
Step 6: Make your website.
Once you are done with the products, vendors, and marketing plans, all that rest lies in creating your dropshipping business website and technology. Here, you can make your website on WooCommerce and WordPress, as both of them provides distinct advantages.
– You will possess the web asset and content that you create. Others offer their platforms as an online store like a rental office for which you will have to pay the rent.
– WooCommerce provides a plethora of extensions that would enable you to make your store as you wish, pace up your business and administrative processes, and polish your marketing strategy.
