In 2020, the eCommerce industry grew by 44%. With the advent of COVID-19, people shifted to online purchasing. Online shopping provided people with a lot of conveniences and saved their precious time. Hence, the eCommerce business is going to rise further in the upcoming years.
Many new stores are emerging on the internet daily. If you want to emerge as a successful entrepreneur who makes his mark in the market, it is vital to learn some skills needed for eCommerce success. Equipping yourself with must-have skills will keep you ahead of the competitors and help you build and run a successful eCommerce store.
Below we have presented an eCommerce skills list to help your business thrive and reach the zenith of success.
Here are the must-learn skills to build a successful eCommerce business:
1. Marketing Skills
The most critical skill to ace as an entrepreneur is to market your brand to attract the audience and turn them into your customers. There are numerous channels to market your brand. Some methods cost the business while some are entirely free.If your business is just a startup, you should opt for free marketing channels such as email marketing, SMS marketing, and social media marketing. These channels are completely free and highly effective to attract prospects to your store. You should learn the tips and tricks to design effective messages for your email and SMS marketing. Moreover, focus on social media marketing by creating interesting content and engaging with your customers.
You can also opt for paid advertisements by running Google ads, Facebook ads, or running ads on YouTube.
Marketing is an essential component for a successful eCommerce business. Hence, master this skill to take your sales to new heights.
2. Customer Service Skills
Customers are the kings. Your customers can make your business successful or push it into the abyss of failure. Keeping your customers satisfied and happy can do wonders for your business.
As an entrepreneur, you must have excellent customer service skills. Respond to your customers’ queries at your earliest in a polite and friendly way. Keep them updated about their orders or shipments. Moreover, if they have any problem with the product or your service, address it immediately and offer them a feasible solution.
There will be times when you’ll encounter some fussy customers who will not be satisfied with your products. During such situations, remember to stay calm and patient and respond to them politely. Treating customers with respect helps the business earn their loyalty and get repeated buyers.
3. Financial Literacy
You don’t have to enroll yourself in college to earn a degree in accountancy. Understanding the expenses of your business and budgeting your resources is an integral part of running the business.
Ensure you keep a proper record of business expenses such as government taxes, cost of goods, freight charges, salaries, overhead expenses, etc. Failure to record the business’s expenses will not give you the exact result of the profit earned by the company.
Equipping yourself with financial knowledge can help you implement strategies to cut down your expenses and escalate your profit to reinvest it.
4. Flexibility
Rigidity and entrepreneurship don’t fit together. An entrepreneur should be flexible to adapt to the changing business environment and the prevailing trends in the market. Failure to adjust the business according to the need and requirement of the time will make it difficult for the entrepreneurs to thrive in the market.
All the entrepreneurs are well aware that their businesses will have some good days and some bad days. The environment and situation will not always be favorable for the business. For instance, all the food chains suffered an economic dip due to the advent of COVID-19. Similarly, the dropshipping stores also faced difficulty as the supply from China was restricted.
An intelligent entrepreneur constantly adjusts himself and his business plans to combat the unfavorable environment or conditions for the survival and growth of his business.
5. Time Management
Time is money for an entrepreneur. If you are running your business as a part-time venture or single-handedly managing time, all the activities of the eCommerce store can become quite strenuous.
Remember, in the fast-paced world, customers want the businesses to keep up with their pace. Therefore, allocate proper time to respond to queries of your prospects, process orders, pack, and dispatch goods on time. Besides, you’ll need to give adequate time for marketing and promoting your brand on different channels. Hence, time management skills are crucial for the long-term success of the business.
6. Dedication
Staying dedicated and determined towards your goals is very important for the success of the business. If you are not determined to take your business to heights of success, your business won’t go a long way.
Determination and dedication are skills that aren’t taught in any school. Hence, you have to learn it on your own to keep working until you realize your goals.
7. Formulating Sales Strategy
Every entrepreneur is a salesperson who has to convince the prospects to purchase his products.
If you cannot persuade your customers to add goods to their carts, your business will fail miserably and collapse in no time. Therefore, you must brush up on your sales skills to boost your sales and increase your revenue.
There are numerous ways by which you can boost your sales and tempt your customers to buy from you. For instance, you can upload high-resolution images of your products that appeal to the users’ visual senses. Similarly, you can write a catchy product description, offer free shipping, offer deals and discounts to welcome massive traffic at your store, and sell your products like hotcakes.
8. Resourceful
Being resourceful means you think of a solution or way to get things done. Instead of fretting over the problem, an entrepreneur must pull strings and try to use his available resources to figure out something.
Resourcefulness is a game-changing skill for the business. It allows the entrepreneurs to utilize their resources to the optimum level without spending extra time or resources on it. A resourceful businessman takes his business to new horizons of success even with limited assets or investment.
9. Product Photography
Imagine how a brick-and-mortar store would look without the products. Some people might not even call it a shop. Similar is the case with images and photos on the eCommerce stores. People decide to buy the goods after viewing the pictures displayed in the store.
Hence, to compel your visitors to add products to their carts, excellent product photography is a must for entrepreneurs. If your product photography is on point and appeals to the visual senses of your visitors, your sales will boost, and your profit will maximize.
There are tons of photography tips and tricks available on the internet to enable you to capture commendable photographs.
10. Graphic Designing
The advent of social media has made it imperative for businesses to create graphical content for their audience instead of textual one. Therefore, it is essential to have basic graphic designing skills to help you design attractive and engaging images and infographics for your prospects.
Hiring a professional designer can cost your business a fortune. Hence, save your resources by learning graphics designing.
There are thousands of free tutorials online to help you learn how to use graphical software and tools for designing and editing graphics. Or you can also use free designing tools like Canva to create your visual content in a few minutes.
11. Emotional Intelligence
Being in complete control of your emotions and managing different relationships effectively is extremely important for running the business smoothly.To be emotionally intelligent simply means understanding and empathizing with the people around you, such as your employees, suppliers, customers, etc. Understanding the feelings and problems of other people enables the entrepreneur to respond and communicate with others effectively and improve the relationship.
Emotional intelligence is a helpful skill to lead the employees and retain them in the organization. By understanding your workforce and their problems, you can boost their motivation, which will increase their productivity, ultimately leading to the company’s profitability. According to a study conducted in the United Kingdom, emotionally intelligent managers and leaders witnessed a 22% profit growth per annum.
12. Communication
Entrepreneurs should possess excellent communication skills, both oral and written. A businessman has to deal with suppliers, employees, customers, and prospects while running an eCommerce store.
Customers and prospects might reach out to entrepreneurs if they have any questions and concerns regarding the products or services of the business. Hence, an entrepreneur must respond to them professionally and politely. There are times when customers lose their temper and bash the company on its social handles or email. Remember to stay calm and tackle the customers professionally.
Similarly, an entrepreneur has to talk to numerous suppliers before finalizing one for his business. Talk professionally and respectfully with the suppliers. If you are sending an email, ensure that it is free of grammatical and spelling errors. Avoid using slang; keep your tone formal and strictly professional.
Wrapping Up
Running a business is like raising a baby. Just as the parents have to become the best version of themselves for their tiny babies, similar is the case with entrepreneurs.
The competition in the market has become fierce. If an entrepreneur wants his business to strive and reach the heights of success, he must equip himself with skills that will keep him ahead of the competitors and make his business successful.
We sincerely hope that the eCommerce skill list mentioned above will help you build and run a successful eCommerce business.
Good Luck
