08 Dec, 2017

E-Business Startup

The buying and selling of products or services through the Internet is one of the common ways to obtain almost anything at even better prices than in real stores. It’s definitely something most people participate in on a daily basis: from ordering food, cabs, buying clothes or using different services. It has changed the market and our lives. But let’s find out more about the history of e-businesses and how it began impacting the world.

Since the World Wide Web was born entrepreneurs discovered that the internet was an excellent place for their business to have a solid corporate image. It didn’t take long for online businesses to appear.

Even from the 1990s companies starting to use the web for marketing. Officially, online sales began in 1994 after Netscape developed Secured Socket Layer (SSL), making online credit card transactions safer. This additional security measure quickly led to a considerable increase of online businesses.

Nowadays thousands of businesses enter the online market every year, while e-businesses range from simple websites that offer corporate information to websites that provide goods and services for sale online. The most recent offerings by different e-businesses include digital information, in the form of eBooks and digital music files.  One of the biggest advantages nowadays is the customers’ possibility to easily communicate to each other online. Customer reviews are now actually considered one of the most effective social media tactics when it comes to driving sales.

Although it might have happened slowly, e-businesses have revolutionized the global economy. Millions of orders are processed each minute of the day and in the years to come online businesses will completely restructure supply and demand. They are meant to build quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction.

 

By 2020, the e-commerce market is expected to grow from $5.3 billion in 2015 to $20 billion. As consumerism is substantially rising, the ecommerce industry has become irresistible for entrepreneurs aspiring to own a successful business. Let’s see what type of e-businesses have been the most flourishing in recent years.

1. Shopify

Already hosting over 325,000 active online shops, the platform focuses on social commerce and mobile shopping.  With over 100 store templates (themes) to choose from, Shopify constantly evolves in order to be able to meet the increasing requirements of the stores they host.  

2. Big Cartel

Helping over a million artists in selling their creations online since 2005, the platoform targets artists and home based small businesses. Big Cartel is perfect for artists and creative people.

3. BigCommerce

Similar to Shopify, BigCommerce was launched in 2009 and currently hosts over 55,000 online stores, being among the leading ecommerce software providers. It’s an excellent choice for individuals who don’t have technical knowledge or don’t want to spend their time coding.

 

These are just a few of the biggest e-businesses in the world. If we had to put them into categories we’d have 3 big groups that include:

 

Online retail:

Online shopping has become a better alternative to physical stores, customers being enabled to shop from anywhere and anytime. These types of companies advertise and sell physical items online. Businesses like Amazon and Tigerdirect are among the most popular. One of the biggest advantages of selling online is the fact that you can sell at any hour of the day at better prices than normal stores.

 

Online services:

These businesses provide their customers with services online. One of the most famous and oldest brands is eBay. It allows people to sell merchandise through online auctions. Another good example is PayPal which helps users send and receive money online with a small fee.

 

Online Advertising:

More e-businesses than you think earn their income through providing online advertising to other companies. Businesses that make their money through this means include Google and Yahoo.

 

Now when it comes to starting an e-business there are a few steps every entrepreneur must complete. The most crucial period of time is between the moment you buy your website domain and until you get the first order of a product or service.

1. Purchasing a domain

As stated earlier this is the first step on the way of owning you e-business. The main focus here is to pick a domain that represents your brand’s name as best as possible. You can even choose to have your site hosted by platforms like BlueHost.

2. Search engine optimization (SEO)

SEO means applying different tactics to create a positive user experience and offer value to your visitors.

3. Don’t neglect product or services pages

These pages are essential for your future success so make sure you pay the right attention, focus on imagery and create engaging and unique product descriptions.

4. Use email marketing to drive traffic to your site

You can use different platforms like MailChimp or ConstantContact to send great looking emails that bring big results.

5. Attract visitors by giving away for free

Provide your future customers with useful information for free, for example great content including quality articles, videos or infographics.

6. Become an active expert

Make sure you’re a member of the social media networks where your target audience can find out about you. Being an active member in different industry forums is also a great tactic to become more popular.

7. Always follow up with your customers

Studies say that at least 36 percent of people who have purchased products or services from you once will buy again if you follow up with them.

 

The internet itself and doing business online are changing fast each year. It is said that one year online means five years in the real world. The steps to starting an online business haven’t changed in the past years so if you want to start an online company, remember to follow the instructions above and get as much information as possible.

If you’re still considering whether an e-business is right for you or not, think about the advantages. You don’t need to have a lot of money to invest in startup costs.

 

This is the future where every business is an e-business or they won’t remain in business. The Internet, ecommerce, consumer trends and new markets will continue to evolve each year and unlike in the early 2000’s when people weren’t prepared for this big change, we can embrace it and constantly inform ourselves.