In our final installment of how having an online store can help you make an extra bit of moola each month, we will be looking at the dos and don’ts of setting up shop. It is important to remember that like anything we do in life, there will be ups and downs, and we will make mistakes. The below aren’t the “commandments” for setting up your business, but they should help guide you in the right direction.

Do:

1)   Have a business model that makes money

Your first step, and possibly the most essential one, is to make sure that you have a solid business plan. Base it on a traditional plan that includes a SWOT analysis, market segmentation, funding model, etc.

2) Build a solid foundation before launch

Make sure the groundwork for your site is substantial and has all the basics.  You obviously can’t launch with every feature you want from the start, but having a solid foundation to build onto is important.

3) Listen to your customers

Be prepared to deal with customers on a daily basis – whether it is queries or complaints. Answering every comment is time consuming so make sure you have a game plan about what you will and won’t respond to. However, just because you aren’t replying to everything they say, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t  listen to what they have to say.

Your customers will suggest things you may not have thought of. Consider their suggestions, react quickly to build something even better than you could have on your own. If you use a suggestion from a customer, acknowledge them and thank them.

Don’t:

1) Give up quickly

Just because transacting online is quick and easy, doesn’t mean that online success will come the same way.

As with all successful business, the owners will tell you that they worked day and night to get things right. It’s important to know that it won’t be plain sailing the whole time and it may not work as quickly as you would like, but just remember the reason for this venture.

2) Try to be everything at once

The most common killer of e-commerce start-ups is to do too much too soon. When you launch, stick to what you’re good at – if you want to sell indigenous plants at good prices, then do that and don’t start offering gardening equipment and tools. There will be plenty of time to start selling add-ons so start off small and slowly build yourself up. Once it’s successful, dig in to new features and products.

3)   Let ego get in the way

Nobody is perfect, which means that you are bound to make mistakes – especially in the beginning. If customers complain, make sure you take these complaints into consideration and if you find that some have substance, and the customer is in fact correct, you need to acknowledge your mistake and apologise.

If you missed our first two installments of how e-commerce can help you in 2016,  follow these links to read more: