All of us, obviously, at some point in our lives, have stopped to think about having our own business on the internet. But then there is that doubt about what to do and how to start. Have you ever stopped and thought about how to do Dropshipping?
If your answer is yes, then stay with us and we will explain what it is if you still don't know, what this model of doing business online is like, what are its main advantages and also disadvantages, and how to start off on the right foot.
So let's go learn more about how to do Dropshipping on the internet!
What is Dropshipping?
Before we tell you what it is, it is necessary that you know what its true definition is, this is clear to cause a better understanding on your part.
In short, Dropshipping is well known as “selling without having stock”, so we can say that it is a way of doing business on the internet, like selling products online, but without the need to have a physical stock of products.
And that means that your supplier (who has to be of your highest trust) will be responsible for the entire logistical process, from packaging the product to sending it to the buyer.
But now you might even be wondering, but is it really possible to make money on the internet with this business model? Yes! Of course it's possible.
You only need to use a price-raising technique in your sales strategies, which means that you will have to sell for a higher amount than what your supplier charges. Every business has practically worked this way for thousands of years.
Drop logistics work exactly like this:
- The customer purchased the product from the seller (advertiser, promoter of the product), which in this case is you (the Drop Shipper);
- The seller, in this case you, then orders / buys the product from your trusted supplier;
- And then the supplier packs and sends the product directly to the address of the buyer (end customer).
Advantages and disadvantages:
Even though it is a very popular and profitable online business model, like other digital businesses, it can also have its advantages and disadvantages, positives and negatives. Here is a brief list of its advantages and disadvantages:
Benefits:
Understand in this short list of advantages why Dropshipping attracts many people, in case you didn't know it is in full growth. Here for us it is just beginning. Booming business.
Simple to start:
It is quite different from other types of business, which practically force you to follow many boring and complex procedures. And to do it, the only thing you need is a notebook and an internet connection, which can be done from your own home, as a form of home office work.
Low risk:
This online business format also offers low cost, as the only expenses you will have will be your internet bill, which you have certainly already paid before. And the cost of the product you want to offer to your customers.
Sale of miscellaneous products:
After a while working in the area, you will already have more ease and agility, which will help you to be able to sell many different types of products, and from several different suppliers as well.
And we cannot fail to mention that you can choose to work only with national suppliers, and if you want, only with international suppliers from other countries. But that's a topic for another topic later.
Low or almost no indirect costing:
In this online business format, you do not need to hire collaborators (employees), as everything can be easily managed by yourself.
Ease and Convenience:
Since you are the one who will manage your entire business, as mentioned before, you will only need a laptop and internet, so you will be able to work from anywhere you want and feel more comfortable.
Disadvantages:
Even though it looks like a very promising online business model, there are some downsides, as with any business, but you need to know. Before throwing yourself headlong into this format of selling without having stock.
Competition:
As there are many people who already do Dropshipping, so know right away that you will have to make an effort, dedicate yourself and work hard to stand out among your competition.
Low profit margin:
As you are fighting stiff competition from several Drop Shippers, it is very likely that a real price war will ensue. So that means you'll have to lower your profit margin even further, and make your prices more attractive.
But a tip is, research and find a niche with low or medium competition, so you will be able to avoid all of this and get a much better profit. And over time your profitability will increase even more.
Difficult logistics to manage:
Your suppliers will often ask you for your product and merchandise inventory records (inputs and outputs), this is a way to align with your supplier and all of your store's inventory.
Issues with suppliers:
Having reliable suppliers is the key to success, because if you choose a poor quality supplier. Then it will be your first step towards the failure of your business.
A bad supplier can harm your entire business with errors in sending products to customers, poorly packaged products, delays in delivery, or even non-delivery, among others.
After all you are the seller, the buyers don't know about the supplier, they are buying from you, not him. Then people or customers with problems will come after you.
Customer service:
As you are the one managing everything, you will always be the one in direct contact with the customers, and because of that, if there is a problem, you will also have to listen to their complaints. Therefore, providing good customer service is important.
Suppliers:
Never forget this recommendation: know very well how to choose a supplier to start doing Dropshipping, this is a very important and more than fundamental choice for your business.
Suppliers have to be reliable, much more than that, you have to be partners. Both have to be in complete synchrony for your online drop shop to work properly.
Because, as already mentioned, if your customer receives a different product from the one he bought, defective, or worse than that, that the product is not delivered by the supplier, know that it is up to you, the seller, that they will come after you.
Dissatisfied buyers will be able to denigrate the image of your Drop store on social networks with negative comments about your service, not to mention the complaints they will also make on the Reclame Aqui website. This will be bad for your business's image and presence on the web.
Finding good suppliers is not very easy, and for this reason try to dedicate yourself a lot to this task, try to test different suppliers by making small test purchases. This will help you to get to know the suppliers better, as well as the quality of the products.
Always interact with them, and analyze the time it took for them to respond, look for testimonials and reviews on the internet from people who have already purchased from a certain supplier before, and see what they have to say. Look to interact with other Drop Shippers as well.
You will also have to choose which types of suppliers you want to work with, whether they will be with international suppliers from China or the United States, or whether they will be national suppliers here in Brazil. Or even both, what matters is that they are reliable suppliers.
The vast majority of Brazilian Drop Shippers like to work with Chinese suppliers on sites such as Aliexpress, Banggood, among others, or with sites in the United States such as the giant Amazon.and the ebay.
But if your interest is only in suppliers from Brazil, just search Google for “supplier national dropshipping”, a wide variety of options will be listed. The recommendations are the same, get in touch, test products, interact, and learn more about them.
How to begin?
Now that we believe that you already know what it is, and that it works in an online system of selling products without having stock, and that you have already seen the main advantages and disadvantages of this business model, and you also know that having suppliers of trust is more than essential.
So from now on we will guide you to another very important topic, which added to everything mentioned so far will only add value for you. Here's what we'll cover:
- Business ideas and products;
- Create your own virtual store;
- Choose a domain name for your store (store name);
- Choose a website hosting plan for your store (it will always leave your store online);
- Choose a good E-commerce platform;
- Disclosure of your website on the Internet;
Business ideas and products:
As with any type of business, you first need to decide your niche and what types of products you want to sell if you want to start Dropshipping. Because if you don't have a good idea of what to market, then you might start with choices that could be detrimental to the business.
Try to find out what types of problems your customers want and want to solve, so that way you can choose products that can really help them. This will only add even more value to your products, which is great.
In fact, the product to be sold has value for the seller and also for the buyer, for this reason it is very important to do a good research and make sure if the products you want to sell really offer profit, and if the search trend for it will continue to grow.
So there is no better tool to get this information than Google's own free tool, which is Google Trend.s, where you can do as many searches as you want about your niche, and about your chosen products, and find out if they are in a growth trend, or not.
Create your store:
Now that you know where to find the best ideas for your business, and you already know if searches for the products you chose to sell are on the rise, it's time to create your online store to advertise and sell their products.
You must be wondering, but do I really need an online sales store? Yes, absolutely, because it doesn't depend on marketplace platforms from third parties, such as Mercado Livre, for example, to sell their products.
Remember that we mentioned in one of our topics about the profit margin, so using third-party platforms to advertise your products is not a good idea. Because that way you will have to pay a percentage of the value of your sales to them. That would mean making even less profit.
So for you to start creating your sales website you will need some tools for this, which we can guarantee that they have a very low operating cost. Not to mention they will only help your business.
And for you to start creating your website then you will need some things like registering a domain, you will also need to hire a website hosting company, and choose a good E-commerce platform.
Registering the domain:
The first step for you to start creating your Dropshipping store is to register and purchase a Domain name, which in turn will be the name of your store. So try to be careful with your choice.
Choose a name that is catchy but simple for people to remember. Avoid complicated names, accents, hyphens. All this can harm your web business.
Your domain name needs to be relevant to your target audience as it is their name that will be typed into their browser when your customers and prospects want to search and buy your products.
Choosing a hosting:
After registering the domain, what you will need to do now is choose a website hosting plan, the hosting will be responsible for keeping your store online at all times.
Choosing a good hosting is more than essential, as it will automatically store all your files as product photos, product texts, your entire website design and much more in the database. Protecting all your files and especially your customers' data. Mainly payment data.
Nowadays there are several types of hosting for websites, everything goes from your need. You can even start with a basic plan, because as your store will still be small and will still have few visits, you won't have any problems. And as your online store grows, you can easily switch to a better plan at any time.
Choosing a platform:
Products chosen, domain duly registered, hosting plan contracted, now it's time to choose one e-commerce platform for the creation of your online store, and thus you will definitely be able to start selling on the web.
There are many platforms currently available on the market, but one in particular will come in handy for you, as with it you will be able to manage your entire online Drop store easily. From reports, payment methods, insertion of products in the showcase and much more.
Not to mention its cost, which is extremely low, so our recommendation is that you use WordPress and, together with it, a very powerful WordPress plugin, Woocommerce. Both will make your store look amazing.
Promoting your business on the internet:
Now with your store created you need to create marketing strategies digital marketing to do all the advertising of your business on the internet. As your store is still very new, it will still not have much relevance for search engines.
Which means that your positioning in the results of searches made by users will still not be good, so apply SEO techniques to your website so that it gains relevance and better positions. And while organic visits don't come, there's no escaping a good publicity and promotion strategy.
then use ads on google to strengthen your brand and attract more visitors to your products, practice good marketing on social media, using and abusing Facebook and Instagram, and never forget the new social media that have already arrived, and many are booming on the web and still unexplored .
Try to apply two very powerful sales strategies to your advertising, which if applied correctly can boost your sales, so whenever you promote your products on the internet, try to apply remarketing techniques and also email marketing strategies.
These two strategies together have the power to bring back those who left your store without buying anything, giving them one more opportunity to close the purchase once and for all and you keep your commission. Which is what matters, selling.
Conclusion:
So how did you get here? Do you already know how to do Dropshipping? As you can read it really is a way of doing business online which is also known as “selling without stock”.
Our recommendation is that you analyze the advantages and disadvantages before diving headlong into this way of making money on the web. But the secret of success will depend on you, because if you are willing to dedicate yourself to the maximum in this branch, then you will succeed.
Never forget, focus on finding good suppliers, when you find them, grab them, and create your own store as we guide you, don't depend on third-party sites to advertise your products.
And that's it, we're done here, we really hope we've helped you with this article, we wish you the best of luck in creating your own business. And that he is very successful on the internet?
