eCommerce in Asia – How to Start an Online Business

The world is suddenly turning over. Online businesses are taking a much larger space in the market. People can either start online businesses or shift/adapt to online businesses instead of the standard brick-and-mortar stores.

Asia, in general, is a huge market when it comes to eCommerce platforms. Aside from the giants like Alibaba, AliExpress, and Lazada, many other eCommerce platforms cater to businesses’ specific needs. With this influx in the eCommerce market, it is good to get involved, but where should one start?

Identifying the Market

The Asian market, like the Asian culture, is a melting pot. Every country, city, and even just the local community has different needs, wants, and preferences that they’re inclined towards. To get started, one should assess who their target markets are. This is essential before settling with a type of business, be it food products, clothing, assorted goods, or other kinds of services.

Does the business plan to accommodate orders throughout the country? Are you a local online business only? Is your company an exclusively online business, or do you have a physical store?

These things are very hard to decide if you do not know who your target market is. Your expected customers are. For context, large companies focus on providing products and services that they are known and good at. This is their approach to ensure that their business flourish. As such, this is the same type of strategy we are applying.

Choosing a Great Product or Service

Now that you have your buyer’s persona and pain points, the next thing is to identify the solution. Ensure that the answer is not an oversaturated market. This allows for an easier entrance, and there aren’t a lot of barriers to entry.

Making sure that that market isn’t saturated is critical for your success. This means that there’s a chance for your to grow and thrive in the industry.

Though there’s competition, you’ll still get a piece of the market cake, which means that operating in your local market is advantageous.

Types of Products You Can Sell Online

There are two common types of products that you can sell online: the commoditized and the niche. Commoditized products are essential or popular goods or services that are usually in high demand but have relatively high supplies.

These are products that almost everyone needs, and they can be physical or digital. However, the drawback in picking commoditized products is that they’re prone to market oversaturation. Meaning, you’ll find yourself competing with a lot of other businesses.

However, for fewer barriers to entry and lesser competition, we recommend you look into niche products. Niche products are often unique, one-of-a-kind, custom-made products that may be personalized for the customer.

The personalized appeal and the uniqueness are some of your competitive advantages. This allows you to price it much higher without having to worry too much. Believe it or not, some of the most popular items bought online are personalized.

Brainstorm the Branding

Branding defines the business. It sets it apart from other companies, and, most of the time, it’s what dictates the sales and the perception of customers towards a business.

Branding used to be simple. The right business name, an attractive logo, and a slogan would have done the job. That is no longer the case today. Businesses have improved along with the changes in the market. There are a lot more factors now that you have to take into account.

Therefore, good branding results in a positive and lasting impression on the customers, ensuring recall and eventually leading to good sales. Identifying your target market is an excellent way to start, but there are other factors you also have to take into account.

Developing a good brand identity goes beyond visuals and other essential marketing variables. As brands, we should focus on our message. We need to send them across using our brand and assets effectively. In this way, we can build meaningful relationships with the customers.

Marketing Your Business.

Visual marketing is an essential strategy. Making your products or services visually appealing makes it easier to catch the attention of your customers. To do this, you need to have adequate product videos, photographs, layouts, and publication materials as part of your marketing strategy.

You can easily transition good visual materials from your online to offline assets or use these as advertisements on different sites. An account or a page is the recommended option as it helps establish your identity as a brand. Also, it increases your reach, and it allows your customers to communicate with you through other platforms. This can also deepen your brand’s relationship with your customers.

Provide Simple Solutions

This last marketing strategy is quite possibly the most important one yet: make it simple. When customers are faced with complicated choices, they might end up deciding that it’s not worth their time could end up choosing to spend their precious money on other businesses. This is dangerous for your business.

Providing simple and easy choices and solutions simplifies the experience. This also guarantees that they won’t be thinking twice about buying from you. Spoon feeding the customer is the best marketing strategy.

Picking Out a Platform

There are so many platforms available for eCommerce nowadays that it’s complicated to choose. One thing to note before deciding is that the Western eCommerce market is different from the Asian eCommerce market. For the most part, options like Instagram Shopping aren’t as effective and are commonly used in some parts of Asia.

So, choose the most common platform in your location, especially in smaller market areas that have only recently begun to embrace the culture of online shopping. Overall, picking out a venue is ultimately your choice, and it all depends on your preferences and the factors that play into account.

These are just some of the basics for starting an online business. If you want to learn more and start your business now, then make sure to work with the best eCommerce agency in the market.