eCommerce accounts for 14% of all retail sales worldwide. This is set to grow to 22% by 2023. So, with the world shopping online more, there has never been a better time to get into the sector and open an eCommerce company.
Starting an eCommerce business is a lot of work. You’ll need to source inventory, create a platform to sell from, and then market your website relentlessly. Success doesn’t happen overnight. There are eCommerce business tips you can follow to help you to succeed.
So, how do you run an eCommerce business?
In this article, we’ll let you know how to run an eCommerce business with seven effective tips.
- Don’t Rush To Launch Your Site
You may be very keen to hit the ground running and launch your site; however, there is no harm in not rushing to launch too early. After all, you only get to launch your site once.
Before you get your first customers, you will need to put in some groundwork. This means making sure that you have SEO, paid marketing, content marketing, social media presence, and more in place before you launch.
Up until you are ready to go, you could use a “coming soon” page in place of your site.
- Build Your Email Subscribers List
You can have the best looking eCommerce platform in the world, but if nobody knows that you are there, you won’t make a single sale. You need to have a powerful marketing strategy if you want to succeed in your eCommerce business.
One of the key elements of your marketing strategy should be your email subscribers list. These customers have expressed enough interest in your products that they have shared their contact details with you. You need to make sure that you capitalize on this list.
But what if you don’t have any subscribers? One way to increase the number of subscribers you have is by offering discounts on a customer’s first purchase when they sign up to the mailing list.
- Leverage the Power of Social Media
Social media is widely regarded as one of the most powerful marketing tools out there. You should do everything that you can to build up a community around your brand and the products that you sell.
You can do this by engaging with your customers on social media. Ensure that you actively reply to comments and always try to maintain a consistent brand image as you do so.
- Make Sure Your Mobile Offering Is Perfect
Did you know that over half of all internet users will access a website from their smartphone or tablet?
With so many people accessing the internet from smartphones, it stands to reason that you could enhance your eCommerce business greatly by making sure your platform is mobile friendly.
This means making sure that your site will not only load and open on a tablet but that it is readable and that all elements function.
In addition to your website, you should also think about creating an app. This will enhance the buying experience for the customer.
- Embrace Search Engine Optimization
If you are not at the top of the search engine results pages when users are searching for the products you sell, you are unlikely to make many sales through organic searches. It is vital that you embrace search engine optimization to improve your ranking.
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the practice of optimizing your website so that it ranks well on the search engine results pages.
There are many different strands to SEO, including keyword optimization, the use of backlinks, and technical aspects such as improving your page load speeds and ensuring your site works for mobile devices.
SEO is something that will need to be continually worked on and should be a core element in your marketing strategy.
- Prioritize Great Customer Service
In retail, customer service is the most important thing. eCommerce is no exception to this rule, and you should make delivering excellent customer service one of your primary objectives.
There are lots of opportunities for you to engage with customers, from social media through to email. Make sure that you always provide a prompt and friendly reply. Do everything you can to help your customer out when they get in touch.
Make it as easy as possible for your customers to get in touch with you. Use chat boxes on your site to make sure there is always an immediate answer on hand to any of their queries as they shop.
Often, answering these questions while a customer is shopping will make the difference between the sale and an abandoned basket.
- Make Sure Your Site Is Shoppable
Your site needs to be shoppable. That means that everything needs to be laid out in a logical manner so that when a customer enters the site, they will instinctively find their way around and find the products they are interested in.
Use intuitive menus. Don’t try and reinvent the wheel. Look at how some of the most successful eCommerce sites lay their menus and products out and do the same thing.
You should also have an easy-to-find search bar that will allow customers to look up what they have come online for.
Making a Success of Your eCommerce Business
By following all of the tips in this article, you should be able to make a success of your eCommerce business. Having a marketing strategy is vital in all types of eCommerce.
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