A lot of people launch e-commerce sites only to realize they lack an essential element. Six months in, after spending their nest egg, they ask: “You mean I need a pay-per-click campaign? But I didn’t budget for that.” Or, “I need Web analytics software? I had no idea.”

Assembling everything you need prior to launch will save you numerous headaches. And it will better prepare you to compete with established businesses, which are operating with full toolboxes.

As a business owner, your goals are to improve customer satisfaction, generate sales and maximize profits through your business. To achieve these goals, you have to acquire more customers and reach out to them across various locations. This will entail you spending money on rent, advertisements, marketing, distribution and much more.

However, we all know that quite a number of these expenses have become harder to maintain due to the unfavorable economic environment we find ourselves in. In fact, the Nigerian economy has been ranked 169 out of 181 economies for “ease of doing business” by the World Bank Doing Business 2016 Report.

For this reason, e-commerce serves as a great field to dive into for a business today. There is no denying the impact of how the digital age has transformed the manner in which our business goals can be achieved. According to the We are Social’s Digital in 2016 Report, about 97 million of the Nigerian population (184.6 million) are active internet users.

In a study conducted by Ipsos (a global market research company) Nigeria is Africa’s leading e-commerce nation in terms of potential and existing online shoppers, compared to other African countries (South Africa and Kenya).

These days, buyers are intrigued with the idea of shopping online. They like to view detailed images and videos, check availability and buy items via online and mobile tools. They want to order for their choice of product and receive electronic order confirmations with accurate shipping details on when their order will get to them.

At the Hosting Mogul Web Design Studios, we recognize these trends and have made available innovative products that can help your business achieve that online presence it should have at very little cost.

With an online presence accessed by millions of online users within and outside Nigeria, you are assured of reaching a wide spread of customers.

The list below contains everything you’ll need to get your online store off the ground. Read it, assemble the items and prepare to work long hours.

One more thing. This list assumes you already know what you’ll be selling. Of all the things you need to figure out ahead of time, deciding what to sell is the most important.

It must be an item or service that few businesses already sell, one you can get for a low wholesale price or one about which you have a special knowledge.

Something about what you sell has to let you stand out from the herd — at least a little bit — otherwise you’ll be trying to sell snow to Eskimos. And that’s discouraging.

Assuming that you have something truly great to sell, gather or create the following items, and you’ll have a reasonable chance at making some money online:

1– A Business Plan
Writing a business plan seems daunting. You might say, “I’m starting a business, I don’t want to sit down and write a paper, like I’m in school.” But think of it this way: it’s free, and it will help you immeasurably. Real businesses have business plans.

2–A Reliable Source for Your Product
If you’re selling Soup like i do on www.soupembassy.com, are you confident the price of soup ingredients won’t going to skyrocket three months from now? Do you have more than one wholesale source? Hopefully yes, otherwise you could be in trouble. The best problem of all: if you make your product in your basement, can you handle success if you suddenly get 25 orders per day? Make sure your supply line is steady before you plunk down your money.

3–A Web Designer
Many Web design software packages are so easy to use that business owners think they can design their own site. That’s a mistake. Homemade Web sites aren’t like homemade cookies. No one likes the way they look. Worse, an ugly site makes shoppers wonder: should I enter my credit card number in this funky looking site? Select a Web design firm with great care, and be prepared to pay for quality work — you’ll get nowhere without it. On a related note, you’ll need a steady flow of product shots.

To find out more on our e-commerce web design, visit our website or contact us.

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