If you’re reading this, you probably have a great product or service in your hands, but you are clueless about how to start your NetSuite eCommerce business from scratch.
Well, don’t worry, you’re in the right place. We are an eCommerce agency that helps companies develop and design their eCommerce website, and grow from there.
We have been in the industry for more than a decade and helped hundreds of businesses find their place in the online selling world.
So today we share a simple guide to the things you need to do to get your eCommerce business up and running.
1 – Define your product or service
This seems easy for many, but maybe you haven’t yet decided exactly what you want to sell. The internet has anything you could think of, so choosing something that will stand out or that fills people’s needs, can be tricky.
Do your research, find your niche, and check out the competition. Here’s an article that our partners at Shopify wrote about finding the right product to sell that could come in handy.
2 – Make a business plan
Every business needs a strategy. Even if you think your product is THAT good and will basically sell itself, well, you still need to make the website, spread the word, reach your audience: from choosing your platform, defining a buyer persona, designing a specific marketing plan, and setting goals, everything needs to be defined to make sure you stay on the right track.
Here’s a 9-step guide on how to build a business plan you can use to get started.
3 – Choose your brand identity
Everything you use to create a particular image on your website, social media, and even packaging, that’s your brand identity. This includes your brand name, logo, color palette, typography, etc.
Brand identity is crucial to inspire familiarity and trust in your clients. You need to stay consistent with your image so that your audience recognizes you across the different platforms you might use.
Working with a designer is obviously the best way to do it, but if that’s not an option, you can still do it yourself with the help of accessible design tools like Canva.
4 – Pick a platform and set up your store
For this one, a little research is required. There are plenty of eCommerce platforms out there that simplify the website-building process by offering pre-made themes and templates that you can customize to your liking. Of course, working with a NetSuite developer is always an option, but especially if you’re getting started, we strongly recommend working with a platform, and then you can customize it further with the help of a developer in the future.
Here’s a list of the ones we recommend, where we explain the benefits each one has for particular types of businesses:
5 – Build your eCommerce ecosystem
Let us explain. We call an “eCommerce ecosystem” the totality of platforms, services, and tools you use to make your business work: from your business ERP to your preferred eCommerce platform, shipping service, planning tools, and much more, your ecosystem is what makes your business function correctly. This can take time to build up, and that’s ok.
Once you’ve found it, the next step is to integrate the platforms you use, to make sure you’re getting the best out of them, and achieve better results. But again, no rush on this! Our team is excellent at integrations, so don’t hesitate to contact us when you need it.
6 – Decide how you’ll handle shipping
Shipping can easily become a headache if not planned right, and it’s a big part of online shopping, although it might seem like a detail. Fast and cheap shipping is a big factor when it comes to decision-making in the buying process. So don’t underestimate it!
We have partnered with Pacejet, a platform that will connect your website to different shipping services and carriers comparing their rates in real-time, to make sure you’re always getting the best and cheapest option.
Also, here’s a great Shopify article about shipping strategy that will clarify any doubts.
7 – Analyze your way to success
We can’t state this enough: analyze your data! Business Intelligence experts can help you set up your Google Analytics account and find out which particular indicators you should be tracking.
Here’s an article where we explain exactly why data analytics and business intelligence are a must if you want to succeed in eCommerce.
8 – Stay creative!
At Tavano Team, we believe there is no such thing as a finished eCommerce website. From website accessibility to SEO, UX design, and paid media, there’s always room for improvement. Don’t be afraid to try new things and always, ALWAYS track the results of each experiment to find out what works for you and what doesn’t.
Of course, we realize all this might be overwhelming. We can help with that. We have mastered the eCommerce field through years of experience and gathering an amazing team of experts that will guide you through each step of the eCommerce process.
Contact us to start building the perfect eCommerce growth strategy for your business and to learn more about our NetSuite integrations.
Learn more about our NetSuite integrations and our services for everything NetSuite eCommerce:
