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Comprehensive Guide: Dropshipping During the Coronavirus Pandemic
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Although it's only March, no one can deny that 2020 has been a challenging year so far.
The devastating spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) has impeded the day to day lives of everyone around us, including businesses of every size, on a global scale. It continues to dominate our social media channels and news feeds, as we watch countries close their borders, supply chains come to a halt, and governments impose strict social distancing regulations.
For the dropshipping and entrepreneurial community, it is an unprecedented time of uncertainty and fear. Whether you’re a seasoned dropshipper or a burgeoning entrepreneur, we wanted to point out the silver lining of a world at a standstill. The coronavirus has given us lemons, but we can use this new-found time to make lemonade.
You have been gifted with the time to create a brilliant online strategy, optimize your website to maximize traffic, and build a social media presence that advocates your products and customer service.
This is a pivotal time to improve yourself, your online store and your future. As the great Richard Branson put it himself:
Tough times are inevitable in life and in business. But how you compose yourself during those times defines your spirit and will define your future.
- Richard Branson
The weight of the problems the world is facing today can seem overwhelming and negative.
We wanted to shed light on some questions you may have about dropshipping, the coronavirus, as well as some useful resources and tips on how to use this new-found downtime to build your dropshipping business.
What is happening in China?
A small percentage of Spocket suppliers rely on China for components of their supply chain and have suffered a lowered capacity for order fulfillment due to the outbreak in January. All dropshipping suppliers with some Chinese reliance continue to operate at a lower than normal capacity.
China is on the recovery spectrum of the pandemic curve, and we can see workers and businesses resume their operations and supply chains. However, the logistics and cargo aspects of their supply chains are recovering at a slower pace, leaving many orders and foreign supply chains awaiting transport, shipment, and delivery.
What is happening in North America and Europe?
As of late, many countries in Europe, as well as the United States, are beginning to implement restrictions to keep their communities safe and limit the spread of the virus.
Although our US and EU dropshipping suppliers continue to fulfill orders, we track the news daily and stay on top of any restrictions that may affect suppliers and dropshippers alike.
To date, many EU countries have imposed restrictions until mid-April, and some countries have ceased receiving parcels altogether. We recommend that retailers check these updates daily and avoid selling to countries with suspended postal service for now.
We continue to communicate with our US/EU suppliers daily to ensure order fulfillment on both the supplier and retailer end. Our Customer Service team is well versed in supplier updates and are here to help you with any question or concerns you may have.
Spocket has a US Shipping filter that makes product selection easier as circumstances arise, and online stores may need to shift product selection to accommodate shipping restrictions.
What can I do?
Treat this as the time you’ve needed all along to buckle down and take your entrepreneurial dreams or side hustle to the next level. Although times are hard for many of us, being at home couldn’t be a better opportunity to help your community heal and learn how to start an online business with your utmost focus.
We’ve made Spocket Academy free for a limited time to help you get the guidance and inspiration you need to build a successful dropshipping business. You’ll find the ultimate guides on how to make money online and start an online business.
Dropshipping post- coronavirus will awaken a breadth of opportunities that dropshippers and entrepreneurs like you can prosper from. Use this time to explore opportunities in business that you never noticed before, and that appeal to people's newfound values and priorities.
If you think starting an online business or online side hustle is a bad idea, keep in mind that people are relying on ordering things to their home now more than ever. So why not be their go-to for a specific niche market?
The emphasis on shopping online is a habit that’s not going away any time soon. Now’s the time to act and build an incredible dropshipping business that resonates with you and turns visitors into returning customers.
Below are some amazing resources to help you come out on top, and use this time to learn a side hustle from home, and build something that you and your target market can profit from.
Improve and optimize your website
It takes a website visitor 50 milliseconds to form an impression of your website.
And after all the time, money and effort you put into getting that visitor, you better make sure they’re hooked by amazing color and design, layout and are interested in what you have to say and sell.
Google themselves conducted research and concluded that simplicity and familiarity are keys in an appealing design.
Make sure your website appeases by all of the conventions of good design and simplicity.
- Use your favorite websites as inspiration
- Create a uniform tone and visual throughout every page.
- Optimize your Website for SEO to rank higher on Google
Optimizing your website is a must if you want to compete for results on Google, and grow your business through organic search. Spend time making sure your website abides by all the best practices in design, SEO and layout.
Start a Blog, build a community
There's no better time than now, to organically increase your rankings on google and build a community around your niche and products.
Starting a blog may seem time-consuming and difficult, but it doesn’t have to be. Make sure you only write about things that add value to your customers and inspire them to make a change, buy from you, and tell their friends about it.
This can even be transferred to social media, and connecting with people in your target market through contests, giveaways, comments, and follows.
Improve your online Social presence
Successful dropshippers like Erin grew their business by creating a warm and friendly community of mothers all over the world relishing in the fun and times of motherhood.
By sharing photos, connecting through comments and direct messages, Erin grew a community of happy, returning customers. With 81% of people trusting the advice of friends and family over businesses, happy customers are the best form of marketing.
Improve your online presence by:
- Creating stunning Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest content through beautiful photography.
- Using down to earth and personalized descriptions that relate to daily issues your customers face (and providing a solution)
- Engage with your followers by asking questions and giving them inspirational tips.
- Follow, comment and direct message people that you believe could be interested in your niche market. Don’t be too shy to connect!
Self-Educate
As Benjamin Franklin once said;
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest”
And we couldn’t have said it better ourselves! There's nothing more important than taking time to improve yourself. The days of wishing you had more time to learn new skills, start a business, or pursue your creativity are gone. Now you have no excuse, and a ton of time at your disposal to make your dream a reality and become the best version of yourself.
We made Spocket Academy free so that entrepreneurs like yourself can learn the necessary skills on how to start an online business. We had Marc, a successful six-figure dropshipper lead a course on Spocket Academy on how to start an online store through real-life experiences.
For newbie Dropshippers and burgeoning entrepreneurs:
- Learn how to make money online from the best on: How to start an eCommerce Business
- Find your niche and research your target market
- Learn about the Best dropshipping products to sell in 2020
- Get some inspiration from Successful dropshippers like:
For Dropshippers ready to take it to the next level:
- Take advantage of Spocket Academy, and sign up for a free trial!
- Create a profound email marketing campaign, and stay connected to your customers.
- Cut on ads and Facebook marketing costs for now, and revamp your financial projections
- Take advantage of free Ivy League online courses available for a limited time
Government Funded Relief for Small Businesses
For entrepreneurs with small businesses, don’t forget that you’re not alone. Small businesses are the backbone of society, and without them, the economy would crumble.
As a response to businesses seeing dips in their revenue, governments around the world are stepping in to make sure you have the support to make it out of rough times, and come back stronger than ever before.
And if that wasn't enough, Large companies like Amazon, Facebook and Gofundme are all getting involved in supporting small businesses in times of need. There’s many funds, grants, and relief initiatives for small business owners to cope with difficult times.
Take the time you need to accept support, get some relief from the government and other organizations willing to help below.
- US Federal Coronavirus Small Business Assistance Program
- Canada / International Small Business Relief Programs
How Spocket can help you
Spocket mainly houses suppliers from the US and Europe, all with a keen focus on helping entrepreneurs and dropshipping suppliers connect with one mutual goal: entrepreneurship.
Although times are hard and unpredictable, Spocket is here to help you with 24/7 customer Support, A Facebook community and endless enthusiasm in getting your journey started.
