Scaling is a key part of any business and is a vital component of the path to success. We often get asked what the main things to consider are when scaling Shopify stores. It can indeed be a daunting process, but we’ve worked closely with our customers to bring you the best advice!
Read this article carefully to avoid making common dropshipping mistakes before scaling your business.
Without further ado, here are 7 of our top tips on how to scale a dropshipping business.
Automate Order Fulfillment
You don’t want to be stuck with a backlog of orders while scaling up your store. It is not wise nor efficient for you to manually fulfill each order, as it is time-consuming and can lead to potential errors. Use an automation service such as Nimble to save hundreds of hours that would otherwise be spent on manual tasks.
This is perhaps the most important tip we can give you, as it will allow you to focus your time on other tasks that are pivotal to the success of the business.
For example, instead of fulfilling orders manually, you can spend your time marketing or communicating with people within your operations to generate more sales!
Another approach would be to use a dropshipping agent that can take care of your order fulfillment process.
Automate Order Tracking
Customers love being kept in the loop at every stage of an online purchase, particularly if they haven’t shopped with you before. Give them peace of mind by automating order tracking – it’ll save you a lot of time, whilst also giving your customer the best experience with you, meaning they are more likely to return as customers!
Customers are kept in the loop as they are informed when an order is placed, when an order is shipped and when a tracking ID is available.
No one likes sitting around on an order either! Some automation services such as Nimble use unique algorithms to determine the best shipping method that keeps costs low for you but delivers the product as fast as possible! Automatic emails are sent out as soon as tracking information is found, so your customers can track their order easily and quickly.
Join an Affiliate Network
How does 8% cashback on every Aliexpress order sound to you? It’s a major boost to your profit margins.
Joining an affiliate program such as the official AliExpress Portals Network or Admitad will generate a unique link that you can place your orders through. By doing so, you can get up to 8% cashback for each item.
Instead of having to manually place orders through the affiliate link generated by these programs, services such as Nimble will automate this process for you.
Negotiate With Your Suppliers
A successful business is all about building relationships and maintaining communication with the people involved in your operations. This includes suppliers, who value your loyalty to them and will more than likely be happy to give you a cheaper price given the number of orders you make with them. If you don’t ask, you won’t get!
Top Tip: Have some numbers available when you contact your supplier, so you can show the number of orders you make and the potential number of orders for the future!
Expand Your Support Team
As we briefly mentioned when talking about automated order tracking, customers love being kept in the loop. Sometimes, things do go astray, which is why it is essential that you have sufficient customer support in place. Your dropshipping store needs to build a strong relationship, particularly with new customers.
Top Tip: Having a customer support team that responds in a timely manner is only half of it – they need to be competent!
Consider Content Marketing
Most dropshipping stores focus too heavily on traditional advertising methods like Facebook or Google, but passive in the advertising they do in order to generate a new user base. We recommend proactively looking into new ways to market your content; both your brand and the types of products that you sell. If you don’t have a strong marketing plan in place, you will be losing out on potential customers!
Marketing doesn’t have to be direct, however. If you are able to launch an advertising campaign that draws in new customers by informing them through videos, blogs, and social media posts, you’ll see a marked improvement in the number of interactions you have with potential customers.
Test, test, test!
Growing your dropshipping store is a continuous learning curve, and you can’t expect to get it right from day one. All of the successful business owners we’ve spoken to have spent months or years refining their marketing and scaling strategy, finding out what works for them. But remember – just because a strategy works for one company, doesn’t mean it’ll work for yours!
However, it is also important to test new products within your niche or consider the most economically viable route to neighboring niches that could help boost your profits. Consider what products would accompany your existing ones and what your customers may also be interested in, and don’t be afraid to test the waters in new markets.
Top Tip: Sometimes all you need is a fresh pair of eyes on something. If you have a business partner responsible for another part of the operation, get them to take a look at your responsibilities and vice versa!
Conclusion
There is no sidestepping the fact that running a dropshipping store can be hard work. We believe that there are ways you can make your life as a business owner easier, and utilizing opportunities such as the points considered above could help build on your success!
Rest assured, however, if you are willing to put in the hours now when you are trying to grow your business, you will definitely reap the benefits in the future!
