With a new decade upon us, we can’t help but wonder what type of products and services will thrive and which will fade out over the next 10 years. 

Maybe you’ve got plans on becoming the next Bezos?  Have a great product line you want to share with the World? Looking to supplement or increase your income with a side hustle?

Whatever your reasons for kickstarting your eCommerce endeavour, you’ll quickly find that there are lots of things to consider – from setting up your online store to social media; as well as customer service, payment processing, and mobile optimisation.

So where do you begin? 

The most important thing to know – the most crucial piece of insight you’ll ever need – is who your customers are. 

Who are they? Where do they live? Where do they shop? What are their buying habits?

A big mistake to avoid is not to assume you are the customer or that you know who they are.

The better you understand them, the more you’ll appreciate how your product, service, or business idea can fit into their lives. You’ll also have a much clearer idea of how best to communicate with them, and which channels to use to advertise your online store.

Good sales – whether B2C, B2B, B2B2C, or P2P or whatever (!) – begins with the customer and works backwards from there.

Sure, some eCommerce ideas are more lucrative than others. Some have a bigger customer base than others. But there’s nothing wrong with starting (and remaining) small.

After all, a dedicated and loyal customer base of 1,000 customers, can be just as profitable as an unengaged audience of 10,000. This is even more so when you start-up as your early customers are going to be your biggest fans, the ones who will help you gain the next set of customers.

Ultimately, any great idea needs support to get off the ground. That’s why knowing who your biggest advocates are likely to be can make all the difference. Spending some time on researching them and getting to know their wants and needs can pay dividends – literally.

Please subscribe to our blog series (!). We’ll be sharing top tips, pointers, hacks, and more in-depth information on how to be the best online merchant you can be; as well as which tools you can use to make your, and your customers’, lives easier.