I will advice you should do your home work well before you start your eCommerce business. I agree with you that there are huge passion to start quick but you must do your home work well if you must succeed and stand the test of time.
Here are few things I that will help you:
Getting Your Market Ready
This reminds me of our first importation experience; when just starting up. I and my friend just felt people will like a certain product and we went ahead to import it without any research for the market; this cost us so much that we latter gave out the product when we realized nobody was asking us for it. That is why it is important for you to make sure you already have a market for your products before importation.
Who Are Your Market Audience?
A market in this contest means a sizeable group of people who can trust you with their money. I mean, group of individuals who are willing to buy your products. This is not even enough; you also need to know the size of your market as this will guide you on what to import and the size of your importation.
A very good way to see your market is like a TRIBE. A tribe shares cultures, language, social norms, values, and hierarchy or network. Your market audience will always share the same values, interest and connections. Interests are hobbies or areas they are into; values are why they behave and connections are the locations where they hang out – are they online or offline, are they on social media, are they in church or mosque, and are they in clubs or bars e.t.c
Your market audience is typically made up of three groups: The Prospects; The Customers and the Affiliates.
- The prospects are people who haven’t bought from you yet but are likely to buy.
- The customers are those people who already bought from you.
- The affiliates are people who partner with you to help you sell to your audience.
Why Pick Your Market Audience?
This is because most marketers fall in love with their own products instead of the customers. You need to understand that your products are not about what you think but what your customers think – your audiences are your best assets and not your products.
This is because you can’t sell your products to everyone; some people will just have not need or want for your products. Once you can know and understand your market audience you can sell to them over and over again.
One of the best ways to know your market audience is to know who buys from your competitors. That means the real work you have to do is to know your competitors very well.