Mitul Das, CEO & Growth Strategist at UrsDigitally has shared his opinions regarding an online store. He is specialized in conceptualizing large scale Digital Transformation Programs.
How do I start building my online store?
The first step to this journey is to invest on ‘Commerce Strategy’ where you define the 4Ps or Marketing Mix for your brand and product portfolio. The strategy also provides you with a 3-6-9-12 Months roadmap with milestones, Sales dashboard with channels & most importantly the blueprint for your Digital Store along with an Architecture to enable it. The first few weeks needs to be invested to create a robust blueprint.
How can I best customize the overall look of my online store?
This is a very critical phase and one should be wary of the theme based design which most of the so called commerce frameworks like Shopify or WooCommerce bring to the table. You need to first define your brand identity and create a n exclusive thematic for your Digital Store and then map it with a paid/free theme from your choice of platform as that will give you the exclusivity
What type of payment system should I use?
Combination of PayPal, Citrus Pay , Razor Pay etc. depending upon factors like your market , the gateway offering the most flexibility in terms of Set up fee and TDRs . The technical specification for these are pretty standard and hence integration easy
How will I handle customer service?
Combination of People ( CSM) + Technology ( BOT , CRM) + Process ( Tagging every customer query with priority and resolving them accordingly)
How should I determine shipping costs?
This needs a thorough discussion with your logistics provider ( India Post , GATI , DTDC etc.) to understand coverage , grammage and other factors like COD etc and then you need to Pricing Strategy
How do I create the best product images and descriptions?
Amazon has set a standard here with their implementation of A+ content and hence the commerce store needs to mimic or possible match the same with images / content specification / explainer videos and this seemingly is another work which needs proper planning and execution
Should I allow customer reviews and social sharing?
Yes for sure else your authenticity is always questionable. There are OTS plug-ins which can help you to get this implemented and this is a replication of D-WOM ( Digital Word Of Mouth)
How will I start to attract shoppers?
An integrated media plan which involves Social , Performance , Organic and other forms of Marketing depending on the category and context
How should I handle returns?
This is a tricky one as this can really impact your overall profitability. For starters keep a easy to understand and operate Return policy but ensure that you are not keeping it too open like the standard portals like Amazon as otherwise it will be unsustainable
How can I track the success of my store?
Define your primary KPIs ( Sales , Repeat Orders etc.) and secondary KPIs( Traffic , Engagement etc.) and monitor the same in Daily/Weekly/Monthly frequency and optimize.
