In 2020, more than 150 thousand virtual stores were opened in Brazil, according to data from the Brazilian Association of Electronic Commerce (ABComm). Most of them came about through the “art of improvisation”. Improvisation, however, is not the best way to set up an e-commerce.
In fact, most e-commerces that are born and act on the spot tend to fail. To give you an idea, a study by Sebrae with a group of companies showed that those that planned over 11 months survived longer than those that did it for just 8 months.
Therefore, one of the biggest precautions you need to take before setting up an e-commerce is with the planning phase. But not only that. In this post, I present 10 things you need to know before starting your business. Keep reading and stay in the loop!
10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE BUILDING AN E-COMMERCE
If you are thinking about starting a digital business right now, then pay attention to some details that I will present below, which can make a difference. Before setting up an e-commerce, you need to know that throughout the development process you will need to:
01 – Have a business idea:
What do you want to sell in e-commerce? Do you already have something you work with and are proficient in? If so, you can start there. But if not, search the web for e-commerce projects that can help you think and find inspiration.
In this first step, also try to read everything you can about e-commerce. Access blogs and read the latest books on the subject. Take the opportunity to read information about entrepreneurship and about the sector and products you want to work with.
02 – Make a plan:
Once you know enough about entrepreneurship, your products, and your business area, then start planning. First, make a draft. Use tools like the Business Model Canvas , which allows you to create an overview of your e-commerce business.
Its official planning, however, must be done through a document called the Business Plan. Sebrae has a booklet and a Business Plan software, which I recommend using. Thus, create the general lines of your e-commerce company.
03 – Obtain the initial capital:
Now that everything is planned, start seeking help from investors. They will inject initial capital into your business so that you can develop the virtual store, get stock, have working capital and start selling.
In today's Brazil, the so-called "angel investors" are in fashion, which are nothing more than individuals with their own capital. But you can also undertake the “bootstrap” mode, that is, with money from your own pocket, if you wish.
04 – Open a company:
If you want to have an e-commerce, you will obviously have to start a company. Only in this way will you be able to count on a CNPJ, with which you can issue invoices and legally charge defaulting customers.
There are several types of businesses you can open, such as MEI or Eireli, for example. At this point, it's important to have the support of an accounting firm, which will determine the most appropriate business structure for your situation.
05 – Develop a virtual store:
Creating an online store begins with choosing an e-commerce platform . This system also allows you to manage your digital business. Furthermore, it allows you to integrate your online store with different marketplaces or create your own marketplace.
There are several types of platforms, such as monolithic and headless commerce . The former have integrated and rigid systems, and are therefore cheaper. The latter, however, allow for endless integrations via API and are therefore more versatile and more expensive.
06 – Make the disclosure:
With the virtual store ready, you should invest in Marketing. The most common ways to do this are Content Marketing and sponsored links for e-commerce. With this, you will be able to attract visitors and then turn them into customers.
At this stage, you can also work with Performance Marketing , if you wish. With it, you can analyze how consumers interact with your ads and sales pages, and then make optimizations that will guarantee you more sales.
07 - Deliver:
Delivering the product to the customer is a crucial step in your e-commerce. If something goes wrong here, you will surely have a lot of complaints and problems to resolve, which will negatively impact your business as a whole.
Therefore, you should invest in delivery management systems and good freight gateways. This will allow you to offer multiple delivery options to customers and conveniently follow the entire shipping process.
08 - Perform the after-sales:
Post-purchase is how you treat your customers after they make a purchase. If you treat them well, they will come back to buy more. Otherwise, in addition to not returning, they will go to your competitor's store. In other words, a nightmare, isn't it?
To perform a good post-purchase, you must clearly inform the delivery date, offer several service channels, treat customers with respect, request feedback and offer complementary products, among other pertinent actions.
09 – Train employees:
If your employees are poorly trained, you will soon start wasting time and money. Lack of training generates process errors, and these errors tend to increase in size over time, and can even cause irreversible damage to your company.
In this way, if you have many employees, then it is good to create a technical training department, which will be responsible for updating your team every day through dialogues, lectures, courses, etc.
10 - Optimize:
Continuous improvement is something that should be among your e-commerce values. It's just that this medium changes very fast and if you don't evolve with it, everything can become obsolete in the blink of an eye.
So, it is important to observe new technologies and try to implement them. If, for example, a monolithic platform is holding you back, then it's time to start using headless commerce and take a leap in quality. Realize? You always need to optimize.
CONCLUSION: WHAT TO DO BEFORE BUILDING AN E-COMMERCE
Escape the temptation to set up an e-commerce through improvisation, which is how most Brazilians who try to create a digital business do. Instead, study first, plan well, and acquire the resources for the endeavor.
Only after that will you be able to launch yourself on the market, open a company and a virtual store. Certainly, with detailed, unhurried planning, you will be able to execute your ideas with much more confidence and achieve the expected success more easily.
As soon as you can, click on " Resources for e-commerce " and read a complementary post.
