When you try to run a business from your home, space is a big issue. Often you have maybe a corner in your living room or maybe a home office if you are lucky. So, what do you do when you have no space for stock, no space for shipping boxes, and no hope left for getting started in e-commerce? Luckily, a dropshipping business is a solution for that.
Dropshipping Business: Modern Solutions for Modern Problems
A dropshipping business is a simple idea to wrap your head around, even if the execution is a little more complicated. Essentially, you arrange with a supplier (often a manufacturer or wholesale seller) to advertise and make sales. In return, they agree to send the products directly to your customers instead of going through you.
A dropshipping business is clutter-free, simple, and easy to implement once you have a system running. Suppliers do not mind this model, either. They get to send their products out either way, and with this model of selling, they take a larger cut of the profits. You might get a smaller share than if you had been running a brick-and-mortar store. However, that is a small price to pay when you think about all of the hassle involved that you avoid.
Setting up a dropshipping business can be cheap; in fact, you can do it for nothing if you have the time spare to put a system in place. Unfortunately, most people cannot just drop their other day jobs and focus on this, so it is probably better to find a software package or similar solution to this problem.
Software: Why Should You Use It?
You might be thinking to yourself, why would I use software? I take care of things easily with a spreadsheet or notebook. While that is certainly an option, remember that the internet is not a high street. You will not have people just randomly stumbling across your store because they are walking in that direction; in fact, most pages that people visit are those they purposely looked for.
By using software, you automate most of the processes your business needs. This frees up time for advertising and reaching out to your audience. You need to perform a fair amount of this in the beginning stages if you ever hope to get off the ground, and every minute spent doing paperwork and sending off order forms is a minute that you are not increasing your reach.
Software: What Should You Use It for?
There is a myriad of applications for software automation, many of which are useful to you in your dropshipping business. Below is a list of things we think automation helps you with — not just during startup but while keeping your business running:
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Sourcing
When it comes to finding items, there are thousands of cheap knock-offs and off-brands that just will not cut it in the long run. Having low-quality products is a sure-fire way to get a bad reputation, especially if it is something that happens repeatedly. However, how do you tell the good products apart from the bad?
By using automation to check customer reviews, sentiment, etc., you can tell those that are high quality from the low. This is not as easy as it sounds, with plenty of suppliers artificially inflating their ratings with homemade reviews. As a result, the software needs to be aware of the little tricks suppliers use. Input your parameter, press the button, and you have high-quality products sourced in a matter of moments.
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Listing
Listing items is something that takes time. While custom listings for every single one of your products certainly show off their assets, this takes time — time that you could be using for outreach. Furthermore, many items you sell might be low-cost anyway, in which making a perfect showcase is just not necessary.
By using templates and a software package that automatically upload items once the listing is completed, you then simply input the name, information, images etc. Have the computer do the rest of the work for your profitable online business. It is simple, straightforward, and a time-saver.
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Ordering
Whether you operate out of a website, social media page, or app, there are always order forms to send. You might simply want to copy and paste details into the forms that you send to your supplier(s). However, it is not that simple when you deal with hundreds of orders in a single day.
By using an automated system, you take order details, enter them into order forms, and send them directly to your supplier(s) — without you lifting a finger. It is also much more efficient at reducing human error, as no matter how well you Ctrl-V, sometimes you get it wrong.
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Shipping & Tracking
Once someone pays for one of your products, they will want to know when it has been shipped and how long it is going to take. You likely receive information on each of your orders from your supplier(s), but matching every single order number to the person who sent it is a headache at the best of times. Even worse, you might end up sending your customers the wrong details, which will not go down well.
Enter automated shipping and tracking software. Computers have no trouble distinguishing ten-digit numbers — no matter how similar they are to each other. This reduces your errors on that front down to zero. What’s more, with an email address or mobile number attached to every order, the software sends automatic updates on the shipment by using email or text templates. Live tracking is also an option, depending on the package you use.
Final Thoughts – Dropshipping Business
A dropshipping business is time-intensive and exhausting if you do it all by hand. However, luckily, software is there to help you. You might balk at the idea of entrusting your business to a machine, but remember that computers only do what we tell them to do. As long as you know what you are doing when you set up your software, you will be eager to go in no time.
