It is no secret: when the pandemic hit, many businesses suffered and plummeted. Every establishment from pretty much every industry definitely took a hit, especially those who relied heavily on the brick and mortar setting. Even though eCommerce started gaining popularity a few years ago, this situation really put a spotlight on how retailers should start shifting to digital.
If you have been used to traditional selling, the transition to eCommerce may just be a little too overwhelming. There’s just so much to consider: choosing the most efficient website design, ensuring you have good quality photos, providing different payment options, and even offering the cheapest shipping options. And from there, there’s also a matter of how to make sure that you’re continually growing your business, even in the comforts of your own home.
Thankfully, there are already a handful of resources if you’re looking for a quick crash course into jump-starting your eCommerce business. However, if you are looking for more advanced strategies to further grow your business, try any (or all) of these tips:
1. Be mobile ready
If the vast number of smartphone models should tell us anything, it’s that mobile devices have become a staple to people of all ages from all walks of life. The convenience of having everything at the palm of your hands is just too enticing to pass up, especially if you have an application for basically anything you can think of. Clearly, it is of great importance to make sure that your website is optimized for users who prefer to shop on their smartphones.
Having a responsive mobile-ready website is just the start of guaranteeing the best user experience. Mobile commerce requires a more proactive and meticulous approach to ensure your interested consumer will generate a sale. You also have to take into consideration the seamlessness of your payment processing down to the receipt issuance. Post-sale experience, such as confirmation or thank you emails and delivery tracking options, also plays a big role.
2. Know conversion hindrances
Sometimes, your business may get a lot of visitors, but those website visits do not automatically translate to a sale. Conversion tracking tools like Google Analytics and KISS metrics could be a big help in pinpointing which part of a consumer’s user experience hinders them from purchasing from your website. With this, you can narrow down which areas you would need to improve on. An example of this would be your shipping options.
The price of shipping is actually one of the key factors that would influence a consumer’s decision. If your shipping rates are staggeringly high, it could discourage a person from actually going through with the purchase. If through your conversion tracking tools, you find this to be the culprit, then you may have to evaluate your current shipping options.
Thankfully, you can opt to partner with shipping solutions companies that cater to eCommerce businesses like ShipExpert. Since they negotiate the best possible rates with different carriers, rest assured that you will be getting the best prices for shipping your products.
3. Upgrade your current eCommerce software
More often than not, people tend to be complacent with choosing the eCommerce software that they will be using. However, you must be careful and research thoroughly which software will be the best fit for your business. You just may be missing out on great perks like data analytics tools, which can help you determine your biggest market and other consumer behaviors.
Another factor to consider when choosing an eCommerce software would be the availability of marketing help that they can provide. Other software has powerful techniques such as automation and multichannel marketing, which you can definitely use to your advantage.
4. Turn your likes into leads
It is a known fact that social media marketing is one of the first areas you would have to explore with regard to advertising and solidifying your brand’s presence. Hopefully, you have successfully acquired a good following ever since you started your business. But the big question will always be how to translate your social media following into actual sales.
Those who are already following you or even just those who are engaging in your posts by liking or commenting are already potential customers. One of the ways to convert these people into buying customers would be to come up with a social media contest in which you could generate leads. By collecting their email addresses, you can then proceed to target them for personalized marketing efforts.
5. Explore multichannel marketing methods
Since eCommerce has been a norm nowadays, it is important that you constantly find ways to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Exploring multi-channel marketing methods such as email marketing, SMS marketing, and more, could help you reach your market on a more personal level.
With methods such as email marketing, you can also personalize discount offers according to your consumer’s behavior. Such offers are often more likely to generate a sale since consumers tend to gravitate more to personalized marketing methods.
6. Expand into new territories
If you feel like your business has hit a plateau and would want it to grow some more, then it might be high time to consider expanding your coverage areas. Although it may seem daunting, this move may just be the solution for you to gain a bigger market. Just make sure that you can properly integrate your entire website to the country you’re expanding to — from payment options down to shipping options.
Partnering with a reliable shipping solutions company is one of the key components to guaranteeing a successful geographical expansion. Once you’re assured that the company you’ve partnered with can ensure smooth and efficient deliveries, coupled with offering cheapest shipping costs and real-time delivery tracking, then you’ll be one step closer to reaching a new market.
Summary
In the age of eCommerce, it’s important to know what would set you apart from your competitors. More than your product, you must make sure that you’re covering all bases when it comes to ensuring the best user experience for your consumers. Exploring different technologies and options would also help you connect with them more and would ensure that their eyes are still on you. When you always put your consumers in mind, your business growth will definitely follow.
