Starting your own online shop – what do you need to consider?
9,9 % increase
New online shops keep popping up, and they sell everything from thermoses to stairs and yarn. What they all have in common, is this: they keep getting more and more customers. A SSB-survey shows that online sales have increased with 9.9% from the first quarter of 2016 to the same quarter of 2017. It’s definitely not too late to get started, and remember, older people are a growing customer base for online shops.
You also need to be aware of the fact that more online shops equal more competition. Try and make your niche or your competitive advantages as visible as possible.
Options
Another growing trend is that the customers want options. They want options both in terms of shipping and payment methods. We recommend that you provide your customers with this whenever possible.
In terms of shipping, there are several couriers to choose from and you should choose the one that’s best suited for your company. To find the one that suits you the best, you might want to consider the following questions: Do you only ship to Norway, do you want a Nordic courier, how big are the parcels you ship? Ask the couriers for an offer, so that you can compare them.
Do you have a storage or a shop where the customers can pick up the parcels themselves, or can they buy your product from other shops? Feel free to add a list or a map showing available outlets. Many customers also want several payment methods to choose from, which also depends on what kind of product you’re offering. The payment methods in an online shop is invoice, partial payment, payment by card, or PayPal.
Customer communication
Customer communication depends on the customer groups, and there are several preferred channels. Some prefer quick channels, such as chat or Facebook, while others want a formal email or a phone call. Which channels you choose to communicate with your customers depends on your company.
If you wish to offer chat, it’s important that you’re available during your opening hours. Do you have an automated email response, or will you answer your customers by the end of the day? Some companies use Instagram actively, where the customer can ask simple questions and get quick responses.
Check out how content writing can help you communicate
A good website
It’s also important to have a good website. This is our job and we want to help you with this. We listen to your wishes and guide you through the design. We ensure that your online shop is suitable for both mobile and desktop use. This helps us ensure that Google will prioritise your site (as opposed to the websites that don’t have mobile-friendly versions) and that you won’t lose customers. A Dibs E-handel survey from 2016 shows that 47% have cancelled a purchased in an online shop because the website wasn’t mobile-friendly.
Dont have a website yet? We can help with that!
Security
Show your customers that your online shop is secure. This security can be built using several different methods, both with the use of logos as well as text. We recommend that your contact information is easy to spot on the website. This should include both your email and phone number, but feel free to add an address and organisation number as well. Your online shop also needs to have clear purchasing conditions, and you need to inform your customer about your return and refund policy.
If you offer payment by card in the online shop, we can add the logo representing the companies you offer (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal) and the same goes for shipping couriers (DHL, Bring, Nordpost). In Norway, we also offer Virke, a safe way to shop, which you can apply to become a member of.
Hosting is a big part of how secure your website is? Look at what we can offer here!
