Selling things online is a much different beast than a brick and mortar store. It has a different set of challenges and advantages than other businesses may face. If you are trying to get your e-commerce business off the ground, here are some ways to help you grow.
1. Have a great storefront
Because your store doesn’t exist on the physical plane your digital storefront must be fantastic. If your customers find you on your website or your marketplace page, it must be engaging. The potential customer has to want to buy from your site. Here are the best design rules for a great website:
- Offer social connectability
- Easy checkout process
- Have a professional look
- Keep it consistent
- Make it easily navigable
- Make it responsive
- Make it mobile-friendly
- Use high-quality imagery
- Keep it simple
By following these design rules, you can increase your conversion rate for purchases on your website.
2. Market your business
Finding the right marketing plan for your business is the most important way to grow your sales. There are several ways to do that:
- Ads – Spending money on ads on channels such as Google, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok are a good way to get views on your products. They usually have a cost per click. Each site provides a metric for how much customers interact with your ad.
- Influencers – You can pay to have your brand or item featured by an influencer. Usually this is on Instagram, Youtube or Twitch. These are a good way to get eyes on your product. Be aware that the more popular influencers are more expensive. Do your due diligence on these influencers. Many follower/subscriber counts can be deceptive and/or fake. Additionally, picking the wrong influencer with a criminal past could do more harm than good. You might want to check into their history. If you are wondering “how long does a background check take?”, a good company can finish them in minutes.
- SEO marketing – This type of marketing boosts your product in search results and can be cheaper than spending on an ad. There are a couple ways to do this. Focus on keywords on your listings, produce content for your webpage like a blog, and put links on affiliate sites.
- Your own social media marketing – Make sure you are posting on your social media pages as well. This not only boosts your company’s visibility but it builds a loyal base for you to sell to.
3. Follow trends
When selling your product you want to make sure that you are not left behind. From what you are selling to which marketing tactics work, trends are important when it comes to your business. One of the best ways to keep track of trends is to continuously research industry-focused topics, read blogs that apply to your vertical, and use tools to analyze trends.
4. Do something unique
If you don’t necessarily want to follow trends, selling something unique is a good way to market your business. Finding your niche and sticking to it is a good way to increase brand loyalty. This might not have worked 50 years ago, but nowadays, there are 7 billion plus people on the planet. There is a market for everything.
5. Create a great product
Make sure that the product you are selling is worth the price you are charging. A good quality product can sell itself after a while if it is given enough time. Just look at Instant Pot. It grew from selling 500 units in 2010 to becoming the best selling product on Amazon.
6. Curate your reputation
Nothing is a bigger death knell of a product or a company than bad reviews. Reviews are the lifeblood of any types of sales. Make sure that you are constantly monitoring your rating or reviews online and responding to them to the best of your ability. Having a good refund or replacement program can go a long way towards making sure your reviews are high. By following these 6 tips, your e-commerce business can grow by leaps and bounds. Who knows, you could be the next great success story.