It’s no secret that the pandemic has transformed the landscape for all businesses — small and big alike. Your next door fashion business had to be carried out on WhatsApp, fruits and vegetable sellers had QR codes for payments, and your favourite restaurants were buzzing with online orders. From big furniture stores to mobile phone shops, fashion to décor brands, all businesses across the country have now started growing their digital presence.
Since the pandemic started, consumers across the world have been relying more heavily1 on online shopping. This presents an exciting opportunity for businesses and entrepreneurs. After all, online shopping is no longer limited to Amazon and Flipkart. With an online store of your own, your business can now utilize the power of digitization.
Now comes the obvious question: As an independent business, do I stand a chance in the digital landscape which is largely dominated by the larger players on the market. Well, the answer is a big YES. We understand that taking your business online can seem to be an intimidating process – but trust us, with the right technology partner, it’s simply a breeze. That’s why we have DotPe, the perfect e-commerce platform that will manage the logistics of getting you online so that you can focus on what you do best — running your business.
Five Simple Steps To Take Your Business Online
In today’s day and age, every business owner wants to move online – but creating an online store can seem like a major hassle. You have to do everything yourself, from designing product pages to integrating payment methods and liaising with delivery partners.
The good news is that in 2021, running your own online store is easier and cheaper than ever before. Whether you are a budding entrepreneur starting off your business, or already selling on a 3rd party platform, DotPe has a solution for anyone and everyone. With DotPe, your digital storefront can go live on both mobile and web with a modern design and necessary integrations in just a few simple steps.
1. Create an Amazing Website for your Brand
Using the DotPe platform, you can build a unique online presence for your brand and start accepting orders. You can choose from 1500+ customizable website templates that are built to meet your business needs. For brick-and-mortar stores, getting a modern look and feel is a huge investment and involves a lot of effort. In the digital realm, your business can have a professional design with the click of a button. DotPe has plenty of unique themes to make your website look just the way you want it. We have custom themes for all business categories, from furniture shops to local bakeries, from flower vendors to book store – you name it. With our themes, your business is going to look professional and impress customers.
So make your website beautiful, attract the right customers and simply start selling. The best part – you can do all of this with a self-serve DIY tool in a few clicks.
What will you need to do? Just add details like your products and their prices – and voila, you’re ready. You can share the link of your online store with your customers on WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS, etc., and start accepting orders online. You can even bulk upload, using an excel sheet, your catalog to upload & edit product details in one go.
2. Easily Set up Online Payments, from Wallets to UPI
Accepting digital payments on your online store is simple with DotPe. Add your bank account details on DotPe, and you’ll have digital payments set up in no time. As soon as an order is placed, the payment will be processed and transferred to your account instantly.
How to set up payment mode for your online business?
You can collect payments using all UPI apps, digital wallets like Paytm, Cred, or via all major bank credit and debit cards. Choose the payment mode that suits you based on your convenience.
Allowing customers to pay with UPI is also super easy. Just add your UPI ID on the platform, and your online store will start accepting UPI payments with zero transaction charges. With online ordering and digital payments options, your business can offer the same convenience as any large e-commerce platform.
You can also upgrade the ordering experience for your customers via the pre-paid orders option.
3. Set up your Deliveries
Shoppers are now used to the comfort of orders reaching their doorstep, which means providing an affordable and convenient shipping experience is now crucial. With DotPe you can easily set up deliveries to ensure your products are delivered to customers, no matter where they are located. With DotPe’s hyperlocal and pan-India delivery integrations, you can reach out to more than 26,000 serviceable pin codes.
4. Get the Word Out to your Customers
After you’ve set up your online store, inform your customers that your online business is up and running! Here’s what our partners do to promote their online stores:
- Social Media & Whatsapp Marketing — Add your store’s URL to your Instagram bio, share a status update on Facebook, and share your store URL on WhatsApp with all your contacts. While this sounds simple, we can’t stress enough on how important this is.
- Run Google Ads — For a long time now, Google has been the market leader in local searches for products and services. For businesses that have local and national customers, showing up on Google can make a huge difference. With DotPe, you can easily start running Google Ads based on your desired keywords. The next time someone searches, ‘local boutique in Indore’ or ‘best restaurants in Jaipur’, your business can be one of the top search result with Google Ads.
- Supercharge your store with the power of Google — You can use the power of Google to acquire new customer by showing products across all google platforms i.e. Search, Shopping, Maps & more.
5. Get a Custom Domain for Your Store
Custom domains are easy for customers to remember and give you more credibility. They show that you’re serious about your business and don’t shy away from investing in your digital services. Not just that, it also inspires trust in your customers and gives your brand an identity. You can easily get your custom domain name via the DotPe platform and impress your customers.
The All-in-One Platform to Get Your Business Online
DotPe has optimised every aspect of taking your business online, so there is no room for excuses anymore. It needs barely any technical skills and minimal investment. So what’s holding you back?
In our ideal world, even the smallest vendors in India’s towns and cities will be running their businesses more efficiently by going online. We aim to make that world a reality, and we’d love you to join us in that endeavour by taking your business online with DotPe.
Also read: How to Design Your Store for Conversions
