Securing Investment For Your E-Commerce Store
You have a revolutionary idea that will make Amazon look like it got lost in the jungle.
Every successful business starts with a great idea. However, as with many businesses, making your business idea a reality is going to cost you money. You need designers, developers, inventory and, of course, investors. Without sufficient funding, your e-commerce is dead in the water.
However, hunting down interested investors is only part of the problem. Here are some considerations you need to be thinking of before you start pitching to investors.
1 Story, Differentiation & Preparation
Make your passion known. If investors can see how much you want this, and how hard you’ll work to make this a reality, you stand a chance.
Think like an investor. What are they hoping to get out of this investment opportunity? It takes a while for investors to make substantial profits from e-commerce stores. So, what is in it for them?
What makes this e-commerce store different to what else is out there? Why will this one succeed and others fail? They are taking a risk, so help reassure them that their investment will pay off.
Make sure you are prepared with a concise business plan, market research, and accurate financial forecasts. Do not make sweeping statements without grueling out the facts first.
2 Offer The Best User Experience
Consumers are not patient. If the barriers to completing a task are too high, they likely disregard the idea altogether.
Regardless of how great your products are, if the steps to access them are cumbersome, you’ll drive away the majority of your potential clients.
In fact, consumers are willing to wait no longer than 4 seconds for a web page to load before they move on to something a little less frustrating.
Work on your website flow and load speed. Serious retail investors will want to know that these are considerations you have included in your workflow.
3 Show Them Your Marketing Plan
Pay per click, SEO, and viral marketing are your best friends as an e-commerce store.
Paid ads will populate many web pages around the internet, helping you get more traffic to your site and improve brand recognition. Show potential investors your strategy for your paid campaigns. Ensure that you are including media spend into your financials.
Similarly, let investors know how you will employ SEO on your website. Ensure you fully understand how SEO works, and use it to your advantage when it comes to long tail keywords and product descriptions.
Perhaps the cheapest way to raise awareness of your site is also the most elusive. Viral marketing is simple: create an ad campaign that speaks to people in a way that makes them want to share it with their friends. Follow trends and try strike while the iron’s hot.
E-commerce investors are not like conventional investors. This is a different type of business and one that follows its own set of rules. Show investors that you understand this and you’ll likely get capital to make your idea a reality.
