Editor's Note: This post was originally published in March 2016 and has been updated with additional content on April 2024.
For those seeking advice on the evolving landscape of retail, here are some invaluable eCommerce tips to help you create or develop your eCommerce brand. What was initially a secondary option for businesses to increase sales, eCommerce has disrupted traditional retail and taken over as the primary option for many shoppers. As consumers continue to show brands love by buying their products online, the percentage of total retail dollars spent will continue to slide toward the eCommerce industry.
The realities of the eCommerce world and the new direction they have paved for the shopping industry mean businesses need to at least start thinking about an effective eCommerce marketing strategy to increase traffic and sales of their products and services in the future. In fact, we believe this so strongly that we recently published a 3-part blog series all about getting your eCommerce website up and running (catch up on parts one, two, and three here). Plus, a recent webinar on Expert Tips to Improve Your Ecommerce Website Experience is also chock-full of eCommerce marketing tips to take your eCommerce product website to the next level.
For most brands, eCommerce is a necessity. So, with this in mind, we focused our latest digital marketing video on Achieving Excellence with eCommerce Tips and Tricks:
1. Choose the Right eCommerce Platform
As eCommerce marketing strategies have grown, so too have the platforms on which brands can build and launch their Ecommerce site. On one hand, eCommerce platforms have made incredible advancements in an extremely short period of time, which bodes well for companies looking to get started. The flip side is that there can be a lot of information to process, making it difficult for companies to actually choose the eCommerce technology that best suits their needs.
Nobody can help you pick the correct eCommerce platform because you know your business best. But some things to consider are responsiveness, scalability, usability, and, most importantly, how much you'll be able to customize and mold the technology to do what you need it to.
2. Know Your Customer Base
It's difficult to build anything without knowing who it's for, so rule #1 for effective eCommerce is not to build an online store if you don't know your target audience. Look into your buyer's personas. Dive into your website analytics. Once you've figured out your audience, now you need to put in more work to understand them; their likes, dislikes, and tendencies are just as important as who they are. Once you've defined your audience and spent time getting to know them, the rest of the eCommerce process will become much easier, and you'll be on a path destined for success. You can dive deeper into the science of buyer persona development by checking out our infographic on the topic.
3. Optimize for Conversion
The great thing about eCommerce platforms and the speed at which they've grown and improved is that they're conversion-oriented out-of-the-box. Most eCommerce platforms were built by super smart teams, many of them with marketing backgrounds, so they're already optimized to sell, sell, and sell some more - you just have to tweak the settings.
Popular eCommerce sites offer built-in search engine optimization (SEO) tools and integrations that help improve conversion rates by improving visibility in search engine results. By optimizing product descriptions, meta tags, and URLs, businesses can improve their online presence and attract more organic traffic. Additionally, integration with various marketing and analytics tools allows businesses to track customer behavior, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions to improve their online store's performance.
Ultimately, the goal of an eCommerce platform is to provide businesses with the tools and resources they need to create a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience for customers. By streamlining the checkout process, offering multiple payment options, offering free shipping on orders, live chat, and providing personalized recommendations, these platforms make it easy for customers to find what they're looking for and make a purchase, ultimately driving sales and revenue to grow your eCommerce business.
4. Offer An Outstanding Customer Experience
The customer experience you deliver is a vital component of your business's success, and that's the case whether your interactions are in-person or online. It's 2021 and consumers are not only smarter, they're more adept at sniffing out brands that don't exactly follow through on the promise of their marketing. The good news is there are many ways to ensure your online store offers an outstanding customer experience, it's just a question of implementing standards and sticking to them. If you're not sure where to start, make sure to contact our team for help to get started.
5. Grow Your Brand
One of the biggest opportunities for businesses to differentiate themselves from the eCommerce competition is to constantly analyze and review their eCommerce store. You don't have to make huge changes either, it's about making small, incremental improvements that have a meaningful impact. Something as simple as adding search functionality to your website can have a huge impact on your conversions and online sales.
The average rate of shopping cart abandonment is nearly a whopping 70% in 2023 - and that's across multiple industries and sectors. What's the average abandonment rate in your industry?
Around the world, many consumers buy products and services online. E-commerce accounts for an estimated fifth of retail sales globally, a share expected to expand in the coming years. Whether shoppers buy on major e-commerce platforms or visit retailers’ websites directly, many obstacles can stand in the way of a completed purchase or transaction, for instance, frustrating website layouts, long delivery delays, or a lack of a preferred payment option. Issues related to the checkout process can profoundly influence e-commerce conversion rates.
If you would like more information on eCommerce tips or professional help setting up a store, get in touch with your local WSI Digital Marketing Consultant today.
