Tag: ecommerce

  • Proven Ways to Market your eCommerce Business

    Proven Ways to Market your eCommerce Business

    Marketing is an essential growth aspect of eCommerce businesses. Since you operate virtually, your clients will only know of your progress through your marketing efforts. New clients will also learn about your business through the marketing techniques you adopt. 

    Therefore, you should choose the right channels to market your online business strategically while still saving substantial advertising costs. If you just started an online store, read on to know the best marketing tips you can adopt. You can initiate these strategies on your own, or seek the help of eCommerce marketing experts if necessary. 

    Use Social Media

    Social media has made marketing easy. It connects businesses to a global audience and gives small firms the ability to compete with established firms. Some social media platforms also allow customers to interact with entrepreneurs through live features. The best social media platforms for your eCommerce business could include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Each platform operates differently and exposes you to a different audience. Understand how each platform works, create business accounts, and market your business. Follow the right people and actively interact with them.

    Invest in Strategic Relationships

    Find the leading players in the industry and connect to them. These could be influencers, established entrepreneurs, or people who have already made it in the industry. Like their posts, follow them, and even retweet their posts. Besides influencers, you might also form a business relationship with reputable marketing sites and agencies. The leading sites use the performance-based advertising model to help you get the best of your eCommerce marketing. You only pay for the results you get, thus allowing you to get the best from the marketing. Find out the best people or sites you can trust, follow them, and find out they can help your business grow.

    Start Your Blog

    Blogging is an exciting way of interacting with your clients. When you start the blog, you will increase your business visibility and gain a competitive advantage. You will only need to start the right type of blog, choose the content wisely, and write informative articles. You may write the articles yourself, or hire experienced freelancers to help in the blogging. For excellent marketing results on your blog, use the content which provokes your readers to reply. Also, use internal links to direct people to your site. The right content will keep your readers informed and will also help in marketing your eCommerce business.

    Invest in a Website

    Your online business should have a good looking website. The website should contain all the business information products and services offered. Your website should also include the strategies you use to satisfy your clients. You can create the website on your own, although a web designer would do it better. The designer should add the right features that make the site attractive but also informative as well. If the site is well developed and designed, it will look trustworthy and attract more clients. Don’t forget to include the CTA section to help your clients contact you with ease. The CTA should be short and informative.

    Encourage Reviews

    Many customers consider the site reviews before they make a buying decision. This means that a business with many reviews gets more traffic compared to those without reviews. A site with reviews also shows that the company is trustworthy, and the products are credible. However, many customers may not leave the reviews, unless you encourage them. When you transact, encourage them to leave their remarks regarding the product and services. Appreciate the positive reviews and reply to the negative reviews well. Also, do not hide negative reviews. Let them stay on your site, provided that you have given the right replies. Learn from the reviews, too, and make the necessary changes.

    Improve Your SEO Strategy

    SEO improves the visibility of your online store if you use the right keywords. You should find out the standard terms your clients use when searching for products online and add them to your content. For instance, if you sell shoes online, your content should mention your shoe business, location, etc. You might not readily guess the right keywords, and that’s why experts advise entrepreneurs to use the keyword finder apps. When you use the right keywords, you will enhance your visibility, increase your traffic, and boost your eCommerce store’s profitability.

    Optimize For Mobile

    You should improve the responsiveness of your website if you wish to attract many people. Today, the number of people with smartphones and other mobile devices surpasses those with computers and desktops. 

    Consumers, therefore, get online by using the handiest tool- which is their mobile phone. Therefore, your site should be easy to access via the mobile phone to win more people. Optimize the right features too to simplify the user experience.

    Consider Pay Per Click Advertising

    Probably, you are wondering why you need PPC marketing when you have great keywords. The PPC ads support your SEO and make your business more visible. The best way to gain from PPC marketing is by using Google AdWord or the other tools which display the ads. You will not pay anything if people do not click on your ad. If you choose the right keywords, more people will click on your ads, and you will increase the exposure of your online store.

    Email Marketing

    You may also advertise your online business through email. To start, you will only need to collect your loyal customers; you can also ask your new customers to leave the emails. Create a solid list of the emails, and send them regular updates regarding your business. For motivation, you may include coupons, discounts, and other lucrative deals to the customers who leave you emails. Alternatively, you may ask them to subscribe to your email. In this way, you will keep them attached to your business, and you increase the success of your business.

    The eCommerce world changes daily. The techniques which work for you may not be valid tomorrow. To stay relevant, you should adopt the changing technology and adjust your marketing strategies accordingly. Work closely with digital marketing experts and follow the above tips to enhance your online business’s success.

  • Looking for the best WordPress theme for your eCommerce site?

    Looking for the best WordPress theme for your eCommerce site?

    With more and more people opting to set up small online stores to sell handmade products and other novelties to a global market, it is increasingly essential to focus on a sturdy web interface. There are various online services that you can log onto or buy a subscription to set up a virtual shop. However, these come with limited features and you may not be able to tweak things according to your taste.

    WordPress is one of the world’s most popular CMS solutions and they have thousands of templates and themes to help you set shop immediately. Originally started as a blogging site, WordPress has now grown to become a powerful platform that can host a variety of websites including eCommerce. WordPress also has strong SEO features that you’ll need to get your site ranking high on Google. Even online casinos these days have to rely on SEO to ensure success as you can read in this article here. There are innumerable premade themes and templates on offer from WordPress so we’ve gone through them and listed out a few of them for you. 

    Jayla

    Jayla uses the WooCommerce plugin that allows for ease of set up for an online store and has a modern design. The demos that you get to see will show you the diversity of Jayla which allows you to sell everything from physical goods to digital downloads. There are everything from furniture stores to music bands that are using this theme. Once you choose your demo, you can simply import the content and set up your website within a few minutes. Add you products to your store, choose your payment methods and there you go.

    Divi

    Divi is an incredibly stunning ecommerce theme which is also extremely powerful to use. It uses Divi Builder which is a drag-and-drop technique of designing WordPress pages making it very fast and easy to use. There are many pre-made layouts that include homepage and a store front. All you have to do is choose your favourite, import it, make your necessary tweaks and get selling.

    Shoptimizer

    Shoptimizer is one of the fastest WordPress themes related to e-commerce. It loads quickly by loading a minimal sheet and helps you retain any fickle customer. The theme is focused more on mobile phones to catch customers who are mostly shopping through their smartphones. This is obviously helpful in a time where Google has been pushing for mobile-friendly sites. It is also a well-known fact that most customers shop late in the night on their phones as this article here states. Making custom designed pages is very easy with this theme and you can quickly change the font and colour and backgrounds of your pages. At $99, it is one of the more expensive themes but it comes with very good round-the-clock customer support.

    These are just some of the themes available for you to delve into. There are several others both free and paid like Astra, Jevelin, Uncode and TheGem. Check these out as well before you take a final decision and start your business.

  • Expert Tips for Managing Your eCommerce Business

    Expert Tips for Managing Your eCommerce Business

    E-Commerce platforms have opened a world of possibilities for both business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs alike. By removing the back-breaking capital needed for starting a brick-and-mortar store, the possibilities of providing products have become endless. As a result, we’ve come to witness businesses dealing in products without having any inventory. Shipping companies have swarmed the globe. Intermediary agencies came to light, doing nothing but managing the operations of other e-commerce businesses. 

    If you ask an expert about the best one to follow in the middle of all these different operational strategies, they’ll tell you there isn’t a specific rule. They’ll point out how some businesses rely on selling high-tag items for profit, while others decide to dominate a certain niche. The strategy of either can work for neither, so it all comes down to your business strategy. However, if you adjust your question to asking for tips on managing your e-commerce business, they’ll give a list of proven tips they all swear by. 

    Here’s what they’ll tell you to do. 

    1. Think Like a Customer

    If you’re still stuck between the pages of plans and statistics, it’s time to take a stroll down the other side of your eCommerce platform. Stop thinking like the executive you are – you’re only looking at how products are selling and the strategies you need to tweak to create more reach. Meanwhile, if you start thinking like one of your customers, you’ll instantly point out all the strategic flows you’ve been missing. Additionally, you’ll start experiencing what a real customer would, which gives you better ideas on how to optimize their experience and tempt them into adding more products into their shopping cart. 

    2. Craft a Full Operational Plan

    Again, forget your strategic plans for a while. Do you have a full operational plan ready to be executed? Many business owners fail to realize the difference between the general plan and the operational one. Your operational plan considers every single factor you’ll deal with once you start your execution – ideally expressed as an action plan that’s divided into tasks and deadlines. Your operational plan must cover every step of your manufacturing process, supply chain, customer service, and promotional strategies. 

    3. Choose the Right Platform

    There’s a world of difference that comes with choosing the right platform and failing to do so. While eCommerce platforms are available in multiple forms and features, ensure you’re very familiar with the technicalities that the platform relies on when operating. Some platforms are relatively easy to use, but they come with limited features. Other well-established platforms offer more features and better user experience (for you), but you’ll still face certain issues. Generally, you’ll face fierce competition on these platforms, so what’s your plan for dominating the market and positioning your brand?

    4. Consider Outsourcing 

    While it’s tempting to do everything on your own (we know what we entrepreneurs are like), it’s not always the best nor smartest approach to operating your eCommerce business. Sometimes, it’s much more efficient to outsource certain parts of the operations to a specialized agency. 

    The experts from https://www.envisagedigital.co.uk/magento-support-services/ point out that using an eCommerce platform like Magento can be worthwhile – only if you ensure the optimum customer experience; this experience will be compromised if the site keeps crashing or lagging. Are you experienced enough to deal with these technical issues? If you’re not, then it’s better to leave it to the experts. 

    5. Map Out a Customer Journey

    Following on thinking like a customer, you must optimize your eCommerce platform for the optimum customer journey. It includes regular site maintenance, yes, but it’s so much more than fixing bugs as they arise. Your main focus should always be to push your visitors to add more items to their shopping cart and finalize the purchase. 

    Think of all the tools you can accomplish without overwhelming the visitor. An optimized eCommerce platform will use a funnel approach to its maximum benefit, taking the customer through a smooth journey, generating leads and conversion, and customer retention. 

    6. Utilize Different eCommerce Marketing Strategies

    There are a few well-known strategies when it comes to tempting customers over the eCommerce platform. For instance, make sure to cross-sell and upsell different products while they’re viewing the page of interesting products. Reminding them of abandoned carts is another popular and effective strategy to encourage them to finalize their purchase. 

    7. Integrate Your eCommerce Platform with Social Media Strategy

    While you’re thinking of different eCommerce marketing strategies, integrate it into your entire marketing efforts. There’s no better way to generate leads than directing your traffic from other social media platforms to your eCommerce platform. Moreover, social media platforms have the best ability to reach your target audience and build a channel of connection with them, so make sure your marketing efforts are always complimenting each other. 

    8. Maximize Email Marketing Benefits

    Speaking of marketing strategies, email marketing needs to be discussed on its own when it comes to eCommerce. You can’t neglect the value of integrating email marketing into your strategy. It’s the best tool you can use to build and maintain the connection with the leads you’ve acquired, from welcoming emails to confirming their purchases, reminding them of abandoned carts, sending promotions and offers, and keeping them updated with your news. Email marketing is the single most important tool you’ll need to utilize to the maximum. 

    9. Test, Analyze, Optimize

    With all your efforts directed in the right place, you’ll only know what works and what doesn’t by monitoring your progress and testing different approaches. Keep testing how you present your products and keep experimenting with different strategies. With every different test, collect the data and analyze the efficacy. Check the conversion rates or repeated pitfalls during the customer journey; this will give you the insights to optimize your eCommerce operations and management strategies. 

    Despite the practicality that eCommerce platforms offer in the world of business, or perhaps, as a result of it, managing a successful eCommerce business is no walk in the park. From product strategies to strong competition, many obstacles are standing between you and success. Instead of discarding all of your plans, it would be wiser to follow the experts’ tips and make simple adjustments to your managing process first.

  • How to Succeed in eCommerce?

    How to Succeed in eCommerce?

    Succeeding in an online business is not a walk in the park as many perceive it. It requires dedication, time, and resources to make it happen. You might be having time, funds, and the ways to do it, but it may not pick up? Why?

    Maybe it’s because you are missing the things that matter to succeed. Having an eCommerce business starts with a site. The site requires visitors who will turn into clients, and if the service is excellent, they will keep on buying and referring your services to their friends. So what are the tips to succeed?

    Check on this article.

    1. Your site should look good on all platforms

    If you target individuals online, you need to understand that most access websites via their desktop browsers while others use smartphones, either browsers or apps. Ensure your site is present on all these platforms. Presence is one thing, and performance is another.

    While making sure that your site is available on the website builds, ensure it performs flawlessly with good loading speeds and well-constructed features. Know how your site will look on desktops, mobile browsers, and if on an app, ensure it is easy to download, install, and operate. Having a seamless user experience in all platforms is a dream to anyone in an eCommerce business.

    2. The Ecommerce site needs to be credible and trustworthy

    One way of succeeding in an e-commerce business is by being credible and easy to trust. No client provides their credit card or other online payment details if your website looks suspicious. Ensure that safety features are in place, and it has features that increase clients’ trust. One more thing, Google will not rank or offer a website which seems suspicious to individuals conducting searches.

    If possible, provide details to your clients on the steps they should take if they sense theft and fraud. Also, offer security features and incorporate an online security company on the check-out page. You can also reassure your client’s safety and trust by providing an easy return policy or money-back guarantee if they don’t get what they purchased.

    3. Incorporate Original photos and product description

    This area is where most individuals fail in an online business. Do not incorporate stock images and narrations from other websites to your website. If you are using a duplicated content, that will be like killing your eCommerce business. Ensure everything is unique and original. Do not fake it while selling online. Search engines like Google do not rank content stolen from other sites.

    Another disadvantage of using the same material as other sites is that clients will feel you are selling the same thing, and it’s better if they pick it from the ‘original’ competitor site. How do you become unique? It is simple: be original, create videos for your products, and have customized photos, unique descriptions, and other integration that is attractive to your target audience.

    Using well-made images, you will send unique messages to your clients since a picture is interpreted better than written notes. Ensure these pictures are of high quality, taken by professionals, to increase customer clicks and conversions.

    4. The Ecommerce website should be easy to navigate

    A good website should be easy to load, navigate, and check-out. If you are displaying goods on the site, ensure everything clicks easily and fast. If these simple terms are not adhered to, you will lose esteemed clients who turn away after finding a hard-to-operate site.

    One way of achieving a good display is by creating menus of product categories that are clearly labeled. According to research, most clients prefer finding websites with an advanced search function. A search function enables them to find what they want to buy quickly and fast.

    By incorporating a search function, you should ensure you have all the required products on your website. The reason is that after failing to find the product in the search function, clients tend to close the tab fast and visit another website to look for the same.

    5. Make your website feature reviews from customers

    Reviews help a lot in persuading other people to buy from your website. Why is it so? The main reason is that clients trust their fellow customers in making purchasing decisions. The advantage of having reviews is that clients get triggered by positive reviews in their purchasing decisions.

    Online reviews, according to marketing experts, are like the traditional word of mouth recommendations. The client will buy a product that has been reviewed more than the one without reviews since it shows people have used it and have something to say about it.

    Experts recommend reviews because they drive more traffic (by at least 44%), which leads to conversions. Ensure the star ratings are incorporated in your category pages and on the individual products to enhance visibility.

    6. The Ecommerce should have excellent customer service, both on-site and offsite

    One way of killing business is by having poor customer service, especially in an eCommerce business. An eCommerce business is like a global business. How you treat your existing client will determine how others will perceive your business.

    Ensure you conduct good pre-sale and post-sale customer care to your clients to enable them to enjoy services and refer you to their other friends and families. You can perform this customer care through emails, call centers, chats, emails, and social media handles. Ensure you get their feedback on their experience and what can be improved.

    7. Ensure there is an easy and fast check out process

    Most customers always cancel their orders if they find a difficult-to-use check out process. To ensure all orders get completed, provide easy to check-out systems with one-page check-out and easy to process payment solutions.

    Since clients always avoid user accounts, always ensure if its a requirement for your business that they are easy to create and log in when clients are making payments. You can also include a guest login option to cater to individuals who like being anonymous. With these measures, you will get assured of carts not being abandoned in the last stages.

    Other factors you can consider include having an online social team that can communicate with clients through chats, and help clients who might be facing troubles with their shopping. With these points and others, you will have a successful eCommerce business.