If you want to grow your e-commerce business in the coming months, you cannot stick to the strategies and practices that have failed you in the past. E-commerce is ever evolving so you have to adapt to the changes and be ready to try new ideas.
To stay ahead of your competition, a generic advice is not going to cut it. You need advanced strategies and out of the box thinking to develop and implement a winning strategy to grow your e-commerce business. Here are a few you can experiment with to take your e-commerce business to the next level.
1. Profit growth transcends sales growth
Very often, we get wrapped up in conversions and sales numbers that we lose sight of the bottom line which is profit growth. In a perfect world, sales growth translates to profit growth. We, however, do not live in such a world and often, top selling products do not yield high margins.
Moving forward, you need to look at the individual margins of your product collection and take the following actions;
Remove from your collection low-performing products with below average margins
Remove from your collection or re-price top performing products with eroding margins
Feature more prominently the products with good margins and the potential for additional sales
2. Broaden your horizons
You can do this either by launching a new product or venturing into new territories. Before launching a new product, you need to find out what your customers think of your current products, their ideas on what should be improved or what they think is missing. With this information, you can create and launch a new product that not only makes your customers happy but also attracts new ones.
Targeting new markets may seem daunting given the work that you need to put into it but the exposure, traffic and sales that come with it make it worth it.
3. Invest in Personalization
Personalization goes beyond putting a shoppers name at the top of an email. You have to personalize a shoppers experience from start to finish. This means creating a customized experience and interaction for every potential shopper who lands on your site. The experience should be tailored to individual desires, needs and wants with the intent of nudging the potential buyer towards making the purchase.
From personalized email marketing to setting up personalized Facebook page, automated seasonal, birthday and anniversary coupons, there are many types of personalization strategies.
4. Invest in exciting videos and GIFs
In this age of attention deficiency, most shoppers rely solely on visual cues and hardly read product descriptions. Videos and memes continue to take center stage in the digital marketing scene and there are no signs that this will change anytime soon. The birth of new channels on popular social media platforms, for example – Instagram Ads in stories, is the result of the growing demand of visual content.
You need to invest on videos or GIFs that are not only educational to your potential customers but also exciting enough to grab their attention.
5. Choose SSL certificate wisely
The threat of online fraud and cyber security attack has never been higher that it is today. This is why your online store needs SSL certificates and HTTPS encryption to protect both you and your customers. In addition to protecting your online store from cyber-attacks, using SSL certificates shows your adherence to the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards and improves your search engine ranking. Online shoppers feel safe and secure while shopping on your store since they can be sure that their money and personal information is safe.
SSL certificates can be purchased from a reseller as well as CA. However, you have to choose wisely before making your purchase. There are some top and trusted providers for SSL Certificates from whom you can buy your certificates.
6. Make use of blogging and social media platforms
Blogs and social media build the visibility and credibility of your site, which generates direct traffic to your site. Every e-commerce site should have a blog and a social media presence. You need to keep these platforms constantly updated with new, informative and interesting content. Your focus should be more on visual content than words. Better yet, use user-generated content as it makes them feel involved hence builds an interaction with them.
7. Make use of influencer marketing
People trust recommendations especially those made by influential authority figures in a niche or industry. Influencer marketing is a popular strategy among e-commerce retailers because of its effectiveness. With the ever-growing number of bloggers and social media users, the number of influencers has never been higher than it is today. As such, you do not have to scour the web looking for a popular blogger, You Tuber or Instagrammer; they are everywhere. You only need to identify an influencer with a combination of reach, content engagement and relevance to your brand.
8. Work on your SEO basics
Every e-commerce retailer wants a cutting edge strategy that delivers success at the drop of a hat. While you may find a marketing strategy that delivers better ROI than the rest, the success may be short-lived or it may not work for someone else.
You need to optimize your site and improve your content to boost your SEO. Boosting your SEO is the most surefire way to grow your e-commerce business. It may not be sexy but it is definitely actionable.
9. Testing and Feedback
To find out if your tactics are working, you need to conduct regular, frequent test and ask for feedback from your customers. You cannot keep doing the same thing without stopping to find out if it is working. Customer feedback lets you know if they like the changes you are making or not. The goal of testing is to help you decide if you should make a change permanent or not depending on its success in boosting conversions.
10. Outsource
You can run a new e-commerce business by yourself but as it grows, you will need help. You need to outsource some tasks so that you can focus on growth. Consider hiring people on contract, part-time or full-time basis. It is also advisable to outsource jobs that demand skill such as graphic design or photography and as your business grows, ditch the freelancers and hire full-time employees.
