Starting a drop shipping business is such a great step into entrepreneurship and small business management. You are on your way to explore the possibilities that comes with connecting with people who have gone ahead of you and have products that you can attach yourself to and become an affiliate marketer.
POSSIBLE WAYS TO START DROP SHIPPING
1. RESEARCH AND CHOOSE A NICHE
Identify a profitable niche that has a high demand. Sort out products that people cannot do without. As someone who is just starting a small business, you would want to go for something that would easily sell. Use tools such as Amazon best sellers, Social Media, Google trends and ask questions from people who have been in the business to gain more knowledge. African Things is a good place to start.
2. FIND REPUTABLE SUPPLIERS OR COMPANIES
Find reputable companies and suppliers with a record that you can trust. Discuss with them how you can get their products to market on your online store or whatever medium you choose to market the products.
Use platforms such African Things, AliExpress, SaleHoo to get reliable products.
3. SET UP AN ONLINE STORE
Create a professional looking store with a theme that matches your brand or niche. Set it up to fit in to what you desire and want to achieve with it. Make it easy for your clients to see and navigate through the products that will be uploaded. Choose an e-commerce platform like Etsy, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Remember, the most important thing here is to set up a store that will be easy for your clients to go through products. Alternatively, you can create a WhatsApp business account and use verified products from African Things as your catalog for easy shopping.
4. ADD PRODUCTS AND SET UP PRICES
Upload products from your suppliers to your own store and set up prices. Let your prices be in such a way that clients coming to your store can’t go through without purchasing products.. Set competitive prices and add your shipping options to enable easy delivery of products purchased by clients.
People would always want to buy from a store with genuine products and prices that can go with their budget. Your suppliers should be fair enough in giving you products at prices that you can gain from. Suppliers like African Things who have gone through this journey of entrepreneurship understand what it means to want to sell quality products and so they will make it easier for you to make your own profit from the platform.
5. CREATE A MARKETING STRATEGY
Now that you have imported products from your suppliers, you would want to set up a marketing plan or strategy that pulls traffic to your store. Develop a plan for marketing to reach your targeted audience. e.g Influencer marketing, social media, Facebook ads, Instagram ads and X. Create compelling and creative contents that pulls traffic to your products.
6. PROCESS ORDERS AND PROVIDE CUSTOMER SERVICE
Process orders and ensure that your customer service is top notch. As this will determine to a large extent how you retain your clients and make more sales. Deliver clients purchases on time and ensure you communicate with them till they receive their products.
Offer excellent customer service to build a strong reputation for your store. Good reviews from clients has a way of boosting your sales.
