In this busy (vibrant) world, where online selling of products and services has taken a boom, There Dropshipping is introduced as a game changer for every new entrepreneur, it offers us a win-win situation and provides us with premium services with a very low-risk percentage. In recent years it has become very popular among new entrepreneurs because of the features it offers.
It helps the new entrepreneurs to enter in the space of e-commerce without taking any burden of storing, loading and shipping of products. But how? Let’s understand it together.
What Is Dropshipping?
What is Dropshipping – Dropshipping is a low-risk and highly profitable business model, that offers us premium services or features that help us in easily setting up our online store. It is a business model that is recently getting popular in the environment, In this model, we don’t buy anything, we just show the product to the customer in addition to our rate. It is a basic definition of what is dropshipping.
Understanding The Process of Dropshipping more simply!
The customer visits our store and submits the necessary information required for completing the purchase the necessary information is then transferred to the vendor who is responsible for delivering the products. After this step from packaging the product to delivering it, the process is taken care by the vendor itself.
Advantages Of Dropshipping.
Minimal Investment – There are various benefits of dropshipping as it doesn’t require a high amount of capital as an investment to start, It can be set at a minimal cost without any barrier, this is one of the important features because every business needs investment to start but dropshipping has solved this issue and reduced the risk for all the entreprenurs who know the percentage of risk to be faced in e-commerce.
Stock Control – There is no burden of controlling the stocks when we are talking about dropshipping, As stock loading, packing and shipping of products are totally dependent on the vendor, which helps us save our time and resources which also helps us to focus on different goals and strategies to increase our business.
Product’s range – The main problem the users face in any business model is the range of adding products is minimal, but dropshipping allows you to add a wide range of products that you did not want to stock up in your warehouse or somewhere else, You don’t need to purchase them in advance.
Dropshipping Roadmap: Journey to Success.
Dropshipping is a profitable business model but it requires careful planning in the execution of things, here we will provide you the roadmap for becoming a successful drop shipper. A plan that starts from zero and ends at an advanced level.
There are 6 simple steps that should be strictly followed as a Drop Shipper.
1. Research – Market research is a very important step that should be completed carefully, finding a perfect niche that is in demand is important to grow the business.
- You should know about the trends in the market and basic information about what types of things are going on.
- Competitor research – look at the other drop shippers and what type of marketing strategy they are using to boost the sales, Understanding your target audience which helps in increasing the efficiency of the campaign or the strategy.
2. Setting up the business – Choose a relevant, catchy, available business name. Registering your business legally by knowning the structure of your business, if you want to succeed in this business model you need to issue a GST number and apply for all the permits that are needed to continue the business. Setup a seprate business bank account and manage it separately.
3. Trusted Suppliers – Finding trusted and loyal suppliers is crucial as the brand value is totally dependent on them. The best method to find a good supplier is to reach towards as many suppliers who offers dropshipping. Discuss some points with them about pricing, most importantly product quality, shipping time and customer experience that will help to build loyalty for us among users.
4. Creating Our Own Online Store – For creating an online store you need to choose a platform that suits your needs, As there are 2 most used and convenient platforms present (WooCommerce and Shopify).
- Both the platforms are best for dropshipping on their own terms but personally, I prefer Shopify instead of WooCommerce because Shopify provides its own hosting to run the business which helps in easier accessing and fast loading of the site. You can find some inbuilt options in Shopify that are very important in the dropshipping business.
5. Marketing Strategy – Build a marketing strategy that will help you in driving traffic and converting leads into sales, you can use different digital marketing channels to elevate your brand as SEO, Content marketing, email marketing and social media advertising. With these marketing skills, you can build an unbeatble marketing strategy unless you use the things in a correct way.
6. Customer services – Offering excellent customer support helps to build trust among the brand, providing hand-to-hand support through emails, phone calls and getting punctual to deliver all the deliveries. These are some of the customer’s fulfillment steps that should seriously be taken care of. Handling returns in an efficient manner shows the transparency and establishes the clear return policies that helps to enhance customer’s trust and loyalty among our brand.
How To Start Dropshipping.
There are Some steps that should be followed one by one to clear your doubts about how to start dropshipping.
Step 1 – Build a niche to know which area or category you have to target.
Step 2 – Search for the suppliers who offer Dropshipping services.
Step 3 – Create your online store using platforms like Shopify or WooCommerce. Add the products and don’t forget to set competitive prices.
Step 4 – After creating the store, start marketing the products to generate sales. Using different social media platforms like social media, email marketing, and content marketing helps drive traffic, generate leads and convert leads to customers.
Step 5. – After Receiving the order, forward it to the supplier and keep tracking the shipment, shipping should be completed on time and handed over directly to the customer.
Consistent optimization, marketing efforts and good product selection can help us to maximize profitability and growth. It demands dedication and persistence but with the right approach to get succeeded. These are the 5 steps to answer your question about how to start dropshipping.
Challenges Faced By A Dropshipper.
As we know dropshipping comes with numerous benefits, but it also consist of some fair challenges so handling and understanding these challenges in an efficient way is not an easy task , let’s discuss some of the dropshipping challenges faced by dropshippers and how to handle them.
- Fewer Profit Margins – One of the most significant challenges in dropshipping is lesser profit margins, As dropshippers doesn’t owns the inventory and because of the higher competition in the market dropshippers have to operate on thin margins.
- Solution – To solve this problem dropshippers should negotiate for better deals from suppliers to get the product in lower cost, focus on the product with less competition to increase profit margins, optimizing the marketing strategy to drive traffic, arrange upselling and cross selling products in a better way.
- Inventory Management – Inventory management is a vital part of the dropshipping model that should be taken care, managing the product availability and ensuring the stocks can be somewhere challenging but it can prevent the tereffic problem of overselling, which can cause order cancellation and customer dissatisfaction.
- Quality Control – Assuring Quality of the product is not an easy task when supplying is from the third party, It is very crucial to maintain the quality of the product to avoid returns, negative reviews and maintain customer satisfaction.
- Establishing Brand – Brand Establishment is not an easy task as a drop shipper. building a strong and trusted brand works as a key for long-term success. Also the large competition in the market between many drop shippers should tackled mindly to gain profits.
- Intense Competition – Dropshipping is a strongly contested business model, in which many dropshippers are connected to different third-party suppliers and to win from their competitors they have decreased the profit margin to the lowest that’s why the dropshipping model is said to be full of competition at every phase.
Best Products For Dropshipping.
There is no specific product present that can be good for dropshipping. The best products for drop shipping are typically those who is in high demand with low competition and contain decent profit margins. We will be discussing about some popular categories to be added in your dropshipping store.
- Health and Wellness
- Products related to fitness, skincare, supplements and natural remedies that can solve any type of issues a person faces.
- Beauty and cosmetics
- Makeup and beauty tools are the products that used to be in demand every time, make sure you own quality products when it’s time to talk about makeup because it is a matter of skin cheap quality products should not be used. Consult with your supplier to only deliver quality products.
- Sports
- Small exercising equipment which may have less competition can become a good option for choosing products for your dropshipping store.
- Baby products
- Baby products are sensitive again it is mandatory to deliver quality products, toys other grooming products should be 100 percent safe.
- Electronics and gadgets
- Gadgets occupy a large market, therefore they are in demand most of the time, these tech accessories consist of high profit. mobiles, laptops or the price of product depends upon its type.
These are some of the products that can act as the best products for dropshipping business model.
Dropshipping In India!
In recent years entrepreneurial landscape has increased in India and most entrepreneurs are adopting this model because of its effectiveness and nearly no investment. One of the primary advantages of dropshipping in India is its accessibility. This business model ends up the burden of heavy investment required to start a business.
The e-commerce sector that is now booming in India and with its the growing number of consumers that are turning towards online shopping for buying various types of products that may or may not be present nearer, increases the succeeding chances of this dropshipping business model. Dropshipping in India is in demand for a wide range of products for various categories.
Innovate & Dominate: Amazon Dropshipping Strategies For Growth.
Amazon itself officially doesn’t allow people to perform dropshipping on its platform, As Amazon has strict rules regarding that, Amazon aims to maintain high-quality standards for their customers but in the dropshipping model, many factors that can affect the quality standards of the tycoon, And these factors are product quality, shipping delays and maintaining customer experience all of the fields which are highly prioritized by the Amazon.
Amazon dropshipping involves sourcing the products or acquiring the products then selling them on the Amazon after becoming a seller. This process from becoming a buyer to seller on Amazon may include building relations with the supplier to deliver the best quality product possible you don’t have to invest in an inventory. as everything you want at any point of time your supplier can make it reach to you.
This is how Amazon dropshipping works.
Navigating The Best Dropshipping Websites.
Finding trusted dropshipping websites is a challenge in itself, but we have found the top 5 sites from where you can start your dropshipping journey.
1. Ali Express – This website allows us to select a vast range of products that are offered at competitive prices, this website is also capable of shipping products across borders.
2. Sale Hoo – Sale Hoo offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to operate. From finding profitable products to making a relationship with the supplier, Sale Hoo simplifies the dropshipping process allowing users to focus on their business goal and maximize the outputs.
3. Spocket – Spocket offers a wide range of wholesale sellers, this website is mostly based in United States and Europe. spocket is also capable of automating the complete order process.
4. Zendrop – Zendrop is a very popular app that not only supports dropshipping but also offers us a print-on-demand option. Zendrop is for only Shopify merchants other people cannot access it.
5. Meesho – It is one of the most popular e-commerce stores, which has a large customer base, with the help of Meesho you are capable of selling a wide range of products through your social networks like Whatsapp, Instagram and Messho is entirely free to use.
These are some of the trusted dropshipping websites, try and find what suits you best.
Profit Pathways: Navigating Dropshipping Earnings.
Dropshipping Earnings – Dropshipping is a good career option. It helps us to enter the space of e-commerce but without the need for inventory management which means it lessers the burden of drop shippers. It has a low startup cost with minimal amount of risk, if you managed the competition in the market by different marketing tactics or strategies, it will help you in gaining a minimal amount of drop shipping earnings.
Our Business Partner – idigitalboost
Dropshipping is a part of Digital Marketing, and to get more information about a career in Digital marketing click now!