You have a business idea but you don't dare to implement it because you are afraid to spend an investment and the implementation process is quite complicated. But imagine if someone offered to take care of all the import, shipping and storage fees, and you could partner with the retailer and run it anywhere. Anywhere in the world it seems much easier to get started.
In this article you will see that it is not just a fantasy but completely real and the way to do it is not very complicated. Here are the advantages of the Dropshipping business model we want to talk about, as well as implementation principles and 9 business tips for beginners.
Advantages of the Dropshipping business model
Dropshipping is a popular online business model today. With remarkable advantages, this model increasingly attracts the attention of the public, especially those who want to undertake.
Lets you start without capital: You don't have to invest to pay the costs of import, transport or storage, but you can still do business and supply thousands of products to your customers.
Easy work and high efficiency: You don't need to spend a lot of time to successfully develop a store on the e-commerce platform. You just need to focus your resources on marketing strategies, advertising your products to customers.
Flexibility: You can fully manage your business from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.
The model is viable and has a high degree of success. Many people have achieved some success in starting a Dropshipping business, so more and more people want to become a Dropshipper. In addition, this model also attracts the participation of already successful and famous companies.
Certain Principles to Know When Participating in Dropshipping
Accept that things can become difficult to control: Despite the advantages, this model also has disadvantages, such as difficulty in controlling the origin of goods, wrong inventory statistics, order shipping. You will be responsible for everything from returning merchandise to customers criticizing and complaining about the quality of customer service. Accepting these things reduces your chances of giving up.
Applying the KISS principle: the English name is “Keep it simple, idiot” temporary translation "Keep it simple, you idiot." The fact that you have to track a long list of goods in terms of quantity, features as well as order tracking, delivery status, handling customer complaints can get you stuck. The solution is not to exaggerate every problem, to think more simply and use the easiest methods to solve those problems. It will suit you and especially when you are just starting out.
9 Dropshipping Tips for Business Beginners
1. When the supplier sends the wrong order to your customer, what do you do now?
Whether a large or small supplier, he can make mistakes. In that case, you can solve the problem in the following three ways.
- Admit blame to the customer: in any case, even if it's the supplier's fault, you shouldn't try to blame the supplier because it doesn't solve the problem, but also damages the customer's image. You become unprofessional. Customers don't care if you're a supplier or a Dropshipper, so they don't need to know who's to blame. Better, in this case, you should take responsibility for your customers, apologize and compensate them for the damages.
- Make the product suitable for customers: Depending on the level of errors to deal with customers. You can get a partial refund or free exchange support.
- Claim Supplier Compensation: While you are liable to the customer for this error, this does not mean that you should also suffer in terms of profits. Suppliers are responsible for correcting their own errors. You can ask them to pay shipping costs when making a return to a customer.
2. Manage inventory and work with multiple vendors
Dropshipping people have the best obstacle is not being able to keep an eye on the amount of stock for sale, so the situation of constantly apologizing to customers because their orders are out of stock happens all too often. This is not a professional way of working and you will inevitably lose your guests. You can refer to some ways to resolve this issue below.
- Work with multiple vendors
The fact that you work with several suppliers at the same time will help to limit the out-of-stock situation. You will easily switch to another supplier if the other supplier is out of stock and your customers are not bothered by having to switch to another product or wait a long time to receive the goods.
- Item selection.
Out-of-stocks can be persistent if not essential, so choose high-consumer products and make sure your suppliers are available to you at all times.
- Can use substitute products
If there are products that are nearly identical in terms of features and uses, you can actively advise customers to switch to another product with the same features if their chosen item is out of stock.
- Work regularly with suppliers.
To control the amount of stock well, you need to constantly talk to your suppliers to update accurate data to avoid dissatisfied customers when they arrive at your booth.
- How to handle defective orders.
Customers will think you are acting unprofessionally if they intentionally fail to process the defective order or handle it irresponsibly. So in this situation you try to please that customer by exchanging the customer for a better product without taking more money.
3. Fulfill orders.
Working with multiple suppliers helps to avoid out-of-stock situations, however, whenever there is a new order and all suppliers can fulfill it, you will choose to work with one supplier.
Select Preferred Supplier: Select a supplier that you feel is most suitable to transfer the order information to them first, other suppliers are just a substitute for the priority initial status Unable to process order.
Choose a supplier based on order location: This helps shorten delivery times, your customers will be happier when they receive the goods ahead of schedule.
Based on price: In business, everyone wants to maximize their profits, so choosing a supplier with a reasonable price will help you work more efficiently. Compare prices between your suppliers before making the decision to transfer a new order to them.
4. Security Issues and Fraud.
You will be legally responsible if you intentionally store customer payment information. Therefore, absolutely do not store any information. Instead, you can use popular payment gateways like Airpay, Viettel pay, MoMo…
Identify and handle fraudulent orders.
You cannot avoid bad game cases, which will waste time and affect your business. Therefore, it is necessary to be very attentive to such issues. Some specific examples so you can recognize that they are unwanted requests and should not be dealt with: email addresses that appear to be fabricated with meaningless names; place many orders at once; different billing and shipping addresses…
When you come across this suspicious situation, please contact them to confirm this order with them. The exchange process will help you to see if the customer is trustworthy or not.
5. Understand how to refund when a customer requests a return
There is a high chance that you have been caught in fraudulent orders. The “people” who make requests have a “conspiracy” to harm you, so they intentionally disturb your work. In this case, right or wrong, you will still have to pay refunds to the guest. If the settlement is unreasonable, you will be susceptible to claims and legal problems if the amount is too large. So learn and learn from your provider's experience to get the most satisfying treatment.
6. Dealing with Profit Related Issues
Before developing your own operating policy, you need to work closely with your supplier to create the most reasonable policy. Fees that can affect your profits include:
Inventory holding fees: Some suppliers may require you to incur a fee to hold inventory in stock. However, this is an unprofessional job and you need to negotiate with them to minimize these unnecessary costs.
Defective Handling Fee: Dropshipping people will be responsible to the customer for the defective item and will have to make an exchange for the customer if they request it. The fact that you let the customer pay the shipping fee for this additional order will cause you to lose points and show narrowness in the work process. On the contrary, if you are willing to support customers for that fee, you will win the hearts of customers and increase the likelihood of repeat purchases.
7. Shipping issues
You may find it difficult to have many orders to process with many different addresses. But now with the explosive development of information technology, you can easily configure operators' system. You need to contact them and ask for cooperation to make your work more convenient and improve your business's service quality.
8. Take care of customers regularly
Your customers will realize how important they are if you always have a certain interest in the questions they are asking. Make a list of the questions your customers have and how to deal with them.
It would be great if you could answer all questions in the most timely manner. By using the customer service hotline, you will have the opportunity to take care of them more carefully, any issues that arise will be resolved faster and make them more satisfied.
9. Focus resources on marketing
Even if the products are of good quality, the stalls are professional, but without customers, everything is zero. So you must have a strategy to attract customers. To increase your traffic rate as a new dropshipper, you should focus on the best marketing channels like search engine optimization (SEO), Facebook ads, and Google ads execution.
This allows you to generate sales and revenue from the start, helping you to scale quickly, increasing your competitiveness with the best brands and retailers instantly.
When you have the first customers, you should put all your attention on them, because they are the ones who will evaluate your products and the quality of your service, generating trust for the next customers. Plus, when you make a good impression, customers are more likely to buy from you again.
While building a dropshipping business is easy and low-risk, it's not a quick path to a big source of income. Dropshipping companies should always have a serious way of working, actively developing services to satisfy customers and turn them into loyal customers.
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