In the last few years, dropshipping has emerged as a hugely popular business model for entrepreneurs looking to build a long-term eCommerce empire and regular people interested in making some extra money from a side hustle.
It’s low commitment, easy to get started, and something you can do with limited funds.
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The coronavirus pandemic has brought dropshipping back to the front of the international conversation around small businesses, with many furloughed or laid-off workers looking for alternative ways of making money from home.
It’s important for anyone looking to get into dropshipping to know how to make it work for them. It may be an easier route into eCommerce, but it’s not for everyone.
Here are some tips for beginners and important things to do to make sure dropshipping works for you.
Secure great products
The essence of dropshipping is about finding hot products to build a business around before moving onto the next trend.
That can be hard to do if your product direction and selection are messy and you’re working with a supplier that slows down operations.
Finding the right product usually means playing to a particular niche. Dropshipping is about seeking attractive profits, so you need relatively low-cost products that have immense customer value.
This is why dropshippers will generally look to latch onto a popular trend, ideally just before it hits it big. You want to look for products that will appeal to impulse buyers and people driven by being part of a trend.
Dropshipping doesn’t necessarily work with considered purchases where the customer must weigh up the value of a product for a special gift or investment.
You’re looking to move products quickly and in large quantities, not spend most of your day on the phone answering customer queries about products you can’t physically hold right now.
Likewise, you need to find products that aren’t locally available to your primary target audience. Why would a customer order something that takes days to arrive when it doesn’t even come with the added benefit of a unique feature from the retailer?
Secure great Suppliers
In terms of suppliers, finding one that provides the products you’re looking to sell is the easy part. The difficulty comes in making the price worth your while and keeping your processes as simple as possible.
Ideally, you want to find a dropshipping friendly supplier you can work with long term. Flitting from one supplier to another to try and stay ahead of trends and keep your business moving is counterproductive.
Find suppliers that accept long term shipping partnerships and have a wide range of products you can choose from. First-time dropshippers like to use major suppliers such as AliExpress for convenience, as opposed to taking the risk with less well-known suppliers.
Before committing to an order, make sure shipping costs aren’t too high. Shipping is the crux of dropshipping business, and if you’re investing huge amounts into it you’re not making the profit you otherwise would.
Suppliers will have unique shipping costs, but this will also vary from product to product.
There are numerous guides out there featuring what questions you should ask a supplier before working with them, largely put together by other dropshippers experienced in the field.
Make sure you are confident the supplier knows exactly what you want before placing orders and that they have the ability to support the growth capabilities of your business.
Build a great website
Just like traditional eCommerce, dropshipping businesses need a great website to really get themselves on the map. It’s true of any modern business.
Your website is the center of your online business. If it’s not up to the task, it gives off a negative opinion of your business.
Of course, it’s important to consider the usability of the website for the user, but what about the useability of the website for yourself?
Making sure a customer can easily find a product and place an order for it is what keeps your business going, but you need to make sure you can manage these processes in the back end effectively and efficiently.
This desire for a user-friendly back end is why many dropshippers gravitate towards template store builders for their business.
These plug-in and play stores may not be the most innovative in terms of design, but they simplify order management processes and create a simple checklist when uploading new products.
If you want to make dropshipping really work for you, you need to make procedures as simple as possible.
The hours and financial investment saved from going into dropshipping rather than eCommerce are all for nothing if you lose days tinkering with a complex website.
Save the fancy bespoke website for when you have considerable revenue coming through the door.
Do your research
Maybe this shouldn’t be final point, because whatever industry you’re getting into requires you to research and understand your competitors.
Making dropshipping a viable career option relies on doing a unique kind of research. As mentioned, successful drop shippers are able to notice a trend before it fully takes off.
Use tools such as Google Trends to spot topics people are discussing, particularly ones around trends and novelty products that can be mass-produced and shipped.
The fidget spinner craze of 2017 can be characterized as a perfect example of a key early opportunity for a dropshipper.
Of course, like any good eCommerce store you should always keep an eye on what your competitors are up to.
Don’t just use their websites for ideas either, how they communicate, and spread awareness of themselves on social media. You’ll need to pick up an essential skill to make a success out of dropshipping.
Take whatever elements you can from traditional eCommerce practices. You may not be able to add your own touches to a product, but you can influence its presentation.
There are many product lines that can be shipped in unique packaging, affording you an opportunity for traditional eCommerce branding.
Run test orders with competitors to see how they improve the customer experience of receiving a parcel.
Dropshipping is a great way to learn about ins and outs of eCommerce while making a great list of contacts.
What makes your business work will always be unique to you, but these are factors for starting as a beginner.
That’s all about “How To Make Dropshipping Work For You”. Also, for any suggestions of query contact us at bagisto.uvdesk.com
