How to sell in the internet

The figures on how e-commerce has taken hold in our day to day life are overwhelming. Specifically, in our country, e-commerce turnover exceeded 5.3 billion euros in the third quarter of 2015, 29,2% more than the previous year, according to the latest data from the CNMC.

These numbers make us very optimistic when undertaking any e-commerce project, but we should not think that an online store works by itself. It is very important to address a series of keys that will make your project succeed.

​Define the business model

Within the online sale there are many types of different business models, this is the first decision that we must take and that will condition the rest.

The first thing is to know who we are going to sell, we have two options:

• B2B (Business-to-Business). Our company sells products to another company.
• B2C (Business-to-Consumer). Our company sells products to the end customer.

Once we have this point clear, we have to face the following decision, in which we will decide how we will acquire our products:

• Proprietary production. If your company is responsible for manufacturing the products, you will have precise control over the quality and brand.
• Manufactured.  Find a manufacturer that makes the products for you.
• Wholesale.  Purchase your inventory (usually from other brands), directly from the manufacturer or from an intermediary supplier, at a higher discount rate, which in turn, resell at a higher price.
• Dropshipping. The process is to take orders from your online business, and send them to your dropship partner/supplier. They, in return, send the product to your customer on behalf of your company. 

Study the competition

Analyzing the environment in which you will develop your business is crucial for the future of your business. You have to identify who your direct and indirect competitors are. The elements to which you must pay attention are the following:/p>

• Prices of products. On the internet, the competition is huge and the price war is constant; this work has to be maintained over time. Regularly visit the pages of your competition and update your prices if necessary.  
• Branding. Studying the competition brands before creating your own is very important to generate your own personality. It is highly recommended to avoid corporate colors already in use for brands in your niche.
• Page layout.Compare the competition designs with yours, you can always get ideas and try to improve them.
• Procurement process. Make purchases on other pages and study the purchasing processes of your competition.
• Images. Compare the product photographs from all the companies in your environment, study who does it best and get ideas for your business.

Define technology... 

Another big question that we all ask ourselves when we are going to create our online business is, es “Which is the ideal platform for my project?” We can distinguish two distinct groups: Online services and custom developments.Each has its pros and cons. Broadly speaking it can be said that custom development are installable solutions in which you can modify or alter the code as far as your knowledge or the knowledge of your programmer allows, which gives you greater control over your page but a bit higher maintenance costs. For its part, the SaaS model is software that does not have to be installed since it is in the cloud and is preconfigured to be used directly and from anywhere, which facilitates pretty much everything related to hosting, since each service offers yours in the cloud, but this solution involves adapting to the functionalities of each software.  

SAAS 
Online services.

• Shopify    
• Squarespace
• Big Cartel    
• Bigcommerce    
• Gumroad    
• Storenvy    

BESPOKE 
Custom Development Platforms.

• Woocommerce (Wordpress)    
• Magento    
• Prestashop    
• Opencart    
• Drupal    
• Joomla    
• Rails    
• ASP Net

​...and online sales channels

​
MARKETPLACES
A MarketPlace is a site that lets sellers and buyers interact to make a business transaction.

• Amazon 
• Ebay
• Alibaba
• Etsy
• Rakuten
• Mercadolibre
  ​

Optimizes usability

The design of the website is something crucial. I have seen how great business ideas are wrecked in the ocean of the internet because of an un-intuitive design.

On the internet, immediacy and impulsivity are very important factors, as in the store below your house you do not mind waiting in a 5 minute queue, on the internet, patience does not exist. Give the user all the tools to create the easiest way to find what they are looking for.

One of the most important aspects is the information architecture; a very common mistake in online stores is a bad hierarchical categorization: when we want to highlight everything, we do not highlight anything. So create your own minding the words of the architect Mies Van der Rohe "less is more”.

The arrangement of the elements is something tremendously relevant. For example, if you had to look for your shopping basket, where on the page would you go? Prize! To the top right. Altering the elements of sites is so important, because the vast majority of people know instinctively where they will be and juggling them around confuses the user.

If we opt for a drop down menu we have to make sure that it has noticeable visibility, either because it has a lot of air or white space around it, by contrasting a lot with the background or by using a color that catches the attention of the user. A good practice in some cases is to add the word Menu to the icon of the three lines, which in this way makes navigation more intuitive.

Another element to keep in mind is the search engine. Please don't make searches difficult! A large and functional search engine will always help the customer find what they are looking for. There is no need to "dirty" the page with a search box that occupies the entire body. Right now there are solutions like the highly recommended deployable search engines, which also adds a touch of design. 

Calls to action

Calls to action are a key part of an online store's success. They are the signs on a road that tell us where to go, and we provide those signs. We are the ones who guide the user through our page and demand their attention.

The most obvious call to action on an e-commerce site is the "buy" button, although it is not the only one. Buttons like "more information" or "take advantage of our offer" are other examples. In the case of the first one, the buy button, I have seen big errors, like the putting two buttons of equal size and color next to the other, one for Buy and another for Add to wish list, for example. This, in addition to being an attack on usability, is suicide for the owner of the page. In an e-commerce platform there is nothing more important than buying (selling for the owner), so you never ever give me a bunch of options that distract me from what I'm doing when I'm adding a product to the basket, much less at the same level.

As for the rest of the Calls to Action, as I said, we have to serve as a guide for the user with the page. For example, if we show a block with three products. Add a "See more" button and I will probably be interested in knowing what others products I may like within that category.
 

Call to action example on vuvalu.com

Responsive design

At this point in time it is highly unlikely that our business will succeed if we do not take into account one fact: users who connect to the internet with their mobile phones alone surpass those who connect only with a desktop computer.

M-Commerce is already a reality. People have already gotten used to buying apps, plane tickets, dinners, movie tickets, etc. with a mobile and these statistics have only begun to grow.

Responsive or adaptive web design is a web design technique that seeks the correct display of the same page in different devices, from desktops to tablets and mobiles. In this way we offer the user different appearances but avoid duplicating contents and everything is centralized in the same database.

Uses attractive images

Online stores have innumerable advantages over physical ones, but perceiving the touch and scent of each of their products by customers is not one of them.

For this reason, it is so important to offer quality images to facilitate the purchase decision. It is the only way the customer has along with the product description to know if it's really what they're looking for.
 

Photographs made for the Helvetica Wine project

Homogeneity

All images must follow a pattern in terms of style, size, format, etc. Before starting to take photos we must define certain aspects such as:

Am I going to use models in my photographs? Is it necessary? It is proven that certain clothes work better with a model, but not everyone has the budget to do so, so being original and creative is a very good option in these cases. Obviously if we are going to sell notebooks or kitchen knives we can skip the matter of the models.

Another question that we must consider is the background of the images. Where will our images go? On a white background or on a mass of color? Be that as it may, they are all the same.

Photographs on flashy colors work very well for a class of products aimed at a young audience type (and with youth I'm going to go up to the age of 45 so that no one here is offended).

In any case, this part is very important. Take your time or subcontract this part, but the important thing is to make some good photographs and that is not easy task.

Finally, each image has to be edited with a Photoshop type software, with which we will adjust the framing, levels and size of the image. Remember that the images must be quality but not very heavy. You can use tools like http://www.jpegmini.com/ to optimize the weight of the photographs.

Build confidence

Trust is one of the most important aspects to take into account, and of course, everything we have talked about regarding design helps increase the user's certainty. However at this point there are very specific aspects that we should not neglect.

“About us” Page
The customer wants to know who is behind our store. For this reason, a very important page is the "about us" in which is declared what physical or legal person is responsible and what their tax identification number is. The more information we offer, the better: company history, mission, vision, etc. You will hardly generate trust if you hide who you are.

Phone number and address
Few things convey confidence more than a contact phone with a person on the other side and a telephone call schedule. Many times users are not familiar with the processes of buying in online stores and give up. If we provide a phone, we may increase the number of orders. 

A physical address is also essential if we want the user to feel secure when buying.

Reviews and ratings
The opinions of other users always add credibility. Big e-commerce companies have been doing it for years.

Quality seals and certificates
There are different certifications that will make your online store generate more confidence. This is a guarantee for the potential buyer. Some of the best known are ChambertTrust, Webcert (Afaq/Afnor), Label site (Fevad) or Confianza Online.

Secure site with an SSL certificate
It is a way of telling the visitor that you are in an authentic and reliable site as far as the registration of your personal or banking data, as they will "travel" in an encrypted form. To arrange it, it's enough to request it from the company where we have the domain hosted and to configure it in our content manager.

Types of SSL

Payment Methods
In addition to explaining clearly on a specific page what forms of payment are accepted on your page, it is advisable to offer as many as possible: Paypal, bank transfer, credit card and COD are the most common.

Return policy
Include in your e-commerce site a page where you clearly explain the return policy.

Invest in SEO

We have arrived at one of the most feared points: the dreaded SEO.

My advice is, don't let anyone scare you with this issue. It's clear that it's very important, but if your expectations are reasonable (don't try to sell more than Zara the first year), it is just a matter of getting things right from the development team and content creation. Here's how to optimize the SEO of your page:

Market Study
· Keyword Study: It consists of determining the keywords for our homepage and our product pages on the one hand, and the keywords and themes to write about in the blog.
In this phase it is important to avoid keyword cannibalization.
· Competency study: What keywords are being used, where they are getting the incoming links and what is the architecture of the information on the site.
We must use all this information to propose a solution that tries to improve what already exists.

Correction of tracking problems and improvement of load speed
On the one hand you have to locate crawl errors, 404 errors, duplicate content ... and correct them. For them we will use tools like Google Webmaster Tools or Streaming Frog.
On the other hand you can optimize the load speed by making improvements in the software you use or improving the hosting service, since speed is an increasingly important criterion when positioning a website.

On-page optimization
These optimizations refer to the technical improvements that we can make in the website to help improve the rankings, that is, to improve the ranking on Google.

The most common and fundamental as of the date of this article are the following: 

· Optimize keywords by weighting them between title, goals and content
· Structure the html correctly
· Optimize internal links
· Ensure adequate usability
· Have a mobile version of the site
· Add micro formats or microdata
· Add customer reviews (opinions and ratings)
· Add hrefrang to multi-language sites

Integration with social networks
It is very important to create a profile in the main social networks. The more we have the better, but beware that this can be counterproductive. It's better not to have them than to neglect them.
Of all the networks, the most relevant for SEO for obvious reasons is Google+, although it is true that Pinterest also has a lot of strength when it comes to positioning.

Using a blog
Using a content strategy that will allow us to plan what content and when will be published taking into account the results of the market study.

Link building
This is the last part and the most arduous and complex. It's about getting us linked to other websites, and the more relevant these websites, the better for our business. There are many ways to achieve this: link exchanges, purchase of articles in blogs, publication of press releases, insertions in important digital newspapers, etc..
n any case, it is best to follow one of the countless checklist that exist on the web and above all, to hire a professional.

Plan a strategy in social networks

At this point in the article, if you're still here, I'm sure you don't have to convince yourself how important it is to be in social networking for an e-commerce business. So let's save all those truisms heard in some very high content talks, such as "human beings are social in nature," "the media is changing," "users seek to share their experiences" and blah blah blah.

So, understanding the why, let's go for the how.

The first thing is to be aware of our resources, whether or not we are going to outsource this service, or if we're going to manage it ourselves.

Next we must be clear about our target (or target audience) and where it is, because that's where we must go. According to the latest study by Sprout Social, women dominate the world of social media, especially Pinterest and Snapchat. Men, however, are better represented on Twitter, and especially on Google+. It's a no-brainer to say that it is better to be on 5 social networks than on 3; however, what is really important is quality, not quantity. It is preferable to have 2 or 3 very powerful networks, with followers and original content and care, to be involved in all of them and publish once every 3 weeks. Consistency is the key.

Once we have defined all of the above, we will begin to plan a strategy, which is essential for us to notice positive results. For them, it's essential to use one or several tools, such as Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Onlypult, etc.

In this article my partner Laura explains what mistakes you should not make in social networks,very advisable to fine-tune the shot and get good results.

A highly recommended practice in the case of online stores is having a lottery through social media to capture leads. For example, you can offer a product for free, or an attractive discount, if they participate in the contest you propose. Remember to include a small form to capture the data of the relevant participants for your company.

Buzz Marketing
Buzzing would be the "word of mouth" in viral marketing, that is, that which generates conversations around a brand or a product, logically to increase the purchase decision. 

Buzz marketing combines three elements: recommendation, trust and conversation.

Consumers are those who enhance communication and participation in a proactive way around the brand, through videos or flashy actions that it previously shared.
One of the most outstanding examples of success would be Apple. We all know that it is more than a brand and that all its consumers are defending and commenting on each of its products.

Help with email marketing

Email marketing is one of the most powerful tools of customer loyalty. However, for these campaigns to achieve their goal we must take into account certain aspects:

· Find a subject with hook.
This will make the difference between a high and a low open percentage. It draws the attention of the receiver in a clear and direct way.

· Appearance matters a lot.
The design of your newsletter is essential. Choose the images and texts well. Quality is preferable to quantity.

· Interesting content
Many times a blog article can hook more than a product. Choose content that may interest the recipient.

· Review content conscientiously.
It seems obvious but in the newsletter spelling mistakes or links to sites that don't work are very common. Make a test mailing to several people in your company or your immediate area for review before sending it to your contact list.

Email made for Vinorama

There are many platforms that offer email marketing services for free (up to a certain number of subscribers), but the best known are Mailchimp and Campaign Monitor. Both are very powerful and recommended. 

Email strategy for abandoned purchases

Imagine that you are at work with the browser open and you find the perfect disguise for your friend's bachelor party. You place the item in the shopping cart, write your name, email, address and then ... your boss walks towards you. You close your browser and start whistling without any sense of harmony or time.

Well, this example is much more common than you think. They call you on the phone, your little boy starts to cry, your neighbor knocks on the door or your semi naked neighbor comes to ask you for salt, they are very common things that happen day to day. Studies show that on average people get 1 interruption every 8 minutes, while an average employee is interrupted 56 times a day.

According to Baynard Institute, more than 68% of online shopping carts are abandoned. This means that you need 312 visitors who begin the purchase process to have 100 completed.

By sending one or more emails, companies can usually recover more than 10% of lost sales.

Use discounts, offers and coupons

The offers and discounts are the kings of the internet. There are many people who are hunting for the best promotion so it remains one of the most attractive hooks when it comes to attracting customers.

In order for the offers to work, you should not use them very often as it could mean damage to your brand, as well as being an unprofitable strategy. Another option is to have a category of "outlet" products, which can also work very well. 

Coupons are codes that someone exchanges with the objective of applying a discount to a purchase or product. They are usually very welcome as they are more personalized offers and the person who receives it feels privileged.

Examples of how and when to use offers:

1. Weekly/monthly deals that generate sales and earnings as a goal

2. Pre-launch offers 

3. Offers for celebrations (Valentine's Day, Christmas ...)

4. ffers for abandoned carts

5. Email Subscription Offers/Newsletter

6. Offers to link, follow and share content on social networks

7. Referrals from a friend or family member

8. First purchase offer

9. Supply by size/volume of cart

10. Specific offers for social networks

11. Offers for loyal customers
 

Conclusion

In short, building an e-commerce business is not a hobby. For that there are ukuleles or lawn bowling. However, if you take it a little seriously, setting up your own online store can turn your life around, few things are as exciting as starting with a project of your own and seeing how it is growing day by day. I hope this article has helped you and solved the doubts you had. For us here at wildwildweb estamos a tu disposición if you want to take the helm of your online business.

Main photo: Milada Vigerova