Thanks to the internet, setting up a business is easier than ever - but deciding to do so is still a big decision. Before taking the plunge, chances are you’ve sat and pondered about what you’ll sell, the hours you’ll put in, where you’ll buy stock and materials and how you’ll run things around your regular daily life. So when you finally get everything set up and open your digital shop doors, it can be frustrating when the custom doesn’t come flooding in. In fact, weeks might pass and you could find you’re not making any sales at all. No need to panic, here are a few things to consider before throwing in the towel.
You need to improve your shop or website
First things first, you need a decent shop layout or website to run a business. It doesn’t matter than you’re only a small, home based venture- customers will still expect professionalism. If your site looks amateur then people will assume that the rest of your business is run in the same way and they won’t get high quality goods or services. As a small, home based business chances are you don’t have lots of money for upfront costs- but your site is a worthy investment. Do your research, find a web designer within your budget. Work on improving the picture quality and photos of your products and throughout your site, and write a blog connected to your website as a way to show customers that you’re trustworthy and a respected site. These touches can all be the difference between a customer making an order, or clicking off and purchasing elsewhere instead.
Once your site is set up, you really need to ensure you’re marketing in the right way. It’s not as easy as setting up social media accounts and spamming your link- this will do more harm than good. You’ll need to consider content marketing and proper social media marketing, you’ll want to build an email list and create a newsletter. All of these things can be complex and takes time, but you could always hire a marketing agency to run things for you if you’re unsure. It’s another situation in business where you’ll need to spend money to make money, but what you put in on marketing will return plus (hopefully!) much more in new customers and orders.
If you’re still not making much money after following the above steps, it might be a case of looking at the products you’re selling. Are they good quality? Are they desirable? Are they being sold elsewhere at lower prices? Changing your manufacturers, suppliers or items could help- conducting market research is also useful so you know that people actually want what you’re selling and that your prices are right.
