How e-commerce works: what you need to know to sell

The sale of products and services via the Internet represents the main revolution that has taken place in the commerce sector in recent years, so much so that it affects every Italian production reality: today the creation of a site intended for sale is often no longer a choice but an inevitable option.

In fact, in an increasingly globalized world, electronic commerce is increasingly establishing itself and often becoming a requirement, not only for expand into a larger market, but also to allow for remain competitive in your niche. 

There is not just one type of e-commerce: we refer to business-to-business (B2B), to business-to-consumer (B2C), to consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and consumer-to-business (C2B). These business models require a different management approach and different legislation. However, there are concepts that underlie every type of e-commerce and that can determine its success. 

Selling online: the basics

If you decide to sell online, you need to carry out a project that must have iThe target of the users to be reached. This consequently provides for accurate choices, starting from the sales platform, to continue for example with the selection of the most suitable payment methods.

The chosen platform, where you can show your offers and carry out all sales and purchase operations, must ensure the best user experience, with the precise aim of facilitating conversions and increasing the number of loyal customers.

Creating and managing an e-commerce involves in-depth knowledge of the market to which it is addressed, and the definition of a strategy that has as its aim the achievement of realistic and well-defined objectives, through procedures (for example, the implementation of techniques SEO to rank on search engines), which allow for establish your online presence in a tangible and lasting way. 

The hub of online commerce: a proprietary e-commerce

Although it is possible to sell through large platforms such as Amazon and eBay, creating a proprietary e-commerce is essential to affirm your brand and distinguish it from competitors.

However, the creation of a site intended for online commerce implies careful planning, which consists of these main points:

• Preliminary market research in relation to the products that you want to sell through the Internet;
• identification of the target audience;
• design the web platform through which sales and purchases will be completed, both in terms of graphics and structure, always paying the utmost attention to the user experience. Site navigation must be simple, easy and intuitive;
• implement all the necessary functions on the site to make every operation streamlined and fast, and to better manage the product catalogue, orders, shipments and warehouse. This allows you to optimize time and expenses, and ensure a high level of productivity.

It is clear that the platform intended for online commerce will have to offer all those specifications that allow you to make sales in a way that is not only safe, but also efficient. Everything about the logistics, shipments and deliveries included, must be carried out according to the needs of the target audience, based on speed and efficiency to always allow the best experience for customers. 

Promote and grow your business online

Once the site intended for e-commerce has been created, and this has been made fully functional in all its parts, it is necessary to develop a marketing strategy that is aimed at increasing sales and spread the brand, through the most widespread communication tools, such as social channels.

Indeed, platforms like Facebook and Instagram they offer an excellent opportunity to reach out and interact with potential clients in order to build a relationship of progressive knowledge and trust. 

Through the dissemination of your image with captivating content and targeted campaigns, it is possible significantly increase conversions. This will need to go hand in hand with careful monitoring of site performance and search engine rankings.

To guarantee traffic to your e-commerce platform in an increasing and continuous way, it is good select the best keywords for their products and build content capable of capturing the attention of users, consequently increasing sales. 

Conclusions on how an e-commerce works

We have seen what are the factors and options to consider if you want to sell online and get the maximum profit from this activity. They are not standard procedures, identical for every type of business, but they will have to be modified according to the target countries and their respective markets and their regulations. For example sell in India rather than in Italy o in the United Statesmay lead to substantial differences.

Therefore, it is recommended rely on professionals which can be decisive in determining the online sales process of one's products. Octagona offers specific advice in the field of e-commerce, especially when this is addressed to an international market. For any doubt or question regarding online sales, do not hesitate to contact us whatever the type of business you have in mind or are doing.