Are you interested in setting up an online business or an eCommerce website? Want to reach more customers and increase your revenue?
Confused … not to worry …
Have you heard or read about people making money online? Or looking for ways to earn passive income. Do you want to take advantage of digitalization or digital wave?
If you want to give wings to your business then you have come to the right place.
This article is helpful for beginners who want to set-up an online business. One of the most common ways is to set-up an eCommerce website or a blog. Keeping that in mind, the scope of this article is limited to provide basic information on what is an eCommerce site, advantages, types, and business revenue models. We have written a separate article on how to set-up a new eCommerce website with Liquid Web Managed WooCommerce Hosting.
Let’s spend a minute to understand the importance of having a website and know more about what is an eCommerce website.
Need of an eCommerce Website
In today’s digital world, Corporate and Business Owners promote their offerings (such as products, services, or portfolios, etc.) through websites. Such business entities rely heavily on their websites to drive a huge portion of their sales and revenue. Additionally, websites act as a face or an identity of businesses for a remote or a virtual customer.
In simple words, a website is a collection of web pages containing related content segregated into different categories. Some of these websites are static (content does not change frequently) and some are dynamic (content changes daily or weekly). Furthermore, one can accept payments from the customers by integrating the website with a payment gateway. Such an arrangement wherein you sell a product or a service, ship it to the customer, and in-turn accept payments over the internet is termed as an eCommerce website. The word eCommerce stands for electronic commerce and is also known as electronic business. So, if you are a product manufacturer or a retailer or offer services then building an eCommerce website makes the most sense.
Some of the popular eCommerce websites are Amazon, Alibaba, Flipkart, etc.
Benefits of an eCommerce Website
Here are some of the benefits of an eCommerce website:-
- Digital presence/foot print
- Virtual identity
- Virtual web store available 24/7 for the customers
- Cost effective as compared to a Brick & Mortar shop
- Target national and international customers
- Drive more sales
- Generate more revenue
- Reduced operational & maintenance costs (direct & indirect)
- Huge Return on Investment (ROI)
- Minimal technical expertise is required
At this point in time, being a reader, this information may be over-whelming. You must be thinking that is it tough to build an eCommerce site. No, it’s not tough.
There are plenty of reputed and reliable web hosting companies that provide easy to use tools to set-up and create a new eCommerce website in just few minutes. Essentially, they manage all the complexities make the online journey easy. One such web hosting provider is Liquid Web. They provide a complete solution to launch an eCommerce site right from purchasing a domain name to a fully functional / working website. Their hosting plans are reasonably priced and provide lots of powerful features for easy & fast website building.
So, do not worry, relax and keep reading …
Let’s gain insight into the types of eCommerce websites and the different types of eCommerce business revenue models.
Types of eCommerce Websites
There are four different types of eCommerce websites depending upon the buying and selling transaction between a Business (a Company) and a Customer (a Consumer).
Business-to-Business (B2B)
Buying and selling of products or services happening between two companies. For e.g. – Microsoft selling their products to other companies.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
Buying and selling of products or services happening between a company and a consumer. For e.g. – Buying a mobile phone from an online eCommerce website.
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
Buying and selling of products or service happening between two consumers through a third-party website or an App. For e.g. – Selling a television (TV) through OLX to another consumer.
Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
Buying and selling of products or services happening between a consumer and a company. For e.g. – A social media influencer charges a fee and exposes products or services to his or her audience.
Types of eCommerce Business Revenue Models
Depending upon how to handle the inventory and sourcing of products, the eCommerce business revenue models are categorized in five different types.
Drop Shipping
This is one of the most simple business revenue model. In this eCommerce model, one has to build an eCommerce website and tie up with suppliers for the product inventory, storing, packaging, and shipping the products to the customer. All you have to worry about is to maintain the website and implement effective marketing strategies. The down side is that you do not have control over the product quality and time taken to ship the products.
Wholesaling & Warehousing
This is the traditional form. In this model, you set-up a website, source the inventory yourself, and store it in a warehouse. Once you receive an order from a customer then you pack and ship it yourself. You have complete control over the quality. One can expand the business in retailing or wholesaling or both. The main disadvantage is that you need a huge investment to start.
Private Labeling & Manufacturing
In this model, you establish or get into contract terms with manufacturers who produce the products as per the customer’s requirements. You need to have a fool-proof / perfect product idea that is sellable and has a huge demand. The best part is that you need not worry about product manufacturing. The quality control process plays a huge role in this eCommerce business revenue model.
White Labeling
This model is very similar to private labeling & manufacturing. Here in, the product idea may not be original but already being sold in the market. However, you work closely with the manufacturer for branding, package designing, and then sell the product through your own eCommerce website. This model is typically applied and best-suited in beauty & wellness industry. This model has a huge disadvantage wherein the manufacturers accept a minimum order quantity. So, the success depends on the product demand. If demand dies or you are not able to sell then you have to bear the loss.
Subscription
In this model type, customers receive the subscribed products at a regular and scheduled intervals. For e.g. – Customers subscribe to receive a consistent supply of baby diapers. There are subscription companies that promote this eCommerce business revenue model. They give incentives to customers to purchase additional subscriptions or encourage their friends or families for subscription. The disadvantage is that there are a handful of subscription companies so opportunities are limited.
After reading the above two sections, here comes the million dollar question – Which type of eCommerce website and business model should you choose? To be honest, it depends upon your geographic location, market demand & supply, availability of resources, man power, investment budget, marketing strategy, etc.
Take a deep breath and prepare a solid business plan with well-defined targets.
Final Words – eCommerce Website for Businesses in 2023
In this digital era, having an online business is a necessity. It may be in the form of a blog or an eCommerce website to sell products or services, etc. An eCommerce site helps you in reaching out to more Customers worldwide. Being available 24/7/365, they drive more sales and thus increased revenue. It gives wings to your business and increases your business potential.
It’s important to be aware of the types of eCommerce websites and various business revenue models. This knowledge will help you in preparing your business plan. Another important aspect is to think about effective website promotion strategies. Some of these are Search Engine Optimization (SEO), paid online advertisement, Social Media Marketing (SMM), Email Marketing, etc.
In order to set-up a new eCommerce site one must leverage the expertise of web hosting companies like Liquid Web. They take care of all the hassles and make your online journey a breeze. Their feature-rich hosting plans ensure 99.99% uptime, fast loading speed, and provide secure infrastructure.
All in all, it is high time to take your business online and make money online.
If you have a success story then share with us in the comments section below.