Dropshipping success for beginners
Dropshipping is a unique form of online selling where you create an ecommerce store to sell products, but don’t hold any stock. Instead, you manage the orders and liaise with a third-party supplier who provides the items that you sell. By only purchasing items on demand, you avoid having your capital tied up in inventory, and you save yourself the admin and hassle of managing stock levels. Dropshipping is a relatively affordable and low-risk way to get into selling online, and it’s an approach that can work in South Africa if you follow a few golden rules.
Choose carefully
The most important decision of course is deciding what to sell. As a dropshipper, you won’t be holding inventory, so you can be more agile, and change what you offer according to the latest trends. You need to look at what other merchants are selling, and keep a close eye on social media channels to identify which items are receiving the most hype, and which are being promoted by popular influencers. It’s vital that you keep your finger on the pulse of all the latest trends.
Find a reliable supplier
Your reputation as an online retailer will depend on the service you get from your chosen supplier, so be sure to choose companies that deliver quality products promptly, without mistakes. Choosing an overseas supplier may help you save money, but this could come at the expense of longer delivery timeframes and dealing with import processes and duties.
For this reason, it may well be best to choose an SA-based supplier – plus, you’ll be helping another local business to grow.
Build your website
You can either sell your products via an existing marketplace website such as Bob Shop, or create your own online store using a platform like Shopify or WooCommerce. Choosing Bob Go as your order management and fulfilment partner will let you integrate your retail operations across multiple platforms and make sure you never lose track of an order.
If you choose to build your own website, you’ll need to ensure that it includes a payment facility and information on shipping costs.
Find your customers
Once you have your dropshipping store set up, you’ll need to make it easy for customers to find you. Creating and posting engaging social media content is a great way to build awareness and let people know about your products and offers.
If you sell on Bob Shop, you can make use of enhancements that will keep your products front of mind. Encourage customers to leave reviews and make sure your customer service is always world-class – you want people to recommend you to their friends and family, because nothing is as powerful as word-of-mouth when it comes to promoting a business.
As your online dropshipping store grows, you’ll need to carefully monitor trends on social media so that you stay up to date with what people want. Collaborating closely with your suppliers will ensure that you have the latest colours, styles and designs on sale as soon as they become popular. Because the barriers to entry for dropshipping are relatively low, you may well find that you have competitors, so you need to always stay one step ahead.
