Creating and growing an eCommerce business can be a long and winding road that can be both daunting and exciting. Achieving success quickly is something that all eCommerce business owners want, but the process of growing a sustainable business is often slow and takes a lot of hard work. Creating an eCommerce business and growing it means being willing to continuously adapt to an ever-changing digital environment. If you are not sure you what steps to take to make your business more successful and prevent your eCommerce store from getting lost in the vast sea of websites and fading into obscurity, keep reading.
Many businesses fail within their first year and even more fail in the next five years, and eCommerce businesses are not an exception. So, creating your online store and waiting for customers to find you will not be enough. There are many techniques and strategies that can help you attract customers. If you want to grow an eCommerce business, it is essential to focus your efforts on seeking out potential customers, engaging with them to encourage purchases and ensure that they return for repeat business.
Throughout this article, you will find seven key actions and strategies that you can apply to grow your eCommerce business during its early stages, but also once it becomes successful.
Utilising Newsletters
The newsletter is an important tool for both emerging and established eCommerce businesses. Implementing a newsletter will provide you with a direct means of communication with your customers and can help you boost your sales and customer engagement significantly. By sending newsletters regularly, you can keep your customers and potential customers informed about brand updates, new products, discounts, promotions, and events. Additionally, a newsletter can create a sense of loyalty and connection and make your client feel part of a community.
Newsletters have many advantages, especially in today’s crowded eCommerce landscape, where competition for customer engagement is extremely fierce. Creating a tailored newsletter for your customer base can help you stand out from the crowd, build trust, and become more present and visible.
Investing in Social Media
Investing in social media should be a priority for any business owner, but even more so if you have an eCommerce business. Social media has become an essential tool that businesses should not ignore. If you want to grow an eCommerce business, the first step is building a strong social media presence for your brand. There are many different ways to go about it, as you can start by doing it yourself, or you can hire a social media expert. This will, of course, depend on your resources. If you want to set up your eCommerce business’ online presence, you should start by creating accounts on all social media platforms and posting relevant content regularly. Keep in mind that each social media platform is different and you should adapt your strategy to the social media environment and audience. If you do not have social media experience, it is best to hire an expert as this will save you a lot of time, and in the end, the results will be visible.
Using New Sales Channels
Another great way to grow your eCommerce business is to focus on multichannel sales. Sales channels are different places such as marketplaces, affiliates, distributors, and other websites where an eCommerce business can offer products or services to reach more customers. Keep in mind that customers are more likely to spend money on platforms they trust and if they feel it is convenient. This means that you might have more chances of success on an established platform than on your website, especially if you are new to the market. Multichannel strategies, however, are not a good fit for every single type of eCommerce business, so whether you should apply this strategy might depend on your business model.
Expanding Product Range & Add Ons
Expanding your product range and adding new products is a great way to grow your eCommerce business. As your business develops, it is natural for your customer base to grow as well, thus demanding more diversity when it comes to products and services. Having more to offer comes with numerous benefits and it will help you boost your revenue by attracting new clients and retaining old ones. As you start to offer new products, your business becomes more appealing to a wider range of customers and you can capture a larger share of the market. As a result, a richer product range is a great strategy for successful businesses that are looking for new ways to grow. If you’re unsure on how to grow your range, you can order an eCommerce audit which will help guide your business when it comes to product expansion.
Developing a Loyalty Programme
If attracting new customers is not a challenge, but you feel that your eCommerce business does not manage to convince customers to return, you should implement a loyalty programme. The everchanging landscape of eCommerce and online shopping can make it difficult for customers to focus on a limited number of business, especially when they are flooded with ads, promotions, and marketing campaigns. A great way to convince your clients to come back is by enabling them to earn rewards or to have certain benefits if they join a loyalty programme. There are many different ways in which you can implement a loyalty programme but the main goal is to make your existing clients feel appreciated and rewarded and to convince them that it is more convenient for them to return than to search for a new vendor.
Using Google Ads & PPC
Digital marketing is an important tool for eCommerce businesses and it goes hand in hand with social media marketing. Once your social media presence is established, you can focus on using Google ads and pay-per-click (PPC) marketing. The most popular type of PPC marketing is through search engines, such as Google, where eCommerce businesses and other advertisers have the option to pay to secure a place at the top of the search engine results page when the users type certain keywords. Different keywords have different values, depending on popularity. This type of marketing is essential when building an online presence, and it can be quite difficult to set up, so it is highly recommended to hire a digital marketing specialist for this task.
Simplifying Customer Experience
Improving and simplifying customer experience is another essential strategy that can help with client retention. When creating an eCommerce business, try to think like a client. What are the most tedious parts of shopping online? Try to eliminate the unnecessary steps and formalities and make the whole process as easy as possible. You want your client to be able to make a purchase quickly and without any effort, so make sure that you offer a user-friendly platform and a straightforward customer experience.
Countless strategies can help you grow an eCommerce business, but the ones mentioned above are extremely effective and verified by the most successful players in the industry. Social media management, digital marketing, loyalty programmes, a simple customer experience, a rich product range, and a multichannel sales strategy will help boost sales, attract new customers, and increase customer loyalty.
