If you’ve always wanted to own and run an online store without investing too much of your time and resources, dropshipping is a great career choice. The global dropshipping market is forecast to reach $196.78 billion in 2022, and now is a great time to get into the dropshipping industry.
However, this isn’t a way to get rich quickly without putting in some time and effort. There are a few things you need to do to get your business off the ground and increase your sales. So let’s get into the basics of a dropshipping business and what it needs to succeed.
Branding is Key
Since the existence of consumerism, branding has been a big part of increasing sales. When customers recognize a brand and have a good association with it, it becomes much easier to build trust and have your products fly off the shelves.
There are three ways branding increases sales:
- Customer loyalty: When customers learn to recognize and love a brand, they become extremely loyal. Most successful companies today such as Apple and Coca-Cola, for example, get a lot of business not because they offer great products, but because they are recognizable brands people are loyal to.
- Perceived value: If you work hard to present your business and your brand as high-quality, people will learn to trust you and automatically believe you offer high-value products.
- Consistent quality: Consumers have learned to associate good branding with consistent quality. The value perception might bring in new customers but the consistent quality is the thing that keeps them coming back. And if your brand always delivers high-quality products, sales will skyrocket.
However, it’s important to note that branding requires a lot of work. It typically takes 5-7 brand interactions before a consumer remembers the brand, so you need to have patience while building a brand, but you also need the right strategies.
This holds true for every niche. If you want to dropship coffee successfully, for example, you need to work on your brand. You can do this by creating a logo and packaging that your customers can easily recognize, remember, and associate with the products you sell.
Be Present on Social Media
Having a presence on social media isn’t anything new for businesses. Successful companies have used social media platforms for years to increase sales and gain new customers. Nowadays, social media marketing is one of the most used marketing tactics, and that won’t change any time soon.
Here are a few things you need to do on social media to increase sales:
- Be active on the platforms your audience uses: Being present on social media won’t do any good if you’re not where your potential customers are. Find out which platforms your ideal customers use and make them your primary channels.
- Work with influencers: Influencer marketing has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years. If you learn how to develop a solid influencer marketing strategy, you will soon see a boom in sales and new customers.
- Share educational content: Social media isn’t just about sharing promotional material. You can use your pages to share content that will educate your customers on your brand, business, and industry. If this content is interesting and engaging, it will compel your followers to make a purchase.
Since you run a dropshipping business, it would be great if you can work with other businesses as they have larger dropshipping needs. And to get in touch with those businesses, you need a LinkedIn presence.
This is the only business-oriented social media and you can use it to make a lot of valuable connections. If you automate your LinkedIn presence, it will be easy for you to make new connections, build smart message chains, and get to the top of your industry.
Optimize Your Website for Search Engines
Everyone knows that in today’s modern world that is ruled by technology and the internet, a business can’t survive without an online presence. Social media isn’t enough, you need to have a well-built website that is optimized for search engines.
While other marketing tactics are important, search engine optimization needs to be at the top of your list because SEO is a great source of free traffic if you do it right. While it’s hard to compete with other businesses and millions of websites, you still have to give yourself a fighting chance.
If you apply the right SEO strategies such as great website speed, keyword-optimized product descriptions, blog posts, and on-page SEO, you will increase your visibility. And with good visibility and a website that is easy to find, you will also have a lot of new customers.
Conclusion
There are many businesses in the dropshipping industry because it’s a great way to make a profit without some complicated aspects of eCommerce. But that shouldn’t discourage you because while competition exists, it’s no different than in any other business model.
As long as you know the right strategies to apply, there’s no reason not to reach for the stars.