3 essential things to do before you start selling online

• Naming your store well could attract more customers
• Leverage on digital payment platforms to close sales 24/7
• Use social media advertising to drive visitors around the clock

Starting a business is easy but starting it right can be a little trickier than you think. Although it’s much easier to start an online business these days, getting it right from the get-go will save you time, headaches and help you to build momentum.

After all – time is money, so let’s not waste it!

1. What’s in a name
Picking the right business name may seem like a trivial task, but your store name is the first impression that you’ll make on potential customers. It sets the tone for what customers can expect from your store and could be the difference between a customer spending time on your store or clicking away.

If you’re carrying a no-nonsense inventory of practical items, then a down to earth name would accurately convey that. On the flip side, if you’re focusing on quirky gifts and trinkets, your online store could benefit from having a more tongue-in-cheek name instead. 

Unless you’re opening an online extension of your offline business (eg. Tan Lam Hin @ https://tanlamhin.boutir.com), don’t let traditional naming conventions hold you back. Be creative, be descriptive and remember to have fun while you do it.

Roses Are Red and LoveLoveFrog are great examples of no nonsense descriptive business names that hit the nail straight on the head, while NoisyNeighbors is a little more fun and creative.

2. Check Out!
Remember, you’re running a store where you want to sell things, that’s why signing up with an online payment merchant is essential to success!

Sure, you can swing it old school and ask your customers to transfer money manually to your bank account, but the extra step could hinder closing, and lead to more dropped carts. Instead, take advantage of your e-commerce platform’s integration with local payment merchants like ipay88 or Apple Pay to ensure that you close deals even while you sleep.

Boutir is integrated with a host of payment platforms for you to choose from that accept payments from all sorts of mediums such as bank transfers, e-wallets and credit cards (via ipay88), closed digital payment systems (via ApplePay or Android Pay), or international payment platforms (via PayPal or Stripe).

Promote, promote, promote!

A store without any visitors won’t do you any good, so make it a point to get people in through your virtual doors. Unlike physical stores, e-commerce stores are accessible 24/7, so be sure to take advantage of that with the help of social media!

Social media ads have the potential to not only introduce new customers to your store, but to also keep them coming back to view new items, or to complete abandoned carts by utilizing the power of Facebook Pixels.

All you need to do is embed your pixel code into your e-commerce store and use it in your Facebook ads. With Boutir, it’s as simple as navigating to the Promotion tab on the app main page and keying in your Pixel ID in the corresponding column. Next, go to Facebook Business Manager and start creating your ads with your store’s Facebook Pixel checked.

You can learn more about setting up your Pixel powered Facebook ads in our article here.