Looking to start a conversion-centric and revenue-generating dropshipping business? If so, then you have landed on the right article where we will help you to demystify different tips and techniques that can help you in building an effective and revenue-generating dropshipping business.
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Undoubtedly, starting a new dropshipping business is a step toward creating your own brand, selling products to your customers, and setting your own product pricing. Dropshipping is the perfect choice for those who don’t want to deal with things like shipping, production, inventory management, and more.
In the coming years, the drop shipping business is going to be very much popular among millennials that are looking to start an ecommerce business with limited funds. With creative and unique online marketing strategies, you can build a successful brand that offers you desired sales and revenue.
Every year the ecommerce industry is seeing a surge in sales and shoppers, In 2019 ecommerce sales amounted to a total of 3.5 trillion dollars worldwide and expected to get doubled in the coming years. So, if you are planning to start a dropshipping business then you have opted for a lucrative option.
In this article, we will help you to determine what is dropshipping and various tips to consider before starting a dropshipping business.
If you are looking to create an ecommerce website using e commerce then check our blog on How To Set Up A Fully Functioning WooCommerce Store Using WordPress?
What is Dropshipping Business?
In simple words dropshipping acts as a middleman between shopper and manufacturer. It acts as a retail fulfillment structure where you don’t keep the stock of products. Instead, you find customers, reach out to other companies to manufacture and ship the product, and lastly, you take a cut because you offered customers to them.
Basically you are reaching out to the manufacturing company that focuses on producing products, not on marketing and other advertising techniques. The main difference between a dropshipping business and a retail business is that the drop shipper doesn’t own the inventory. The stock and investors are owned by the retailer and manufacturer.
Dropshipping businesses focus more on acquiring new customers, building loyalty, and becoming customers’ trusted source. By now you might be familiar with what is a dropshipping business. Next, let’s identify how you can start a dropshipping business in a competitive environment.
Tips to consider before starting a dropshipping business
1. Select a niche for your business
One of the most basic steps but the most important tips in selecting the right niche for your business. As mentioned earlier. Today dropshipping is more than listing products on the website. Before listing any product you need to identify things that you are interested in selling. Because your interest will play a major role in making your dropshipping business successful.
But here is another thing your interests should relate to customers as well that means you need to identify a niche with products where people show interest in purchasing it. The dropshipping market is becoming more competitive rolling out products that are not frequently purchased by users may fail to offer you desired results.
Dropshipping business offers you the freedom to select any niche you want. If you are interested i8n selling grooming products or sports or anything related to food, fashion, electronics and more you are always free to select anything you need.
You can also go for the specific sub nice like fashion can be narrowed down to men or women only, and grooming products can be narrowed down to men grooming and more. Analyze the market and act accordingly considering your interest as well.
2. Identify and analyze your competitor
Once you are done selecting a niche for your dropshipping business, next you can look for your competitor or the business that has already gained the trust and authority in your field. Identify and aspect your competitor to save time, money, and efforts.
Remember you can either waste time analyzing each and every aspect of your niche and target market. Or you take a short cut by analyzing your competitors who have already analyzed your niche and target market.
Many drop shippers take a u-turn after identifying their competitors like Amazon, Walmart, and more. Well here is our say if your competitors are retailer giants like Amazon and Walmart then your niche has a good customer base.
A niche with less to no competitor indicates that the product is not well known or liked by others and has a low customer base. Selecting a niche like that can never offer you the desired result. That’s why look at products and niche that have competition.
Google can be the best source to identify your competitor. Type the key phrase that relates to your niche and product to identify your competitors.
Once you identify your competitor next, analyze their business structure, what they sell, who their target customer is, what are the problems faced by them, and more. You can also go through the reviews to check what customers are complaining about your competitor.
There are various tools like Ahref, SEM Rush, Similar Web, and more that you can use to get insight into your competitor’s online activity and functioning.
3. Find a Supplier
Before making your business live it is always recommended to identify and build good relations with the key supplier to make your business function more effective and efficient. Selecting a wrong supplier can directly affect your business. Why before partnering with any supplier spend time identifying the background of the supplier and their functioning.
Many Drop shippers operate from different countries which makes it essential for them to have a good relationship so that they can have an uninterrupted supply and communication. If you think your supplier doesn’t offer seamless communication then don’t get stuck with them move on and continue your search.
There are good suppliers out there that have good products to sell but they don’t have an effective idea and strategy about how to market their product and acquire a new customer. You can showcase your skills on how you can help them to grow their business and increase the reach of their product.
Before partnering with any supplier make sure you are aware of their production capabilities. There are many dropshipping businesses out there who became successful with the support of their suppliers. Make sure you are not dependent on a single supplier. Partnering with multiple vendors can make your business functioning more effective and impactful.
4. Create an effective and impactful marketing strategy
Most of the drop shippers commit a mistake by directly jumping onto creating a website for their business. But your website design is very much dependent on your marketing strategy. Marketing begins with getting an in-depth idea about your target audience and nice. Once you are familiar with them then it will become easy for you to create a website that relates to your target audience.
Your marketing strategy is the one that will separate your business from others. Spend time in creating a conversion-centric marketing strategy for your dropshipping business. To acquire new audiences first you need to understand then and identify how your business can solve their problem. But before that, you need to create an attractive website for your business.
5. Create a website for your business
After following the above step next you need to focus on creating a website for your dropshipping business. The fastest way to get a dropshipping website for you is business is by selecting a popular ecommerce website building platforms like woocommerce, Shopify, bigcommerce, and more.
Mainly these ecommerce platforms are built for those who don’t have any technical background and are starting a business with a very tight budget. But here is the thing if you are looking to launch a conversion-centric website that relates to your customer and encourages them to perform the desired action. Then it is always recommended to hire an eCommerce website design company that can help you in building a research-based website for your dropshipping business.
6. Create a customer acquisition plan for your business
Having an attractive and impactful website is the basis of any business but the success of your website depends on the customer aquisition rate. There are various ways to acquire new customers but online marketing, social medial marketing, email marketing, and more are among the most effective ways you should include in your customer aquisition strategy.
An effective customer aquisition strategy will help you to generate more sales and revenue right for the start of your business. Make use of paid ads to spread awareness about your brand and make it reachable to your potential customer within a short span of time. It enables them to compete with large brands and retailers.
When it comes to setting up a website and business for the long run then make sure you start optimizing you website for search engine and start collecting your email of your potential customers. Email enables you to run a successful campaign that converts your subscribers into paying customers. Not only that but emails are also considered as the best channels to convert existing customers into loyal customers as well. So, for the long run SEO and email marketing are always the most effective methods.
Conclusion
By now you might be clear with how you can start a dropshipping business. Above we have listed all the tips and techniques that you can consider to start a lucrative dropshipping business.
Remember dropshipping is not a stress-free business, you are the middle man between shopper and seller, so you need to put more effects on creating a unique and impactful marketing strategy that separates your business from others.
The best way to figure out how you can create a lucrative dropshipping business is by taking the first step to build an attractive store for your business. Make use of the above-listed tips before starting a dropshipping business.
If you want the advice of experts that can help you in selecting a lucrative niche and other strategies for your dropshipping business then you can always reach out to our marketing and website design experts experienced in building more than 500 successful dropshipping businesses.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How much does it cost to start a dropshipping business?
In reality, it’s hard to predict the exact amount that a person needs to spend in starting a dropshipping business but one thing it’s relatively lesser than an online retail business. But if you are expecting an estimated amount then opening a drop shipping business may cost you between $1500 – $6000 depending on the size of the store.
If you are looking to create a business structure that grabs the user’s attention and encourages them to take action on the website. Then you can always reach out to an ecommerce website design expert that can help you in starting a research-based dropshipping business with a conversion-centric strategy.
2. Is dropshipping profitable in 2020?
Undoubtedly dropshipping is still a lucrative business in 2020. But today the dropshipping business is not dependent on just listing the product in your store. It depends on marketing efforts and strategies. In the year 2019 ecommerce business amounted to a total of 3 trillion dollars worldwide and in 2020 the ecommerce sales hit by 25.6 trillion dollars globally. So the drop shipping business is going nowhere and still, it is considered as a lucrative and profitable business.
Every business requires an effective, attractive, and unique marketing strategy. Mainly in dropshipping, your whole business depends on how well your customer knows about your brand. So, if you are looking to create an attractive website design and marketing strategy for your business then you can reach out to SFWP experts, a San Francisco based website design company experienced in offering attractive website design as well as a lucrative marketing strategy.
3. Is dropshipping a legitimate business?
One of the common questions asked by every new beginner. But Before answering let me clarify dropshipping acts as a fulfillment model when is globally used by the retailer. SO yes dropshipping business is totally legal. But sometimes the dropshipping business gets into trouble not because they are running a dropshipping business but it happens because of the supplier. So make sure your supplier is authentic. Make sure you are protecting your business with a Dropshipping agreement contract.