In this modern era of 2021, the most feasible way to seek a business would be online business and there are high chances that one might have hit upon a thought of Dropshipping. In this article lets understand what Dropshipping is all about and how to make money on Dropshipping.
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What is Dropshipping
Unlike conventional form of B2C business, Dropshipping, is an online form of retail selling where the retailer does not oblige to pay for the products before selling it to the final customer. The dropshipper owns a website and its shopping cart through which the products can be sold while the supplier/ wholesaler/ manufacturer maintains the inventory.
The mediator or in actual terms the dropshipping supplier would be free from inventory space, free from the hassle of packing the products and not paying for outstanding products until one has sold them.
This primary agenda behind this form of third-party fulfillment is to save huge amounts on inventory storage, inventory rent (if leased), inventory insurance and the hassle of maintaining a track over the inventory cycle. Now this responsibility is taken by the supplier/manufacturer/wholesaler; but at what cost? For the value of expansion of the customer base. The dropshipper acts as a potential magnet for the customer base to increase the number of orders for the products.
How to make Money on Dropshipping- important factors
Dropshipping companies can vary from both niche market to mass market. The categories have a vast range which may include baby items, Fitness/ active equipment, electronic gadgets & accessories, clothing, craft, art, beauty supplies, health & wellness supplements, household items, garden items, auto spares and more.
Product landing page
The major criterias which depends upon the success of any dropshipping online business is the Product Landing Page. The landing page of the product must have a clear representation of photographs, crisp and detailed information of the product and the product name and miscellaneous information must comply with that of what the manufacturer has provided.
Marketing
Next criteria is marketing. Since the sole task to be focused upon from time to time is extensive marketing. The dropshipper has to execute various marketing and techniques to extend the outreach of the customer base. The customer base differs from product to product and various others attributes based upon the demographics affects the demand. Hence latest and extensive marketing techniques must be implemented.
Advertising
Advertising is considered as a sister concern criteria after marketing. In this modern age of online shopping, and most of the people spend their time online, digital advertising agencies can be of immense help for advertising the products. Various online advertising techniques which are extremely effective in diverting traffic are Google Ads, Social Media Advertising, Pay Per Click (PPC), Search Engine Advertising (SEM), Mobile Advertising, Email marketing etc.
Irrespective of the product having a niche target market or mass market, pricing plays an important factor as well. In this vast ocean of online shopping, customers can find various sites through which the product can be bought in just a few clicks. So pricing is what can turn one potential customer to a final customer.
Shipping charges
Shipping charges act as an icing on the cake. Who doesn’t love free shipping? Free/low shipping can leave a positive impact on the customer. This could also lead to a high possibility in future that the customer buys the product from the same website. if buying price is not the criteria. Vice versa, if the buying price is apt but the shipping price is high then there are high chances the customer may not buy the product again from the same dropshipper’s website and also leaves a chance where the customer might spread bad word of mouth regarding the same.
Shipping time-Delivery Date
In this fast growing world, time taken for any process is being reduced and so is shipping time. Lower the time to ship and the faster the date of delivery is something which almost every customer would want.
To achieve this the dropshipper has to plan efficiently the area of it’s reach for delivery and the partnered delivery agents if being shipped through third – party delivery agencies.
Most dropshippers which are new to the market don’t deliver through third – party delivery agencies to reduce their costs and maintain their profit margins. But this puts the dropshipper into a risk of delivering the products beyond their estimated delivery date. The profit margins have to be calculated cautiously as it shouldn’t affect the customer experience in a negative way.
Inventory update
The dropshipper has to be updated with the inventory stock while being connected to the wholesaler/manufacturer on a regular basis. The most convenient and popular way to update the stock/inventory virtually is through an excel file. This will help to manage upcoming orders and eradicates the issue of cancellation of orders when stock runs out.
Return/exchange of products
Coming to return/exchange of delivered orders, varies depending upon dropshipper to dropshipper. The returns could be handled by the supplier or even by the dropshipper. This solely depends on what terms the dropshipper and the supplier have negotiated upon.
Wrapping up
Dropshipping is an ideal option to make money online if your goal is long-term. Now that you know what Dropshipping is all about, lay a clear plan and set your goals right. For knowing how much money can you make Dropshipping, refer to Postling blog.
