Despite the fact that
digital transformation
is not something new, in recent times it has taken on greater prominence due to the fact that many entrepreneurs found in social networks a means to offer their products and captivate an audience.
But this is not enough if the idea is to face new challenges, competitors and
obtain higher returns
.
In these cases it will be essential that the sale also occurs through
your own website
.
A virtual store is a
platform or web page
that is exclusively designed to
sell products or services over the Internet
.
Unlike a physical store, in a virtual store potential customers can buy
24 hours a day
, every day of the year without having to leave their homes.
All online stores should include
photos
,
texts and videos
to better show the characteristics of the products.
Prices
also need to be listed
.
A virtual store is a platform or web page designed exclusively to sell products or services over the Internet.
Photo: File.
How does a virtual store work?
An online business has
4 main stages
:
1. The purchase process
: the customer enters the web page, chooses the items they want and adds them to the shopping cart.
2. Data loading
: once all the products in the cart have been loaded, the user must register and indicate his name, the delivery address and the method of payment.
3. Reception and analysis of the order
: this phase corresponds to the company that receives the purchase order, checks the customer's information, reviews the payment and organizes the shipment.
4. The delivery of the product
: in this last stage, the logistics are managed so that the items arrive in a timely manner.
Unlike a physical store, in a virtual one customers can shop 24 hours a day.
Photo Shutterstock
How to create a virtual store in 5 steps?
To set up an online store, the CEO and CO Founder of Xubio, a management software company for SMEs,
Fernando Arzuaga
, described 5 fundamental stages:
1. Define the ecommerce strategy
Being
clear about the
objectives and business plan
is essential to be able to create an online store.
For this, it is recommended:
Carry out a
study of the market and the competition
beforehand .
Define who the target audience will be, what products will be marketed and at what price.
Specify the competitive advantage: how is this product going to be differentiated from the rest?
If the brand already has a name, it could be used.
It would only be necessary to verify that there is no other equal domain.
In case there is no defined
name/brand
yet, it is recommended to choose one that is
easy to spell
,
pronounce and remember
.
At the same time it has to be short and describe the venture.
To protect the brand, it is necessary to acquire both the
.com extension and the extension of the country of interest
(.ar, .cl, .co, .mx).
Hire a
hosting service
.
Before choosing a provider, it is advisable to analyze its reputation, the web space and the security it offers.
Take into account the information transfer rate.
If the store is small,
1 or 2 GB will be enough
, but if it is presumed that it is going to have a
large number of daily visits
, it will be necessary to opt for a plan
starting with 3 GB
.
Among the most recognized providers are Hostinger, GoDaddy, Hostgator, A2 Hosting, Bluehost and AWS.
2. Design the website
The
design of the virtual store is also an important point
to attract users
.
It is recommended to choose a
legible font, with an appropriate size
and use good quality images to stimulate the purchase.
In addition, the texts within the web page can be optimized so that they position within the search engines.
Finally, make sure that the store has a
"responsive"
(or adaptable) design, that is,
that it can be seen well on all types of devices
.
3. Offer various payment options
The more
payment alternatives
provided, the more the buyers' operations will be facilitated.
This way, you will never miss a sale for financial reasons.
In addition to
credit and debit cards,
it is important to offer other options such as
bank transfer
,
Mercado Pago
,
Paypal
,
Rapipago
,
Easy Payment
or
cash on delivery,
which is when the buyer pays when receiving the product.
4. Arrange logistics
Once you have the domain, hosting, design and payment methods, you need to think about
how the products will be delivered
.
It must be taken into account that the
speed of shipping
, the
ease of returns
and
free delivery
are among the most valued aspects by users who buy online.
Therefore, it is vital to have good logistics.
You can set up your own distribution system or hire an external company.
An
important factor
that has to do with logistics is
stock
.
If it is not controlled, problems can appear.
For this task, it is recommended to use business management software.
5. Promote the virtual store
Once
the business is online
, it is necessary
to promote it to start getting visitors
.
For this, online advertising, email marketing and social networks can be carried out, which will also be used to organize contests, offer discounts or sign strategic alliances with influencers.
At the same time, it will be necessary to
generate valuable content related to the products
such as free training, ebooks and webinars.
In this way, you can also interact with customers and generate a community.
To gain the trust of buyers, it is essential
to provide quality technical support
and
respond quickly
and effectively
to all requests, queries and complaints from visitors.
To improve customer service, you can offer a
live chat service
or add contact and frequently asked questions sections.
It
is also key to protect customer data from
malicious attacks and avoid scams and fraudulent actions.
It is also important to evaluate the
results
.
In order to know if the online store is achieving the expected results, it is necessary to carry out periodic evaluations of both
traffic and the profile of visitors
, as well as sales.
In this way, it is possible to know which actions implemented were successful, which are the products with the most output and which processes need to be improved.
All online stores should include photos, texts and videos to show the characteristics of the products.
Photostock.
What are the benefits of a virtual store?
Creating a virtual store offers many
advantages
for entrepreneurship.
Among the main ones are:
·
It is
available 24 hours
a day , 365 days a year, since it is a business that never closes.
·
Unlike face-to-face locations, it does not require a large investment in personnel and rentals, which
helps to save costs
.
·
Most of the processes are standardized therefore,
there is no loss of time
.
·
Allows
you to quickly and easily reach a large number of customers
, even from other cities and countries.
· Increases the visibility and awareness of the brand and promotes the achievement of sales goals.
·
Offers the
possibility of managing time
and even
working from home
.
·
User registration and interactivity enable
access to detailed customer information
and analysis of their behaviors and preferences.
This facilitates the generation of personalized products and offers and the improvement of marketing campaigns.
·
Ecommerce offers
greater flexibility
to quickly adapt to
changes in the market
.
Meanwhile, among the biggest
disadvantages
of creating an online store are
high competition and the lack of direct contact
with customers, which
sometimes generates mistrust
.
LN
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