Never before has it been easier and cheaper to start your own business. The Internet makes it possible for almost any person with access to a computer and Internet connection to make money. However, setting up an online business that will be successful for the long term requires going through a learning curve that includes many different factors, such as business planning, understanding shopping carts, marketing, how to brand yourself and gain credibility. I have selected 5 key tips that I hope will both give insight and inspiration:
Tip #1 A Bad Reputation on eBay Will Lose You Sales. In fact, a bad reputation will lose you almost all your sales, and that is true regardless of whether you are on eBay or some other sort of ecommerce site. On eBay, if someone leaves you negative feedback, you will feel the pain straight away, as that rating will go right at the top of your user page for everyone to see. Who’s going to want to do business with you when they’ve just read that you “took a month to deliver the item”, or that you had “bad communication and sent a damaged item”? The answer is no-one. Your next few items will need to be very cheap things just to push that negative down the page. You might have to spend days or even weeks selling cheap stuff to get enough positive feedback to make anyone deal with you again.
Tip #2 EBay search can be a valuable tool for both buyers and sellers. Be specific: If you’re searching for the first edition of the original copy of Alice in Wonderland, you’ll get further searching for ‘alice in wonderland first edition’ than you will searching for ‘alice in wonderland’. You’ll get fewer results, but the ones you do get will be far more relevant. Spell wrongly: It’s a sad fact that many of the sellers on eBay just can’t spell. Whatever you’re looking for, try thinking of a few common misspellings – the chances are that fewer people will find these items, and so they will be cheaper.
Tip #3 Don’t leave your email address on your website; it will be harvested by spam bots. Use a “Help Desk” system. Your customers have to register first and then create a support ticket. They immediately get an automated response explaining that their customer service issue is logged, gives them a tracking ticket number and explains that a customer service representative will respond shortly. This appears very professional to a customer and greatly increases your credibility. This is especially effective when you respond in a timely fashion. When using a help desk, you should always tell the customer about how long to wait before receiving reply. A help desk is generally easy to install as most hosting accounts include automatic installation free with your account.
Tip #4 Drop shipping is a service that used to be offered by wholesale companies to their reseller customers. Drop shipping simply means that the product distributor stores its inventory in its warehouse. When you sell a product, you then send payment to the drop ship company, and it, in turn, sends the product under your business name to your customer. Your customer is never directly aware of the drop shipper. This is called “blind drop shipping.” This can be a solution to the problem of having to stock inventory either on the premises of your residence or renting a storage space. It also solves the problem of shipping and handling, and if your drop shipper is a true professional, then this will also solve the problem of returns and replacements.
Tip #5 By far the most professional method of providing effective customer support is to use a help desk. Your customer will have to open an account before they can log a support request which eliminates most non-genuine support issues. After opening an account, they can log a support issue which is automatically given a unique identification and the details stored in a database. The customer is immediately sent an email explaining that their support issue has been logged and they can expect a reply in 12, 24, or 48 hours, or whatever time span you set. I suggest you reply in the shortest realistic time possible. Also, if you are running your ecommerce store on your own hosting, most hosting accounts include help desk software. Installation is usually automatic upon the click of a button.
Learn more about home business basics and find free tips and advice onWork-from-home ecommerce.