Rather than having to invest funds in renting or purchasing a retail space, websites provide a fast, efficient and cost effective way for entrepreneurs to create a space in which to promote and sell their products and services to a vast audience.
If you’re looking to set up a new ecommerce business, but not sure where to begin, we have spoken to successful ecommerce startups in order to get their advice. The startups below have shared their experiences below of setting up an ecommerce business, difficulties they have faced, as well as their approach to customers.
First up we have insights from Adam Sopher, the co-founder and director of Joe & Seph’s. Joe & Sephs produce and sell gourmet air popped popcorn, coated in natural ingredients, online.
What made you decide to start the business
My father Joseph cooked us popcorn as children when we were young. The flavours he created, such as Espresso popcorn, differed from the traditional flavours of popcorn (salt, sweet, toffee) available at that time. He also cooked the corn differently, choosing to air pop over frying and only using natural ingredients for the flavouring.
In 2010 we decided to take the plunge and my mum, dad and I took his popcorn to the Food Show at the Olympia in London. Before we went, we made the decision that if it went well we would continue the business, but if not we would stop there. Thankfully it was a huge success and after six months we were selling our products in Selfridges and had created a website.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced
There were no other gourmet popcorn products on the market when we started. Although that sounds like we had no competition, the main problem we faced was convincing people to try our product. The first two years were challenging. But we persevered and enlisted the help of foodie bloggers and journalists to taste our popcorn and write about it. Word of mouth has been our greatest sales tactic.
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What do you do differently for your customers
There are a few things we do differently for our customers. When it comes to our product, our popcorn is air popped and made from natural ingredients (making it both healthy and tasty) and we offer a wide selection of flavours to cater for differing tastes. To date we have won 15 Gold Great Taste Awards.
In terms of customer service on the website, we pride ourselves in responding to every customer query within 24 hours. We are a small team but we are prepared to work longer hours to ensure that all questions are answered and any problems that may arise are resolved.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs looking to start an ecommerce startup
First of all, do it! An ecommerce startup can launch without having to spend that much money. If done creatively, you can launch cheaply. If you want to extend your brands reach and awareness, sell your products on your website but also think about selling them elsewhere on the web, such as via Amazon. This way you can sell to the customers who are looking for your product online but who may not be aware of your brand.
Continue onto the next page to hear from female entrepreneur Pauline Quigley, who launched baked goods business Cake-Cetera using the web.
Next we have advice from Pauline Quigley, the founder of Cake-Cetera. Cake-Cetera produces and delivers a variety of bespoke baked goods including French macaroons, cake pops, cupcake bouquets and cake pops online.
What made you decide to start the business
I was inspired to start Cake-Cetera after losing my mum to cancer in May 2011. While mum was in hospital I was shocked to find that flowers were banned from the wards. I found that most people brought in cake instead and so Cake-Cetera was born in August 2011.
I started hand-delivering cake in the Glasgow area but have now expanded nationwide and can deliver all over the UK. We send cake and French macaroons by post next day delivery. We hope to continually extend our product range with tasty and trendy treats that are delivered to desks and doors.
What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced
Our biggest challenge has definitely been developing packaging to prevent damage by couriers. Each time we design a new product we have a long and expensive development exercise to create packaging that not only looks great but gets to the customer exactly as we send it. Another challenge has been the constant changes in the different social media channels and keeping up with them all.
When we first launched Cake-Cetera we could upload a photo of a cake and get 100 likes on Facebook it was pretty easy to launch new products back then so it’s a constant learning curve with what platforms and advertising to concentrate most on and getting this right for us.
Read more on ecommerce:
- British fashion sector struts its stuff as UK sales rise 27 per cent for ASOS
- Majority of the UK’s shoppers willing to pay via wearable devices
- The UKs fastest growing private companies: Hot 100 2015 (7) JB Global
What do you do differently for your customers
Rather than continually try to sell them our products we like to provide our customers with content such as baking tutorials, baking tips and recipes both on blogs and via social media updates.
With the huge popularity of The Great British Bake off and the increase in home baking, we like to liaise with our followers by encourage them to post their own cakes and update them with new tools, ingredients and news in the baking world.
What advice do you have for entrepreneurs looking to start an ecommerce startup
We are still learning each day but social media has been essential for us in growing our community and followers online. The best way to grow your followers is to find out where your target customer is Who are they following etc
As a startup your budget will be small or non-existent, but there is lots you can do without spending. Social media can be a great marketing resource. We currently use Facebook Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram in order to connect and engage with our customers.
Chad Deatherage is a serial entrepreneur and the VP of sales at Ultimate Merchant Providers.
