What keeps us from starting our own business? Indecision, fear, financial instability? The desire is there, but once again calculating how much we need to invest in products and promotion of the business, we put off the idea. And what if there is someone who will take care of all the costs of purchasing and storage of goods? And he will also be able to arrange delivery to customers from his warehouse. Is it possible? Yes!
It turns out that opening your own online store is quite simple. It is realistic to make a profit doing business from the comfort of your own home. And for this you do not need to open a large store, rent a warehouse for the goods, to register a sales point. A small website and Internet access is all you need to get started.
If you have not heard about dropshipping, it is time to learn more about it.
What is dropshipping?
Dropshipping is a retail business model in which the seller operates without a warehouse or wholesale purchase of goods. Storage, logistics, shipping, freezing of funds, seasonality – all these are not his problems.
Working with a wholesale partner-supplier occurs under the following scheme: you sell goods on your site, which in fact you do not own. Once the customer has placed an order, you give the supplier: 1) information about the product line – what needs to be shipped, and 2) the address to which you need to make delivery. The supplier organizes the shipment of the order he has collected. Packaged goods are delivered on behalf of your online store directly to the customer. The customer pays for the goods upon receipt, and you, as a dropshipper, receive a commission on each item sold. One of the main advantages of dropshipping is that the seller is not responsible for the fulfillment and delivery of the order, his business is to sell the goods.
Selling goods without having to buy them back is the main idea behind dropshipping. The dropshipping partner not only delivers the goods, he also provides services for packaging and delivery to the customer.
How to get started?
Let’s take a brief look at how you can start a dropshipping business. First of all, decide what kind of product you want to sell. Research who already offers a similar product on the market. This way you will identify competitors and find wholesale suppliers.
Contact the suppliers, study the terms of cooperation, draw up a commission agreement, sign the necessary documents. In advance, stipulate on what terms and in what quantity you will be provided with information about the product. You will need: a description of the product, its photos, certificates – everything that can “sell” the product on your site.
After that, you will be asked to choose the platform on which you will place the goods. Take your time, find something that makes sense to you, is convenient and easy. In order to advertise your goods and to attract as many potential customers as possible, you can connect to your online store a new product of TON OP doo ltd company – TONOP program. With its help you will be able to automate the processes: sales, marketing, planning, customer support, project management, collaboration, paperwork, telephony, and payment services.
Think about how your online store will be known by your potential customers? Who are they? Take your time, do everything gradually. To increase sales, constantly analyze the results of both advertising and website conversion.
Start promoting your business with social media. Create Facebook and Instagram profiles. Update daily, add new and interesting content, advertise products, “lead” the customer to the site, track calls. After the customer places an order on your site, you send the vendor complete information about the name of the item purchased, its quantity, and the address where the product is to be delivered.
Like any business scheme dropshipping has its advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages of dropshipping are:
1. quick and easy startup
In 2023, it’s pretty easy to get into business and find a reliable partner. The platforms on which dropshippers post their products are filled with reviews of both the suppliers themselves and the products they offer. The marketing departments of the supplier companies advise dropshippers and provide information about the demand for and popularity of certain goods. With the help of dropshipping expand business, test interesting ideas, test new directions.
2. Increase sales and stop worrying
After the entrepreneur buys wholesale goods, he, of course, begins to worry about a lot of questions. He thinks about: how to keep the marketable appearance of products, whether he will have time to sell profitably (especially if the goods are seasonal), how to deliver goods without losses and problems. Dropshipping allows you to increase sales by expanding the range of online store. Offer a larger selection at your site, which works as a showcase. No need to worry about storing frozen in goods and how and where to store redeemed goods.
3. Recognition and brand
Dropshipping allows you to maintain your own brand, it is not a simple mediation, but a full-fledged sale of goods, which can then be originally packaged, sticking brand labels, in a branded box. This affects brand recognition, increases customer loyalty and allows you to associate your site with a particular logo and name.
4. Your website is your mini-marketplace
Gradually expand the range of your site. You can make a specialized online store and offer products in a specific area (niche or theme). As you scale your business, establish business relationships with suppliers from different industries and areas. Focusing on the interests of a wide range of users, you can make a kind of mini online bazaar, where in one place the consumer can find and choose everything he needs.
But dropshipping has its disadvantages:
1. Order processing
Most dealers and wholesale dropshipping suppliers do not have a unified system for working with customers – to exchange information about orders. Working with multiple suppliers, it can be difficult to set up a process, not to get confused with different forms, to take into account all the requirements.
A huge problem is the lack of already ordered goods in the supplier’s warehouse, they may already be sold out. Dropshipper has to constantly monitor the availability of the products he needs in the supplier’s warehouse. Coordinating, communicating order information, clarifying non-standard situations, tracking the stages of shipment – all of this is very time-consuming.
TON OP doo ltd’s digital product TONOP software optimizes the sales process by accurately prioritizing tasks, updating order plans, showing the amount of inventory, calculating possible costs, and selecting the right product.
2. lack of information
The seller is interested in the excellent performance of his online store. Only a well-made page which “sells” the product can keep the client on the site and stimulate him to buy it. A bright and unusual description, good and different photos, comprehensive information about weight, price and stock availability.
Unfortunately, product manufacturers and suppliers often don’t provide this information. Or they give it in very poor quality.
3. customer service
Dropshipping is built on a relationship of trust. A responsible supplier (manufacturer, dealer or distributor) is the backbone of the business. Any breakdown in service, delays in delivery, failure to meet expectations from the product purchased reflects first and foremost on the seller. The guilty party is the one who first presented the product online, whom the customer decided to trust. Reputation suffers, the customer leaves and does not come back.
Shopping online, getting what you want from the comfort of your own home, has become commonplace. What’s convenient is now hard to pass up. Dropshipping will continue to be a popular and affordable opportunity not just for business start-ups. Checking out an idea, a new direction, and finding new partners is quite easy with dropshipping. You can automate your business with the help of TON OP doo ltd firm software.
TONOP:
- Brings together in a single system all the reports coming from suppliers
- Enables you to track inventory by items and by feed
- Helps analyze demand and make sales forecasts
