8+ Online Business Ways From Zero For Beginners

Anyone, including you, can learn how to do online business. Anyone can start a successful online business as long as they use the right guidelines. By reading this guide, you have started the first steps to the success of your online business!

In this article, you will find out how to learn online business for beginners. Starting from determining the product to be sold to marketing the product. How do you learn business for beginners? Check out the details below!

Learn Business Online for Beginners

Starting an online business is not easy, but not impossible. There are at least nine main steps in starting and learning a free online business. The seven steps are:

1. Find the Problems Facing the Market

2. Market Research

3. Competitor Analysis

4. Find a Business Model

5. Determine the Target Market

6. Create Products

7. Create an Official Website

8. Market Products with the Right Strategy

9. Keep Loyal Customers

1. Find the Problems Facing the Market

Products are a vital component in online business. With a product that suits market needs, you still have the potential to win the market. What happens if you provide a product that the market doesn't need? Most likely fail!

The above statement is not without evidence. According to CBS Insight research, 42 percent of startups go bankrupt because they fail to identify market needs. Why did they fail? Because the products they offer do not succeed in solving consumer problems.

Remember, by buying your product, the first thing on the mind of consumers is that their problem is resolved.

So when starting an online business, whatever type of business it is, the first thing you have to think about is whether your product is needed by the market? Does your product solve consumer problems?

1.1. Identify problems facing consumers

How to find the product that the market needs? The first step that you must take in learning to do business online is to find problems! Yup, that's right, you have to look for and identify what kind of problems the market is facing.

No need to worry about running out of trouble. There are hundreds or even thousands of problems that consumers face. You need to do some field observation to find the real problems that many people face.

1.2. Look for business opportunities anywhere

To find the right problem, you have to be open to all the possibilities. Don't get hung up on your own assumptions. You need to observe on the internet, social media, review forums, marketplaces, to Facebook groups.

Apart from that, you also need to speak directly to market samples. You can conduct a simple interview to get first-hand insight from the people who are facing the problem.

1.3. Choose a problem with a potential business

In the previous step of learning online business for beginners, you have already searched for and identified problems facing the market. You can find tens or even hundreds of problems facing the market. Now is the time for you to choose which problem you can overcome.

Not all problems have the potential to be an online business. You need to cross out problems that have no business potential. Then choose a problem that has business potential and you have a solution.

2. Market Research

After choosing a problem that has business potential, now is the time to start focusing on research in that field. Why do you have to research the market first? Because this is one of the best ways to find online business ideas.

You need objective data as a strong online business foundation. Through this market research, you can get these data. So you can make decisions based on objective data, not just assumptions and opinions.

2.1. Keyword research

The easiest way to check online business trends is by researching keywords in search engines. What are people looking for when looking for the problem in search engines? From the search results, you can find what kind of solution they need.

In addition, you also need to check the search trends, what keywords are related, how big the search volume is, to the location where the search originates. You can do this keyword research using the keyword tool. There are several keyword tools that you can use, from Google Trends, Ubersuggest, Semrush, to Ahrefs.

Type in a keyword related to the problem you found in the social media search field. You will find various posts of people about the problem.

2.3. Join forums

Consumers usually also have their own forums or groups to discuss the products they use. For example, consumers of makeup and skin care products have forums such as Female Daily. Another example, consumers of the best and domain hosting services have a Web Hosting Discussion forum.

2.4. Create a survey

After finding various findings on search engines, social media, and online forums, you can create a survey. The information you get from these various media is only a superficial problem.

Through surveys, you can get even more detailed information. In addition, you can also ask questions that you don't find in the media above. With surveys, you can also ask for suggestions and input from potential customers directly.

3. Competitor Analysis

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer"

I hope the adage above applies when you start an online business. In order to beat your competitors, you have to learn them first. What are their strengths, how do they approach consumers, what are their shortcomings.

With this information, you can create products that can compete with competitors. To analyze competition with competitors, here are the steps:

3.1. Group competitors

You can classify your competitors into three main categories, namely primary competitors, secondary competitors, and tertiary competitors. The full explanation is below:

* Main competitors: they are businesses that have the same target market as your business or businesses that have products that are similar to yours.

* Secondary competitors: they offer the same product, but target different markets. For example, if you have a guest house business, your secondary competitor is a five-star hotel.

* Tertiary competitors: they are not directly in competition with your target market. However, they produce a product that is still directly related to your product.

Grouping competitors helps you to focus. Your main priority is to win the competition with online businesses in the main competitor category.

3.2. Visit competitor websites

After grouping competitors, you can start to focus on several competitors, especially your main competitors. Visit their website and pay attention to every detail. Here are some questions that can help you identify competitor websites:

* What do their product photos look like? How do they present the product and details?

* What is the contents of the product description? What details do they provide?

* What does a call to action (CTA) look like on their website?

* Do they provide a newsletter? If so, what benefits do they give subscribers?

* How do they present social media on the website?

* How fast is their website loading?

* Is their website optimized for mobile devices?

* Do they have a blog? If so, what is the blog content like?

* What customer service methods do they provide? Do they provide 24 hour support?

* Try their support service and see how long it takes them to respond to your message.

* Do they have a special promotion page? If so, what kind of promotions do they offer? How often do they run promotions?

* What is the main menu on their website?

* Do they display consumer testimonials on the website?

* What payment methods do they offer?

* What shipping methods do they provide?

The list of questions above are only some of the important things that need to be considered when analyzing competitor websites. You can add questions according to your competitors' needs and websites. In essence, you have to create a website that is much better than your competitors.

Apart from the official website, you also need to analyze your competitors' social media. Here are some questions that can help you analyze your competitors' social media:

* What social media do they use?

* How active are they posting on social media?

* Are they responsive to customer comments on social media?

* What is the concept of their posts on social media?

* Do they take advantage of influencers on social media? If so, who are the influencers?

3.4. Look for competitor reviews

Analyzing competitors' websites and social media is not enough, you also need to check their customer reviews. From product reviews, you can get important information about the advantages and disadvantages of competitors directly from customers.

Here's a list of questions to help you analyze competitor customer reviews:

* What makes customers satisfied with competitors' products?

* What do customers complain about competitor products?

* Is the price of the competitor's product too expensive for the customer or is it just right?

* How long will it take for the competitor to deliver the goods?

* What features are most important to customers?

* Are the customers satisfied with the customer service from competitors?

* What do customers expect from a competitor's product?

* Is the competitor's product enough to solve the customer's problem?

3.5. Identify your competitors' market positioning

After analyzing the website, social media, to competitors 'customer reviews, you can conclude your competitors' market positioning. Market positioning is an image or product image that is in the customer's perception.

For example, even though they both sell cars, Lexus and Avanza have a different market positioning. On the one hand, Lexus positions its car as a symbol of luxury. On the other hand, Avanza positions its car as a family car at an affordable price.

To make it easier to identify your competitors' market positioning, you can use the question template below:

* What are customers looking for in a competitor's product? Are they looking for a low price? Or are they looking for certain benefits regardless of price?

* What competitors stand out to win the competition? What features and benefits do they highlight most often in their advertisements and promotions?

* What is the unique product of the competitor?

In order to get as much information as possible, you can sign up for their newsletter, subscribe to their blog, or even buy their products. That way, you can identify in depth what stands out and what your competitors lack.

3.6. Compare competitors' prices

Price is still one of the most important factors that consumers consider when buying a product. According to Stax Insight, 50 percent of consumers consider price as one of the main factors when buying a product.

Therefore, you must compare the prices of all your competitors' products. What is the average price of the same product on the market? At what numbers, consumers are willing to spend their money to buy these products.

4. Find a Business Model

Your research does not stop at the target customers and the products to be sold. Next, you need to choose which business model is the most profitable. Because even if you sell the same product, the way you sell it can vary.

In order to understand better, let's just talk about examples. Let's say you are interested in selling a special tablet for reading ebooks. If you have sufficient capital, you can stock several physical products for sale through the website or marketplace.

It's different when you don't have the capital. You need to work with suppliers who sell tablets, then sell the tablets through the dropship system. That way, you don't have to worry about product stock and inventory.

Other scenarios do not involve the sale of a physical product. If you feel comfortable being a blogger and working with brands to promote products, then you could be a good fit to be involved in an affiliate marketing scheme or become a publisher via Google Adsense.

With the affiliate program, you will get a specific link or code that potential customers use to shop. If a prospective customer purchases via a link or uses a specific code from you, then you will get a commission from the transaction.

Whatever your choice of online business model, in the end you still need to prepare technical things to run an online business. In the next section, we will discuss how to present online businesses through websites and marketplaces.

5. Determine the Target Market

The market research and competitor analysis that you have done above form the basis for the next step, which is determining your target market. The target market is a group of people with the same characteristics and the possibility of buying the product you are making.

Each product has its own market. For example, even though they are both watches, Rolex and Casio have different target markets. Rolex is more targeting the high-class market, while Casio is targeting the middle class market.

With a more specific target market, you can develop products according to market needs. In addition, you will also find it easier to develop a marketing strategy.

5.1. Group your target market

At least you need to classify your target market based on two main factors, namely demographics and psychographics.

Psychographic Demographics - Age

- Location

- Gender

- Income

- Level of education

- Marital status

- Profession

- Ethnic background - Interest

- Hobbies

- Values ​​espoused Here you are required to predict who your potential customers are, but that does not mean you can be arbitrary. You can use the data that has been obtained in the previous steps to determine the general characteristics of your potential customers.

5.2. Create a specific buyer persona

With the data above, now is the time for you to create a buyer persona. The buyer persona is the ideal buyer for your product. Usually, to be able to make a buyer persona, interview sessions with several consumers are needed. That way you can get a more real picture of what your customers are like.

There are two types of buyer personas, namely positive and negative buyer personas. A positive buyer persona is a person who is most likely to buy your product. On the other hand, negative buyer personas are the opposite of positive buyer personas, they have no potential to buy your product.

For example, high-end clothing brands such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Versace. Their positive buyer persona is from the upper economic class, while the negative buyer persona is from the middle to lower economic class.

By limiting your target market to certain groups, you can focus on mastering that target market. In addition, you can also more easily develop a marketing strategy that suits your target market.

6. What Products Can You Sell Online?

After doing market research, competitor analysis, and determining your target market, now all you have to do is determine the products you will sell. So, what products can you sell online?

Of course, this question can only be answered based on data from market research, competitor analysis, and your target market. Make sure the product you make is in accordance with the needs of your target market.

Here are some examples of the types of products that are commonly sold online:

* Physical or digital products - Handphones, furniture, snacks, medical devices, gifts, ebooks, or software.

* Services - Booking tickets, booking hotels, delivery of goods, or online marketing services.

Whatever the choice, the product or service you offer must have unique selling points (UPS) to be able to compete with competitors.

Starting an online business is not complete if you haven't created a website. Like selling offline that requires a shop, an online business also needs a "shop". Why does it have to be a website? Why should you create a website for your online business?

Because customers want it. According to a Verisign survey, 56 percent of people don't believe in online businesses that don't have a website.

What happens if customers don't trust your online business? Yes, they are definitely looking for other alternatives. Remember, there are a lot of competitors out there who can grab your customers.

If you don't want customers to run to competitors, you have to convince them that your online business really exists and is not a hoax. So, one of the most effective ways to convince customers is to have an official website.

By creating an official website, you will have a domain. Simply put, a domain is a unique website address and it is impossible for two domain names to be exactly the same. So you can easily direct consumers to visit the official website that you have created.

Creating a website for an online business is easy. You don't need to master programming or coding to be able to create a website. How to? You can use WordPress to create an online business website. You can learn how to create a website through the article How to Make a Website for Beginners Without Coding!

8. Market Products with the Right Strategy

Now is the time to market the online business that you have built. Online business marketing cannot be arbitrary. You need the right strategy to be able to market your online business to the right target market with the right marketing message. The following are online business marketing strategies that you can apply:

8.1. Take advantage of Google My Business

The first thing you need to do is register your online business on Google My Business. Google My Business is a feature for business owners that makes it easier for potential customers to find out complete information about their business. From the business name, company address, company telephone number, company email address, operating hours, company website, office photos, to customer reviews.

As trivial as it may seem, Google My Business has many benefits. From businesses appearing on Google Maps, customer reviews, to communication media for customers.

In addition, taking advantage of Google My Business is the best way to promote online business to the closest potential customers.

So make sure your business is listed on Google My Business. For a complete explanation, you can read the article How to Register and Verify Google My Business.

8.2. SEO Optimization

To be easily found by potential customers on Google, your online business website must be on the first page of search results. You have to compete with thousands or even tens of thousands of other websites to get first place on Google.

Then how do you make your website appear on the first page of Google search results? The trick is with SEO optimization. You can learn SEO optimization steps through this free ebook.

It is mandatory for online business owners to use social media as a marketing channel. Given that the Indonesian people are indeed people who are active in social networks.

Hence, one of the best ways to promote your online business is by making use of social media.

However, you cannot carelessly use social media for online business.

Managing social media without a strategy is the same as working without a plan. It is unclear what targets to achieve, who to reach, and what problems to solve. Running social media marketing without a strategy will have a negative impact on your business. Therefore, the first step of social media marketing is to develop a strategy.

Apart from the three strategic steps above, there are many other steps. You can read a complete explanation in the article Marketing Strategies for Online Business.

9. Keep Loyal Customers

You may continue to target to acquire new customers. But don't forget, old customers are just as important.

In fact, making promotions to get new customers is more expensive. Especially when compared to taking care of your old customers. The cost of acquiring new customers can even be up to 25 times compared to maintaining a loyal customer relationship. Like Niagahoster, which provides domain and hosting promos to its customers.

If you focus on driving transactions from existing customers by just 5 percent, you can increase your profits from 25 to 95 percent. Amazing, right?

Want to know ways to keep online business customers? Let's check one by one below!

Dedicate Customer Support to customers. One study cites "not being appreciated" as the reason customers don't want to buy a product anymore. Even though there will be times when your product or service is less than excellent. There will also be times when your customers have questions or complaints about the brand.

If you can't handle customer complaints, be prepared to lose loyal customers. Therefore, you should invest in customer support for your brand.

Loyalty card. Loyalty cards are a way to encourage customers to continue buying and using a brand. Loyalty card systems generally provide certain points that are saved up to a certain value. Then, the customer will get a gift or free product.

This system is quite effective to use for the B2C business model. Retail products or daily necessities usually adopt a lot of loyalty cards. Because, products like that are repeated purchases.

If you are interested in adopting a loyalty card system, make sure you provide many options for your customers to earn points. Not only buying, you can provide points for reviews or share content about the brand.

Email marketing. Not all customers follow a brand's social media. They also don't necessarily check your brand's website or marketplace. Hence, contacting customers via email is a more effective way.

Communication via email or email marketing is an effective and personal way. This way, you can promote the latest products to specific customer segments.

To know more about email marketing, read our article on this one: The Complete Guide to Making Effective Email Marketing.

Are you ready to start an online business from scratch?

How? Do you understand how to start an online business from scratch?

Hopefully the explanation above can be useful free online business learning materials for you. Hopefully this online business learning article for beginners is not just reading material. But, also helps you start an online business to success.

If you still have questions, feel free to leave a comment below!

Thus the article on how to do online business for beginners.

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