Step-by-Step Instructions for Starting an eCommerce Business: A Complete Guide for 2022

Good day, aspiring entrepreneur! So you've decided to start an eCommerce business and need some guidance on where to start and how to proceed.

Don't be concerned! We've put together a comprehensive step-by-step guide to assist you in setting up an e-commerce Store in 2022

Let's get started.

Step 1: Selecting a Product or Service to Sell Online

This is the first step in getting your online or eCommerce business up and running. You must first determine and research the product you wish to sell on the internet.

You can begin by looking into the top 2021 trending items to sell online in India. Google trends and online business communities are two resources that can help you understand these trends.

Here are some questions to consider when selecting a product or service to sell:

– Is there sufficient demand or need for the product or service you intend to sell?

– Does the product address your customers' problems or challenges?

– Will your product or service assist customers with their current problems?

– Do you want your product or service to make a positive impact on the lives of your customers?

– Do you want to create an online business that can influence user behavior in order to have a positive and long-term impact on the environment?

Step 2: Make a business plan for your eCommerce venture.

After you've decided what to sell online, you'll need to create a business plan, which is essentially a blueprint for your company.

A good business plan will include the following items:

1. Summary
2. Customer survey
3. Strategy

Allow us to assist you in fully comprehending these concepts.

1) What is the best way to write a summary for your online business?

Begin by making a list of your company's highlights. This will include the following:

Your product or service offerings, as well as the name of your online store.

Market research with a specific focus

The operation, management, and accessibility are all part of the execution plan.

Sales and marketing

Cost, investment, income, and revenue projections are all part of the financial analysis.

Funding

A good business plan should be between 5 and 10 pages long, including graphics and headers. This section should give you a general idea of what the rest of the plan will entail. To make things easier, you can use some business plan templates.

2) What is the best way to conduct customer research?

Conduct thorough market research and gain a thorough understanding of your target market. With the help of this research, create multiple ICP – Ideal Customer Profiles.

You can conduct these studies by distributing questionnaires to your network, conducting polls on social media platforms, and leveraging your personal brand and network, to name a few methods. In this section of your business plan, it is critical to detail the data and findings of your research.

3) How do you keep a strategy going?

This section should function similarly to an action plan. A good strategy will be specific, fill in a real market gap, and be actionable and implementable. A request for funds should be included at the end of your business plan.

If you can afford it, hire a designer or use tools like Canva to design the plan yourself.

Revisit your business plan on a regular basis to keep it up to date. You can also enroll in this free MSMEx-powered mojoVersity course on "mastering your business model."

You can also create your own business plan using online tools such as enloop.com and bizplan.com.

Step 3: How to Get Your Online Business Off the Ground

Now is the time to put your knowledge into action. It's time to double-check everything before launching your online eCommerce store. A quick checklist is provided below:

– A website where you can sell your goods

– A payment processor to receive funds in exchange for your product.

– A marketing strategy for getting the word out about your company

– Sufficient funds to carry out all of the above

Let's take a look at each of the items listed above one by one.

I) A website where you can sell your products:

You can either use tools like WordPress to create a full-fledged website or use Instamojo to create an online store in just a few simple steps and under two minutes.

Starting an online store with Instamojo is free, easy, and does not necessitate hiring a developer. You can create your Instamojo online store on your own or schedule a call with the team to help you create your Instamojo online store from the ground up at a price that is tailored to your needs.

ii) To collect payments, you'll need a payment processor:

Look for a payment gateway that you can use to send your customers payment links. Did you know that you can use Instamojo to share payment links with your customers via social media pages, emails, or your online store?

iii) A marketing strategy to get the word out

Create a detailed marketing strategy to spread the word about your company and encourage more people to learn about it. Here are a few ideas:

Marketing via email

Marketing on social media

Optimisation for search engines

Here are some marketing calendar templates that you can use to create a calendar and organize your marketing activities.

To create unique content, you can also use some free marketing tools that are powered by artificial intelligence and data.

iv) Sufficient funds to carry out all of the above

You'll also need enough money to run your company. Take the free mojoVersity course on 'funding for small businesses' to learn more about how to raise funds for your company.

According to YourStory Research, Indian start-ups raised a total of $8.4 billion in 765 transactions in 2020 (until November).

Even in the event of a pandemic, the overall investor outlook remained positive, despite the fact that it was 30% lower than in 2019. The report also detailed the types of businesses that investors were most interested in in 2020.