Gone are the days when you can set up an online store and start raking in millions of dollars with little effort. Today, technologies are evolving; choosing products is becoming a nerve-racking decision with hundreds of competitors springing up every day. 

Questions like “Is dropshipping dead”, “is dropshipping still profitable in 2020?” and many more dominate Google search box.

Thus, all these concerns have motivated us to come with a comprehensive article that will address all your inquiries and show you how to build a successful and profitable eCommerce business, particularly drop shipping in 2020. 

What does it take to run an e-commerce business?

Before we dig deeper, let’s briefly examine some of the critical attributes that you must possess to be successful at e-commerce business:

• Hunger for Top-Notch Information

You probably land here because you are searching for value-driven information that will help you scale through the hurdles of running a successful e-commerce business. Like every business, having access to the right information can give you an edge over your competitors and also expose you to tricks and tips of dropshipping business. You must be willing to go extra miles in seeking industry knowledge, and one of the best ways to achieve this is by regularly checking our website. 

• Mastery of Planning Effective Businesses Strategies

Until you give your e-commerce business the same attention you would accord a brick and mortar store, you will continue to run at a loss. Although most activities involving e-commerce business can be run remotely, nevertheless, you must be versatile with the planning and execution of effective business strategies. 

• Undeviating Focus on Growth

If you are satisfied with little success, sorry to burst your bubbles, e-commerce or dropshipping business is not for you. Your goal as a drop shipper is to improve on your current sales, increase your brand awareness and optimize your customer experience by consistently focusing on growth. You must be willing to promote your business even when it seems you have reached your peak. It can always be better!

Also, if you are looking to build a career in e-commerce business or you have a knack for brand sales, profits, inventories, products sales, and logistic, then you already have what it takes to work in the dropshipping business successfully.

Understanding the basic of e-commerce business

E-commerce is a term for buying and selling products and monetary transactions electronically.

Dropshipping, on the other hand, is when you perform transactions through a vendor or a supplier and have the products shipped directly to the seller. As a drop shipper, you don’t keep the product you sell in stock like physical stores. 

The sole aim of a drop shipping transaction is financial profit. No human invests his time, energy, and money in dropshipping just for the fun of conversations or the pleasure of placing and delivering orders. 

Thus, dropshipping is profit personified. If you are barely staying afloat or struggling to meet up with the overhead cost, you might need to change your strategies with the information we have embedded in this article. 

Coupled with this, it is pertinent to state drop shipping is the premier of e-commerce. When e-commerce is mentioned, dropshipping is prevalent. When drop shipping is practised, e-commerce ensues. 

What is dropshipping business, and how does it work?

Pragmatically, dropshipping is a supply chain that involves the buyer, the retailer (middle man), and the manufacturer. The principal transactions occur within the conversations that transpire between the retailer and buyer. 

To make it more transparent, in dropshipping, the retailer puts up a product for sale (without necessarily withholding the product or merchandise). The buyer communicates with the retailer, who (on buyer’s demand) expresses the needs to the manufacturer, who, in turn, delivers directly to the buyer. A percentage of the earning will be awarded to the retailer, who decides how much profit to make in dropshipping. 

For instance, when a product is bought from the manufacturer for $100, the retailer can choose to sell to the buyer at a rate of $150, leaving him with a $50 profit. 

How to start a dropshipping business

Surging questions on how to start a drop-shipping business are not one that is new to many. However, here are the proven tactics for starting a dropshipping business.

Set up a store

To gain knowledge on how to start a dropshipping business, or opting into the market place, one has first to create and set up a store. You can decide to leverage dropshipping platforms such as Shopify, AliExpress, Amazon, Etsy and many more. 

After that, you can install dropship plugins like Oberlo, Spocket, Modalyst, ProductPro and several others. These dropshipping apps will help you to manage your product inventories effectively. Not only that, they have juicy features that can offer you the necessary support to run a dropshipping business successfully. 

Select the right product 

Searching and adding niche products for sale entails finding what is making waves in the market. This is a critical decision to make because the choice of your product will make or mar your success in dropshipping. One of the best platforms to leverage when it comes to selecting hot-selling products is FindNiche. It’s a massive market base for trending and popular products that will optimize your sales and boost your return on investment. 

Also, it helps you to see the highs and lows of market places with 3D glasses. The niche offers information on imminent surveys on what to capitalize on, and what products are optimally demanded. 

Choose trusted suppliers

The vendor you choose to partner with has a critical role to play in the success of your dropshipping business. Some suppliers are habitually frustrating. They promise heaven and deliver hell. You have to do your assignment in researching suppliers that you can trust 100% throughout all the stages of your transactions. 

Focus on running an effective ad

Unless you have one of its kind never-seen-before product, there’s a chance that hundreds of sellers have eyes on the same product. Waiting for organic traffic can delay your earnings and frustrate you out of dropshipping business. However, one of the best ways to gain the upper hand on your competitors is to leverage social media advertising. 

The first thing is to Identify the destination for most subscriber traffic. Social media platforms, especially Facebook being veritably the most visited social media platform in the world. Adopting the use of Facebook is not a mediocre suggestion. This is not to dissuade your use of other social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or just shopping apps. 

However, running Facebook ads, particularly with a platform like BigSpy, provides an open floor for your product’s visibility. It helps with daily discoveries of new ideas or niches, as well as using it for big intuitive ads database with continuous insights into Millions of ads. 

Practice good market strategies 

The number one strategy for success in dropshipping business is hard work. There is no success without hard work, especially when it’s smart. Tirelessly putting your products out there is vital. You can try out AdsReport to help track and create ads. In addition to your brand’s ingenuity, step up your game. 

Also, you should refrain from using existing internet themes and replace them with realistic photos taken by you. That way, your customers are aware of the authenticity and at least have a knowledge that these pictures aren’t too perfect to be true.

Ever heard about the disparity in the phrase “what I ordered vs what I received?” Customers are disillusioned when products delivered do not meet their earlier expectations. What would it be like to be disappointed by a product? You sure wouldn’t patronize such retailers if it were you. Do not make yourself dormant. Consistent uploads gain buyer attention to products.

Optimize your brand uniqueness

Whether you are aware or not, hundreds of people into dropshipping. However, learning how to stand your brand out is vital. Constant reviews, on your social media platforms. Presentations, basically creating BlogSpot pieces to give effective reviews and comparisons on products.

Be informative on your product. Make comparisons between products with different brands who serve everyday purposes. Ask customers for reviews on product use. Screengrab and save customer replies and post your products satisfactions. That way, you get referrals from people who had a delighted customer/ product review with your brand. Consistency is key.

Skillfully manoeuvre between niches

You must learn how to market specific products at the right time. Identify when a product becomes a bestseller, and sell products in high demand. Be bold enough to navigate and explore! “I am loyal to my manufacturer”, “I love selling kitchen utensils” I already have customers”. If you want to boom excellently in dropshipping business, you might want to try out a couple of niches. I don’t think trying a couple of niches would hurt.

It just entails you create a well-balanced time for each demand. If you enjoyed sale profits and traffic in a niche market today, that product might be out of trend tomorrow. This might create some setbacks. However, you must brace yourself against any unfavourable market occurrence as they would show up at some point in your career.

But being oblivious of how to handle setbacks isn’t very healthy. That is why you should be ready to switch the market at any time. If a particular one of your manufacturer’s product is gaining lots of condemnation around, you might want to give feedback to the manufacturer. Be ready to dump it if the problem persists!

Strategically leverage Social Media platforms

All social media platforms provide maximal exposure, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and others. If you are new to dropshipping or you aren’t financially buoyant, while paid ads can help accentuate your brand instantaneously, you might want to rely on yourself at this time of your shallow pocket. 

Regularly posting pictures and doing reviews is what was mentioned earlier in this article. However, posting regularly without using social media features like Location, #trending, Social media hashtags, social media “what’s on your mind”, is like a licking bucket. How do you want to get results if you do not add hashtags? How do you want to post if you do not know use trends out there? A person goes randomly on twitter or Instagram and wants to purchase the newest drone model.

Be on the knowledge that a product’s visibility rests on appropriate hashtag and search results. In addition to this, survey when internet users are most active online, especially evenings and night times at the close of work.

Posting ads and products at times when individuals aren’t online might just linger. Predicting when there’s more social media usage is one smart step forward to a product’s visibility. 

The follow-up to goods are delivered 

Remember that you, as a drop shipper are a middle man. Do not communicate your order with your manufacturer or wholesaler, and feel like you have finished right there. You are the only visible seller to the buyer, and only you can track goods till they get to the buyer.

Promptly following up on goods and their arrival dates are crucial to your brand’s reputation. This is to say that when orders are placed, do not just leave them till whenever. Continuously track them till they have been delivered. Do not make unrealistic promises of a product’s arrival, when truthfully you wouldn’t get it delivered in a month.

A couple of sellers had had to lie solely for profits, even when they were aware of the unavailability of such product within a short time. State clearly when a product’s arrival is scheduled. If you have time between 3-4weeks, you might want to communicate the arrival at a later period of the fourth week.

The client doesn’t expect too much, and that way, he expects the product at a later time. It’s more thoughtful to have a customer caught unawares at an earlier time than seem pensive collecting it at a late hour. If you think delivery doesn’t do well with customer satisfaction, try asking the masses. It is a major-league of drop shipping as referrals are borne off customer satisfaction. 

Know the reason for the season

Be logical; certain weather conditions provide tales of what to sell. Selling an Adidas winter jacket in burning summer weather is little to no orders. People want to buy things that suit atmospheres, weathers and situations. Also, marketing a pair of winter jacket to Africans is most likely to be unyielding.

If it’s anything, Africans, markedly West Africans, can seldom buy a pair of winter jackets, because it is hardly cold in their countries. Africans might like very fashionable and revealing T-shirts, dresses and merch. You might want to consider that. Christmas costumes, Christmas lights, Halloween costumes or even thanksgiving outfits have different seasons. 

Conclusion

Achieving maximum success in dropshipping business might be challenging, but it’s never a rocket science. As long as you are willing to implement the concepts and ideas in this article, I can assure you that you are sure of success. 

Remember, you can always count on BigSpy for advertising your products to optimize sales across multiple platforms.