How to Make Dropshipping a Success
Dropshipping is a relatively new and innovative business model in supply chain management. The retailer offers a platform that connects the manufacturer to the customer without having to stock any products. A seller, who, in this case, is the dropshipping merchant, purchases a product as ordered from the supplier or manufacturer who ships it directly to the customer.
Dropshipping has become a massive industry due to the convenience it offers the customer and supplier or manufacturer. Some of the most popular dropshipping agents are:
Ali Express
Doba
SaleHoo
Worldwide brands
Mega goods
Sunrise Wholesale
Wholesale Central
National Dropshippers
There are some vital steps you must take if you wish to successfully venture into this industry and compete effectively with the big retail giants. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
- Add value to your products or services
A well thought out, and practical plan is critical to the success of any business. By adding value, you put your product one step ahead of the pack, but you must first know what the others are offering. Many customers today are very well informed and seek more than just products. They need to know who manufactures is, what is involved, ingredients and raw materials used in the manufacture of particular products and a slew of other bits of information that the supplier must have at their fingertips.
A perfect value addition gimmick is a video presentation of your services. With some editing apps, you can create great demo videos without spending a fortune.
- Marketing and SEO
As a new entrant, your focus must be to build an audience as fast as possible. You may have a beautiful, well-designed website, but without traffic, it is not worth the space it occupies.
Build your site’s SEO rankings by making your site as interactive as possible. Invest in well written, original content and rope in guest posts, have an active social media presence, and let the world know you exist. For success in this industry, you must dedicate a lot of time to marketing, SEO, and driving traffic, especially in the first few months of the venture.
Once you start selling, a sizeable amount of your attention must go towards building a brand, and that includes labeling. The shipping labels must scream your name for all to notice but, at the same time, be friendly and likable. Invest a bit in this department.
- Use technology
The use of technology in business today is not an option. In the dropshipping industry, it is advisable to have some basic knowledge about logistics, since you may have to track products when they are sent to customers by the suppliers or manufactures. For this, you will need some software, but it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg.
Due to the convenience of cloud- computing, smart dropshipping merchants are today using it to operate their businesses more efficiently, without having to carry the burden of often bulky and costly servers to store data and software. Today it is possible to run an IT department almost exclusively from the clouds!
- Find a niche
Most successful dropshipping merchants specialize in certain particular products. Finding a niche in this industry is a recipe for success if well managed. A niche product offers you the ability to concentrate on one line of marketing instead of a crowded field of products competing for attention in the limited space available in your campaign platforms.
If you want to sell shoes, sell sports shoes, office shoes and leisure shoes, you may also throw in a few happy socks but don’t offer laptops on the side. You tend to throw off your audience during your marketing campaigns. Specializing also gives you the advantage if competing against a smaller field.
As you identify a niche, gauge your selling skills, and know what works for you. You may have a background in technical skills and know a lot about furniture, decorating, lighting, and other such technical aspects, so don’t run off to sell ladies’ clothes because you believe there is a large market. Why don’t you specialize in DIY products, home accessories, and building materials? You will eventually find your marketing campaigns are much more effective because you are well acquainted with the products you’re selling
- Customer service
One of the essential things in any business is to keep the customer happy. The most excellent marketing tool that you can have is customers recommending you. In business, repeat sales mean much more than random sales, and that means that a customer somewhere, thinks you’re better than the rest.
At the end of the day
It’s not your name, size of business or money behind it that will determine your success; it’s the small things that draw customers that matter. Value addition, smart marketing, great customer service, niche, dedication and focus are the drivers that will hand you success in the drop shipping business.