The pandemic created by Covid-19 has adversely affected people from across the world. People’s lives have taken a turn for the worse. Businesses in India have suffered tremendously since the lockdown was implemented on March 25, 2020, and it has aided in the containment of the situation to a certain extent. The business sector has witnessed a downfall due to the vast restrictions imposed on the branches of logistics and supply.

Since the government has begun the process of removing certain restrictions, businesses have scope to re-establish themselves in the market. As things have taken an unprecedented direction in recent times, marketers have chosen to digitalize their businesses. This is a strategic method of tackling the economic issues brought down on the market. 

Before we move on, this is just a reminder that we have an amazing team at Vividreal who will aid in the setup and digital transformation of your business. Talk to us.

There are ways for you to effectively start your online business during Covid-19. An array of e-commerce solutions are available to aid businesses in adapting and adjusting to the new world. 

How do you start a business in the wake of Covid-19?

In order to start a business online, you will have to select an online platform to establish a base for your business. Shopify will act as the perfect platform for the establishment of your business.

There are certain all-essential steps that you need to keep in mind whilst setting up your business online. 

1. Ensure your business fulfils a need

Firstly, you have to find a market for the product that you intend to sell. Comprehend the need of the people in a world threatened by Covid-19. That would ensure that your business receives positive feedback from your potential customers. The focus has to be on finding your target audience who are or will actively look for the product or service provided by you.

Research is essential to accomplish this task. You can do the following to make the process a bit easier:

• Do substantial research to find keywords that people are searching on web engines. Simultaneously, check if these keywords have a lot of competition or not. You generally want keywords with less competition.
• Go to online platforms so that you can gauge the spectrum of the questions that consumers might ask and understand their problems and issues.
• Visit your competitors’ websites and note down the ways they are fulfilling their clients’ demands. You can bring changes in your own methods and techniques to improve the process of your sales.
  

2. Create an alluring copy

By following certain guidelines, you will be able to guide viewers through a specific selling process, taking them from the point of entering the website to the moment where they finally end up making a purchase.

You have to evoke the interest of the viewer by

• Displaying an enticing headline.
• Providing context of the problem your product solves.
• Proving your credibility as a problem-solver.
• Displaying testimonials from your past customers who will validate the authenticity of your product.
• Giving detailed information about the product and its benefits for the user.
• Provide exciting incentives and offers to the user.
• Develop a sense of urgency for the sale of the product or availability of the service.

3. Develop the design and structure of your website

Now that you have established your product, market, and your selling process, you have to develop and design the layout of your website. Remember, the threshold of your user’s attention span might be quite low. You have to craft an alluring design that will appeal to the viewer. You have to keep the following in mind while developing the layout:

• Keep your navigation simple, consistent, and clear.
• Select simple fonts and use contrasting colors to make them pop up against the background.
• Do not clutter your webpages with unnecessary graphics, audio, or video.
• Use subscription forms, sign up forms to establish your email list.
• Provide efficient customer care service.
• Keep your checkout process simple and clear. Render your website customer-friendly.

4. Utilize the power of search engines to drive target audiences to your website

One of the best ways to receive incoming traffic to your website is via Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising. PPC ads improve the visibility of your website on search engine results. Ensure that you combine your SEO strategies with PPC ads to boost the incoming traffic to your website.

With PPC ads, you only need to bid on keywords as opposed to bidding on conversion-based campaigns in SEO. This will aid in improving the rankings of your website in the organic search results.

5. Sell your credibility online

As the general population utilizes the internet to find information, you can be one step ahead in the game by providing the necessary information free of cost to the other websites. You will witness an increase in the incoming traffic and a rise in the search engine rankings. By including a link to your website in the content you provide, you will be able to achieve the results.

You can do the following to establish your expertise in the e-commerce domain:

• Craft articles, audio, and video tutorials that will be useful for people. Give access to this information to people via utilizing the medium of your social media channels etc.
• Be an active expert in industry conclaves and social media channels where your target audience is predominantly present.

The best part is that every website that makes your content available on their pages will provide a link to your website. This will aid in the improvement in the search engine rankings.

6. Use the methods of upselling and back-end sales 

Developing your Customer Lifetime Value is one of the most effective marketing strategies that you have to adopt in the later stages of your business. By providing value-based content and establishing connections with your customers, you will aid in increasing the chances of their return to your website and purchasing your products.

Utilize the powers of upselling and back-end selling. Display complementary products, provide discount coupons and offers to your customers. 

7. Make email marketing your ally

The email marketing strategy will help you to deliver targeted and personalized messages to your customers, once they have signed up and provided their personal information. Easy to measure and easy to share essential information with your potential customers, it proves to be extremely effective. You receive an admirable ROI as well. That’s the reason behind many marketers choosing to opt for this strategy.

Email marketing has to be on your list of strategies. This will surely give you the results you are looking for. Since these times will rely heavily on digitalization, email marketing is one of the most efficient strategies out there. 

Once you have established some ground rules, you have to set up various online gateways, take the aid of logistic providers and marketing tools. You can easily find effective ones on an efficient e-commerce platform like Shopify. The Indian market provides a solid base for such establishments. They have amazing tie-ups with online gateways, service providers and tools, with incredible offers. 

Here are a few amazing examples:

1) Paytm 

India’s largest payment gateway – Paytm has one-click integration with Shopify that aids in the initiation of a quick set-up and easy online payments via various secure modes.

This is available to the new marketers who have linked their Paytm Gateway as the main option. Various exciting benefits are given such as a full PG fee waiver on the initial 3.5 lakhs worth of business for new sign-ups. You can reap the benefits by signing-up on Paytm with your Shopify store account details once your online payment mode has been set up.          

2) Delhivery 

It is a trusted logistics company established in India. They provide accessibility to over 18000+ pin codes and have a known reputation for on-time delivery. They have started servicing Shopify merchants to aid them in the management of deliveries.

Additionally, the app allows you to integrate your storefront on Shopify with your Delhivery dashboard. You can easily manage your shipping tasks and logistics on one platform. 

After signing up with Shopify, create your account on Delhivery. Choose the option “Business” to avail the offer, when you select your shipping options. You can save up to 6000 INR by taking up the offer given by Shopify. 

3) Shopify Email 

It is an app that makes email marketing a cakewalk for the merchants and produces ROI via emails. You can utilize this app to put the email marketing strategy that we discussed earlier into effect. Building and fostering relationships is achieved through the use of this app. 

It is inclusive of features like ready-made designs, availability of the option of customizing your template, etc.

You can go ahead with setting up the app and start running your email marketing campaigns. There is no requirement of coupon codes needed. 

Read more about the various services and offers provided by Shopify to get your e-commerce business up and running.

Shopify functions as a remarkable platform for merchants to establish and run their businesses online successfully. It is highly recommended that you utilize Shopify and its benefits by setting your business store on it.

Do not let Covid-19 affect you or your business!

The fact that Covid-19 has created an unavoidable and adverse situation cannot be denied. What’s important is to remember that you have to be resilient in order to overcome the consequences of this particular pandemic. If you are planning to start an online business once the Covid-19 situation comes under control, do not be afraid to do so. 

By following these simple steps, you can easily set up your business online. There are certain strategies that you have to implement to make your business popular amongst your target audience. Just like any other aspect of life, you grow and evolve in your business too. You constantly tweak and see where changes can be brought. This will increase the efficiency of your services, which in turn will make your customers happy. 

If you require professional help, we are experts who have a knack for digitally transforming businesses. Check us out now.