Here's How to Start Online Business in Malaysia in Just 1 Day
Step 1: It is not all started first on the Internet, but in your mind.
You need to think about what kind of store you want to open. At this point, there is no difference between opening an online store and a conventional store. The success of the cornerstone is searching for a good market and a competitive product.
Step 2: Selecting a selling platform.
You have to register with a website that allows you to open your personal store. I personally think this step is important. Most of the sites require users to register with their real names and valid ID or other valid documents. Whether is it a paid website, the rate the website charges and the website’s popularity are the important indicators when choosing a website. Currently, there are many websites which allow sellers to open their online stores for free. It really helps those online store sellers save a lot of money.
Step 3: Register with a website and start setting up your store.
Listing out what kind of items your store sells in detail. For example, if you plan to sell watches, your store will be classified in “watches and jewelry” category. By doing this, it will help the target buyers search for you easily. For the next step, you have to get your store an eye-catching store name. Statistics show stores with eye-catching and attractive names usually get viewed more than the other stores. Some websites require sellers display their personal information; you are advised
Step 4: Purchasing for your store.
You can purchase stock from your familiar supplier. Stock is controlling and purchasing stock at prices as low as possible are the keys to success.
Step 5: Uploading products.
You have to state your product’s name, origin, location, nature, appearance, quantity, transaction time and other information on your store’s website with detailed pictures. Your product names have to be as comprehensive as possible. Because when buyers search for certain products, only the names will be displayed on the list. In order to increase the attractiveness of the products, all picture quality should be as clear as possible, together with the detailed product description. If the product is involved in a shipment, it is better to specify who is responsible for the shipping charges.
Pricing your products is very important when uploading your products. Most of the online stores usually have starting price, reserve price or a fixed price set by the sellers. For example, a conventional store seller usually sells a piece of clothes for RM 150 if the cost of the clothes is RM 100. If the clothes are not marketable, the seller will usually lower the prices. But for the online auction selling style, the sellers have to set a starting price and buyers will have to bid the items. Lower the starting price can attract the interest of the buyers. This is why some of the sellers start the auction at RM 1 to catch buyers’ attention.
However, if the starting price is too low, sellers may face the risk of losing money or getting low profit. It is better that sellers set a reserve price for the auction, for example, RM 105. It will ensure that the goods will not be bided
Step 6: Marketing
To promote the popularity of your online store, a good marketing plan is very important. Promoting your online store by solely using online networking is not enough, you have to use a variety of channels to promote your store online as well as offline. You can list your products on the frequent viewed main page, categorize all your products and highlight product names, and add more detailed pictures to catch buyers’ attention. You can also exchange links to other online stores or websites to create a free advertisement.
Step 7: Sale service
When customers decide if they buy the items, they might need a lot of information that you might not have mentioned. Customers might inquire about their doubts on your online store; you have to respond to them promptly and patiently. Be noticed that, some of the websites do not allow sellers and buyer exchange contacts, e.g. Email addresses, phone numbers and etc. To prevent private transactions. Sellers and buyers who try to avoid the transaction fees by dealing privately will be penalized.
Step 8: Transaction
After the auction ended, the auction website will contact both sellers and buyers. Both sides can choose the preferred payment methods. They can meet each other in person and receive cash from the buyers. Other sellers ship the buyer as soon as possible. Both sides also have to decide if after-sales service is provided after the deal is made.
Step 9: Feedback and complaints
Credit is the most important key to online trading. In order to build a safe trading environment for both sellers and buyers, sellers and buyers should leave feedback to each other after the deal is completed. If the seller fails to provide a decent service or products to buyers, buyers should leave a bad comment or make a complaint to the website manager. This will help to reduce losses and to help to alert other buyers. If sellers get from buyers, they should settle the situation as soon as possible to avoid bad comment on their profile
Step 10: After sale service
Last but not least, a complete and considerate after sale service is the key of
Mode of operating an online store:
If you are thinking of opening an online store, you should choose a suitable mode of operation based on your circumstance.
Three major types of business models of operating an online store:
1. Combination of the online and offline store.
Under this type of business mood, your product price will be more competitive. Your business can be trusted by buyers easily.
2. Operating online store full time.
Operators put all their time and energy into the website business, work as a full-time job. The income of the online store will be the main source of income for the operator.
3. Operating online store part time.
Operators maintain their online stores as their side income. Nowadays, there are a lot of students and workers who use their spare time to manage their online stores as a side income.
Your products
Choose the right products
To start an online store on the internet, first you should have the right products to sell, not all the products are suitable for selling on the internet. There 3 strategies I personally recommend to help you to get the right products to sell. Deciding a product to sell, you have to be sure the product can’t be purchased easily in everywhere. If your product is too common, consumers have no reasons to buy from you, because your shipping cost is included in your selling prices, you won’t be able to offer lower price than other sellers and you will get only a little profit for sure. If your products are rare, buyers are usually willing to pay higher prices to get them.
The second strategy is using the regional price differences to make money. There are a lot of products made in different regions are sold at different prices. For example, electronic appliances produced in Guangdong and other coastal cities are cheaper than the cities in inland. The collectible products are usually located in ancient capital cities like Beijing, Xi’an and Luoyang are cheaper than the coastal cities. You should focus things around you and try to find things that only available in your place not elsewhere. This cost strategy helps you to sell your goods with best price.
You should start a business that you are well aware of. Do not try to involve in the field that you are not familiar with. If you love handicraft, cross-stitch, painting, creativity, you can open a DIY shop. Unique shops are usually popular everywhere. Special and unique things are rare; they usually catch people’s attention easily. If you are good at taking photos, you like digital gadget, you can try to open a store on the internet. The ultimate goal is to be an expert in one particular field. You can solve members’ doubts, provide some particular knowledge that you know well to your members. If you start to build a good reputation in this field, consumers will think of you every time they think of purchasing certain things. Everyone has their own strength, using your strength at the right time is very important. Do not compare your weaknesses with other people’s strength. The third strategy here is to apply your profession to create an innovative business. By categorizing products on the internet, there are a lot of recommendations concluded. The goods which are suitable for selling on the internet have the features as following:
1. Small in size: there are easy to be shipped with lower cost.
2. Value can be increased: good values which are lower than shipping fees are not suitable for selling on the internet.
3. Unique and trendy: things sold well on the internet are usually unique and trendy.
4. Reasonable price: Consumers choose to purchase things online, it’s because online prices are cheaper.
5. Things on the websites can arouse shoppers’ desire to buy: If the product has to be seen and touched in person before buyers have to confidence to buy it, then this product isn’t a suitable product to sell online.
6. Only can be found on the internet: for example, foreign made products or imported products.
After choosing certain goods, you have to start a survey of your target buyers and the competitors’ market. If the survey shows that your decision on the goods you are going to sell isn’t the right choice, you might have to stop it. Because most of the time, the decision you make is based on your own experience or asymmetric information you believe. Sometime when judgments go wrong, you might cause all your business fail.
For opening a store online, I personally recommend some of the basic market research methods for you.
1. You can tell your thoughts and ideas to your relative, friends and people around you, and try to listen to the opinion they give, they might be your potential buyers in the future. You can also consult with the industry professionals and expects. In the process of conducting the market research, avoid the thought that the people who don’t know how to use the internet are not my potential buyers. You should think of selling online is one of the ways to promote your products.
2. You can search online to check if there are any sellers selling the same things that you intend to sell online. If there it is, it means the items you are about to sell has a potential market. But you also have to consider if the items you want to sell have the competitive advantage. If you want to sell the same brand of items, you have to be sure your offer price is competitive. If the brand is different, you have to be sure that your items are good for valuables and money. If your item is the only type sold online, your online store will have the advantage to sell higher price online.
Selling online should always comply with national laws and regulations. Do not sell
1. Goods that prohibited by laws and regulations. Such as weapons and ammunition, controlled knives, artifacts, obscenity, drugs.
2. Counterfeit and imitation goods.
3. Other goods such as medical equipment, medicines, stocks, bonds and collateral, stealing goods, contraband or other illegal sources.
4. Goods that buyers cannot have the ownership or control over the goods.
Building an independent online store usually means store owners entrust another website company to create a website for them according to their ideas for the business. Independent online stores usually have a domain URLs
Acomplete, personalized online store website is including the five aspects, domain name registration, unprecedented hire, web design, application development, website promotion. Because it is a completely independent website, the shop style, design and contents can be tailored made according to the owners ideas, unlike putting listing of the other large shopping websites, your online store have to follow the specific and limited modules.
Except paying for the design and website promotion expenses, online store owners don’t need to pay for other trading fees or product registration fees. But the independent website has to use different ways to promote their website in order to attract buyers to visit their websites. Independent websites have to gain trust from their buyers, often this is very slow.
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Except paying for the design and website promotion expenses, online store owners don’t need to pay for other trading fees or product registration fees. But the independent website has to use different ways to promote their website in order to attract buyers to visit their websites. Independent websites have to gain trust from their buyers, often this is very slow.
