The best eCommerce platform for my business

On several occasions, I have encountered people who have an "almost" existential doubt: "Which is the best eCommerce platform for my business?" If you are one of those people with this "almost" existential doubt, I invite you to get up from your seat, grab a nice cold Red Bull, return to your computer, and prepare to read this article that I have specially prepared for you.

Taking the first step

The first thing you should consider, before embarking on the wonderful idea of implementing an eCommerce platform, is to identify what you sell or plan to sell.

"Do I sell products?" "Will I sell services?" "Do I sell products and services?"

‍

Understanding my products and/or services through sales

Once you have identified what you sell or plan to sell, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with your products and/or services through the sales process. You might wonder, "What does the author mean by knowing my products and/or services through sales?" Well, by this I mean understanding thoroughly how you carry out the sale of your products and/or services: how you market them, how you interact with your customers, how you conduct the sales process, and whether you apply or plan to apply platforms to support sales. This knowledge will be useful for evaluating the level of complexity of your business rules.
‍

Selling a standard T-shirt is not the same as selling a T-shirt completely customized to the customer's preferences. Nor is it comparable to sell bicycle wheels with installation included versus just selling bicycle wheels. And the difference between selling a screw to a customer categorized as SILVER and selling the same screw to a GOLD customer can be significant, perhaps with price variations. There are many subtleties and nuances in these scenarios, and the list of "it's not the same" could be considerably extended.

Let's take a pause! There's a high probability, at least in my opinion, that you might start thinking: "Phew! This seems boring... I should search on Google for an agency to do all the work for me." However, let me remind you that nobody knows your business better than YOU. Therefore, I invite you to close the Google tab and continue with the challenge of discovering the best platform for your business.

‍

Choosing the best eCommerce platform for my business

• Remember in previous steps you identified the products and/or services you sell or plan to sell? I hope for an enthusiastic response, a resounding YES!
  ‍
• Did you manage to understand how you sell or plan to sell your products and/or services to your customers? Here's a hint: "I, Martín Ramos, have been selling standard sneakers from various brands for a year and manage their inventory through a specific program. My interaction with customers is mainly through Facebook, and they make payments through bank transfers."
  ‍
• Could you understand the concept of a business rule? Here's another hint: "I, Martín Ramos, have classified my customers according to their purchasing level. Those who spend $50 monthly are classified as Bronze, those who spend $80 monthly are considered Silver, and those who reach $120 monthly are classified as Gold".

So, let's get straight to the point! If you're looking to market standard products or services with simple business rules, I recommend trying out Shopify, Jumpseller, or WordPress via the Woocommerce plugin. These platforms are designed to meet the selling objective unless you have plans to significantly expand your business. However, complications arise when you want to market non-standard products or services with complex business rules.

The aforementioned platforms have limitations such as::

• Custom product sales
• ERP integrations
• CRM integrations
• Sales approval workflows
• Shipping
• Customer differentiation by sales channels
• Marketplace integrations
• And so on

*Although in some of the mentioned platforms you can achieve integrations, I assure you that you will encounter some limitations here and there.

If you find that these platforms don't fit the sale of your products and the growth of your business, opt for something tailored using open-source platforms like Spree Commerce, OpenCart, or Magento. These will adapt to the specific needs of your business and allow you to scale to infinity and beyond.

So, "The best eCommerce platform for YOUR business" is the one that best fits your needs and allows you to scale as your business grows. It's your responsibility to gather all the key pieces for a successful eCommerce implementation.

‍

I hope I've contributed to your search for "The best eCommerce platform for my business". 🚀