How much effort does it take to create and run an online shop?
Are you planning your own online shop, but how much effort does it take to set it up and run it? Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It varies from shop to shop and depends on the complexity of the project. In our article, we provide an overview of the most important steps and the day-to-day tasks of a shop operator.
Conception of the online shop
Good preparation is key! The better and more detailed your preparation, the more time you’ll save for the actual implementation. A clear picture of the online shop you’re creating should be defined in advance. This will reduce later time-wasters such as misunderstandings and annoying corrections during the preparation phase.
When designing your shop, make sure that the most important shop functions are explained in detail in the requirements. This will save you time for further steps. There are many things to consider when creating an online shop. You need to thoroughly analyze current market offerings to determine competitors and their advantages and disadvantages, etc. The more you know about online commerce and its specifics, especially in your field, the less you’ll forget. For successful preparation, we recommend our article “9 Steps to an eCommerce Strategy“.
Selection of shop software
Shop systems offer many pre-built tools that can significantly reduce the time it takes to create an online store. However, opting for a completely custom development will increase costs and take longer to implement.
There is a wide range of shop systems available on the market today. Before choosing a platform, you should thoroughly research which system is right for your store. Check out our article “eCommerce Systems” for more information.
The creation of the online shop
For small and new shops initially run by one or a few people, time is crucial. Especially in the early stages, you spend less time dealing with orders and shipping, and more time on creating the initial items and creating the associated media, such as images.
Creating items is the main task of product maintenance. When you set up an item, you enter all master data into the online shop. In addition to the item name, properties such as size and weight, and the selling price, it is particularly important to write detailed item descriptions. Since your potential customers are unable to touch and feel the product, you should address all features, functions, and special features.
In online sales, you fundamentally need to work with an inventory management system, since, unlike in a physical store, the goods do not need to be physically present at the time of purchase. Therefore, the shop system must always be informed of the actual available quantity. If you already have an inventory management system in place, you only need to add the information necessary for online sales, which must be maintained in both the inventory management system and the shop system. MyCOMMERCE offers a simple, built-in inventory management system within the shop system.
Maintaining the general content (intro, about us, etc.) of the shop should not be underestimated. Good descriptions and additional texts can contribute to personalization and enhance the shop. Spend about an hour adding news and additions to your online shop.
As you can see, the time required is not insignificant, but this time is an excellent investment. If you, as a small shop owner, cannot afford the time for financial reasons, ask friends and acquaintances for help. Especially at the beginning of your project, a fully-fledged shop is half the battle. If you already have more staff, shift the resources to product maintenance. Not only Google rewards a large selection of items with detailed descriptions, but of course, potential customers do too.
Marketing
Ideally, the customer is already familiar with the online store’s products or brand and is visiting of their own volition. If this isn’t the case, more effort and time must be invested in marketing. The time required for marketing should not be underestimated. We’ve compiled this guide to help you get started.
Shipping and logistics
When you launch your online shop, it’s essential to establish precise structures for order management, accounting, and shipping. Most shop systems—like MyCOMMERCE—offer a well-structured order processing process, from verifying incoming payments to printing invoices and shipping. Nevertheless, it’s extremely important that new tasks are clearly distributed within your company, everyone contributes, and nothing gets forgotten. For example, agree on fixed times for shipping and receiving goods with your logistics partners to create a consistent structure for your task schedule.
Customer service
Good customer service is the be-all and end-all of every business. Therefore, you should clearly communicate how to contact your company and what response times are defined. Here, too, personnel costs will initially remain manageable and increase with the number of visitors to your online shop. If you only run your shop part-time, plan sufficient time outside of your working hours for good customer service, and don’t forget to arrange vacation replacements.
If your shop has a low to moderate level of awareness, you will be able to handle all tasks independently. However, as the shop gains recognition, you will reach your limits as the sole responsible person within a company. You will have to redistribute the distribution of tasks. Therefore, always factor in additional personnel in your budget, because in the medium to long term, you will be outsourcing a large portion of the above-mentioned tasks to new and qualified employees. Otherwise, the quality of the shop and the service will suffer.
Operate and further develop the online shop
Online commerce is a rapidly evolving world with constantly new demands on shop operators. After the launch is before the launch. Regular development and maintenance are crucial to staying in the conversation. Operating an online shop also means:
- Collect customer feedback and adjust your offerings accordingly.
- Add new products and offers.
- Offer special promotions.
- Restructure your catalog and analyze whether sales are changing.
- Etc.
You can find more information about creating an online shop here.
