ISLAMABAD – Following 10 steps are required to launch an e-commerce storefrom scratch.
Decide a *Domain* name (the website name) that you would like for youre-commerce store. You can register for a domain from Godaddy.comlink for global domains or Pknic.net.pk/link for .pk domains.
Decide the *Platform* to launch your e-commerce store. You can go for OpenSource platforms like Magento link, WooCommercelink and merge it with your customized orWordPress website, or choose SaaS like Shopify link,Fishry link Wix link. You can findmore details about deciding the best platform herelink.
Prepare *Content* for the website, including but not limited to, banners,product images, product file including the name of the product, itsdescription, prices, inventory. At this stage you also need to prepare thestatic pages for the website which include things like About Us,Exchange/Return Policy, Shipping Policy, Contact Us, FAQs etc. Productphotography will play a big role at this stage of the process as customerswill see the product image first.
Finalise the *Navigation* of the website by specifying the header/footerspages and sections, thus focusing on the UI/UX user interface & userexperience of your e-commerce store. E.g. static pages at the footer, home& collection links in the Header etc., the filters to choose on the websiteaccording to which your products can be identified. The search option onthe website also needs to be clearly visible on the website to provide anenhanced user experience.
Decide the e-commerce operations & *Order Fulfilment Process*. At thisstage, you have to integrate the SMS notification, Email notification andstreamline the fulfillment process. This also includes the channel,product, Inventory & SKU management. The best way to start is to havededicated inventory for your e-store so as to ensure the productavailability upon getting the order. You need to define multiple smallerthings here like setting up favicon, setting up taxes & delivery charges inthe pricing, finalizing what information to get from customers at checkout,ensuring the banners are mobile optimized, business & care address and itsmodus operandi.
Decide on the *Logistics*partner for your product delivery, both local andinternational. TCS, M&P, Call Courier, Cheetay & Leopards seem to be doingthe bulk deliveries in Pakistan, whereas DHL leads the way forInternational deliveries. Integrate the shipping partner with youre-commerce store so you can generate the order slips automatically &provide order tracking service from your website. At this stage, you alsodecide whether you’ll be using your own product packaging or sending yourproducts in the shipping partner packaging.
Finalise the *Payment* options for your e-commerce store. Though more than80% of orders in Pakistan are COD, but still you need to provide moreoptions to the customers. Credit Card merchant accounts are provided by 4banks in Pakistan currently, MCB, UBL, Bank Alfalah & HBL. Keenu alsoprovides merchant accounts services. Apart from Merchant accounts, otherpayment options include Finja SimSim, Easypay, JazzCash, ARY Sahulat Cardetc. for local payments. For International payments, Paypal, Stripe, 2COseem to be the most common payment gateways being used in Pakistan. AdvanceBank Transfer is also used by many players, but it slows down the purchaseprocess.
Enable *Analytics* and tracking codes and required Add-ons for your basice-commerce store. Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel are the 2 most commonand helpful tools that should be enabled on your website so you can getinsights about your store, track the customer journey and start collectingdata on the basis of which you can grow your sales.
At this stage, you can also integrate other add-on apps/services likere-marketing tools, referral tools, loyalty services, email tools, CRMtools etc.Integrate your *Social Media*(Facebook Page, Instagram, YouTubeChannel) with your website so you can provide a single entity to all yourdigital assets. At this stage, you also need to set-up your chat option onthe website which can also link with your Facebook page.
*Launch your E-commerce store!* Start promoting your website on SocialMedia, launch performance marketing that can help you drive traffic to yourwebsite which will pass through the sales funnel and perform conversions onyour website. At this stage, you should also set-up your E-mail marketing,SMS marketing and engage other tactics that will help to attract, activate& retain the customers.