10 things every retailer should do when selling online (1)

A few days ago, we gave you the heads-up about selling online. And is that, if you are a real retailer, surely there are a few things you do not know about eCommerce, and you should know them before making the decision to jump into the internet.
 

But now that you have already got to know with the key aspects of selling on the internet, and assuming that you have already decided to become an on and off business person, it is time for you to be clear about what things to do when you start selling online. 

In other words, what is the practical plan when it comes to starting selling online? Where to begin from? What tools and data do you need? In the series we start today we will discover all these aspects. 

From the moment you are managing a business, it is assumed that you have a plan. Ideally, that marketing plan is well documented and is followed regularly. 

If so, you will have to expand it, because the online channel is not an annex to the physical business but an independent section, with its peculiarities and idiosyncrasies. 

There will be some more intangible aspects – such as branding, for example – that are transversal, but in general, the issue of the online marketing plan is not solved by just adding a line called "online" to the business plan and assign a budget. 

In order to make a marketing plan that offers guarantees of viability for your company, you must start from the idea of pre-existing business and consider how you want to approach the new online channel. What are you trying to get out of it? Who is your target audience? Is it really the same as your retail or are there nuances?
 

Calculate margins, do the numbers and establish the necessary investment in the different concepts, always keeping profitability in mind. 

We do know this is quite tough, so you can check this post on how to make a marketing plan for eCommerce, it will help you hit the target and structure. And if you want something more extensive and general, do not miss this series on how to make a business plan for eCommerce step by step. 

Selling online has its peculiarities in terms of the legal framework. 

On the one hand, that related to data protection: it is the famous law RGPD or GPDR, which came into effect in 2016 but it was not obligatory until May 2018. 

On an online store, there are forms, privacy policies, database processing, communications... All these constitute a small maze for a retailer who starts selling online, but it is vitally important that you comply with the rules if you do not want to face really serious problems in the future. 

In addition to data protection, it is also important that you take into account those laws ruling the sale of certain products in the countries where you are distributing them. 

Having an eCommerce, it is easier to internationalize the business, but you have to understand very well that each country has different responsibilities and taxes and, in certain cases, it may even be illegal to sell some items. 

If you are completely new to the online environment, you may not have even the domain to set up your online store. 

Do not think this is a minor matter. Surely you thought a lot about your brand´s name and it is likely that you have been advertising with that name, and customers and suppliers know you through it. In this sense, the domain of your online store is basic in the online reflection of that branding effort. But you have to make sure it is free and on sale. 

In addition to a coherence between the retail and online versions of your business at brand level – in which the names of the accounts you use in social networks are also important, the domain name is critical for certain vital strategies on the network, like SEO. 

With all the above resolved, it is time to focus on the operational and technical part of the online store. This is the aspect we, from Oleoshop, can help you save time, money and many headaches. 

First, because you will not need to hire any company or put someone on staff to develop a store with great design, features and advanced marketing tools. We offer you a lot of predesigned templates and the access to the tool, that you will be able to configure in a few clicks and in a super intuitive way. 

You will not need to know anything about programming: setting up an online store with Oleoshop is like playing with a puzzle. You only need to put the different pieces as you wish with the Drag & Drop system, customize their colors and sizes, and finally publish the online store. It is that easy! 

In addition to this, we also deal with another of those aspects that cannot be ignored: hosting. We give you a built-in solution so that you will not have to worry about configuration, updates, backups or installations of any kind. All is included. 

Find out all the features of our software in the cloud. 

Something you will have to face in a different way when you start selling online is that related with the management of shipments and logistics. 

You will go from controlling a limited number of orders and addresses (basically providers) to deliver as many shipments as orders your customers place. 

You must take into account the costs of reverse logistics, the amount of delivery attempts offered by the courier you work with, or what internal management of returns implies. 

You can also consider alternatives to door-to-door delivery, such as pickup points, where users can collect their products at an agreed point instead of receiving them at home. They are usually businesses associated with the courier company that are chosen by the customer for its  convenient location within his/her habitual route. 

In that sense, Oleoshop has been integrated with Puntopack for months, which has over 1,800 convenience points in Spain. 

In order to get familiar with logistical issues closely linked to eCommerce, do not miss these 5 laws of logistics for eCommerce, how to turn logistics into a conversion factor and how to play with shipping costs. 

Read the complete series here:

Images | Fotolia, Unsplash.