- August 30, 2021
- Posted by: A4P
- Categories: Dropshipping, eCommerce
In this article, we will discuss with you the importance of test orders for dropshippers.
It’s straightforward. You’ll never have to stress about keeping or delivering your products if you dropship. Furthermore, unless you generate sales, all of your items will be kept in the facilities of your supplier.
When a customer orders a product from your store, you send it to your supplier, who ships the items directly to the buyer’s home. This means you can run a successful business without having to handle the products you’re selling.
However, before you begin selling your goods, you should thoroughly inspect them. A test order comes into the picture at this point.
What Are Test Orders?
A test order is recommended by eCommerce platforms like Shopify. Shopify even recommends that shop owners make at least one test order when starting their business or changing their payment options.
What is the Importance of Test Orders?
Do you see the issue with this if you’re just starting out? It is quite costly!
Regardless if you only focus on 1-3 goods at a moment when you’re first starting out, you’ll still have a real challenge. But you must learn from your failures and keep moving forward. You will create advertising that will appear obnoxious when viewed in the future.
But don’t worry, we are here to show you how to swiftly test products so that you don’t waste money before deciding whether or not to keep promoting that item.
But first, here are a few reasons why test orders are important for you as a dropshipper.
Trust Your Suppliers
For companies all throughout the world, trust is a vital success component. You’re probably aware that establishing customer and company trust is critical. However, particularly when dropshipping, you must have a strong line of trust with your suppliers.
And besides, even if you have a fantastic online store, exceptional products that your buyers adore, and brilliant marketing strategies, none of it will impact if your supplier fails to deliver.
And how can you tell if a supplier is a great fit for your dropshipping business?
That’s right, you guessed it. A test order must be placed.
What if you’re selling items from a variety of vendors? Placing a test order with each provider is a good idea. And don’t bother, we know. That is money you could be used to improve your store in a variety of ways.
Yet, to be fair, placing test orders and learning how your suppliers work is one of the finest ways to spend money as a dropshipper. Particularly, when you’re just getting started. Consider that for a moment.
Follow Your Shipping Process
But that is perfectly OK.
Because you don’t currently have a large, well-established eCommerce shop, your clients are unlikely to want you to match Amazon’s lightning-fast shipping speeds. Your consumers will be eager to receive their brand new items, so it’s necessary that you give them a reasonable delivery timeline.
Another reason why dropshippers must do test orders is to ensure that their products are in good working order. You’ll be able to monitor how long it would take for your items to be shipped. This is once you’ve placed a test order for the items you’re considering selling.
You’ll be able to predict exactly what your customers will receive once you’ve got firsthand experience with your provider’s delivery services.
Verify Your Products
One of the key advantages of dropshipping, as previously said, is that it lets you to be hands-off with the operational side of operating a business. You are, however, still the proprietor of the company.
That suggests that despite what you’re offering or where you get your goods, it’s your responsibility to inform that you’re giving high-quality service to your consumers. That’s why it’s so important to place test orders.
You must be able to market your goods with certainty to your customers, knowing that they will get things that they will enjoy. Something that is appropriate with the expensive amount they have paid.
Create Unique Marketing Material
Because everyone else has them, it’s hard to make your business stand out with simply stock images. Given that 64% of customers make purchases after watching sponsored video content, you’ll want to be certain your video marketing strategies are also on target.
However, when you simply have stock pictures at your hand, this isn’t simply too. Another reason why dropshippers should do test orders for their items is to see how well they sell.
How Smart Dropshippers Test Products Quickly
Using Instagram
When you’re on a tight budget and want to test products quickly with Instagram influencers, we recommend paying no more than $20 per account.
Only ensure that the Instagram page has a high engagement count. Ideally, the percentage should be greater than 3%. When the influencer post is nearly done, check to see whether you’ve had any comments on it, and if so, whether they’re favorable.
Then take a look at how many people came to your product page and what they did. Did a large number of customers click the “Add to Cart” button? Did people make a purchase? All of that info can tell you a lot!
Using Facebook
Creating PPE ads for an item is a great way to quickly test things on Facebook. PPE stands for Page Post Engagement. If you set this as your campaign goal, Facebook will know that you want your ad to be seen by individuals who are most likely to connect with it. This includes things like likes, shares, and comments on posts, among other things.
The most important reason to utilize PPE to quickly test products is that it is less expensive than, say, the buy (conversions) goal. PPE will have a CPM (Cost Per 1000 Impressions) of roughly $5. The usual buy campaigns had CPMs of approximately $8-$15 or even more.
As a result, testing if your ad is effective with your target demographic will be far less expensive.
Now is the time to place your test orders
Now you know how to test products quickly and why they’re so important for dropshipping businesses. It’s vital that you avoid thinking of the costs you pay while placing test orders as lost resources. Consider those costs as an investment in your company’s long-term viability.
If you have any clarification about test orders in general or dropshipping in particular, please let us know in the comment field below — we read every single one!
