6 Strategic Ways To Make Your Mark In The Ecommerce World

Guest Post By Michelle Deery

Can your ecommerce store sell enough products in order to be successful? Here’s the scoop: If you implement the correct marketing tactics, ecommerce stores work. Almost 80% of Americans now shop online, which means there are plenty of customers out there for you. Moreover, ecommerce is not just about the big hitters anymore (Amazon, etc.). After just 3 months, the average online store is bringing in monthly revenue of over $330,000.

We’re living in exciting times. However, there’s a flip-side: 80% of new ecommerce sites flop. Why? There are many reasons, but ultimately, it all boils down to a lack of conversions, and therefore, a lack of sales. The best way to make your mark in the ecommerce world is to strategize. Let’s take a look at 6 key tactics you need to adopt.

Simplify The Buying Process

One of the reasons ecommerce stores fail is because customers simply don’t know what they’re supposed to do. They arrive on a landing page that doesn’t direct them anywhere. It’s cluttered, there’s no clear call-to-action, and so, they bail. This is bad for them and it’s bad for you.

There are a few reasons why people shop online, two of which are speed and convenience. If customers are in a hurry and they know there’s a product they want, they can pop online and whiz through the buying process.
Unless the buying process is painfully complicated and slow, of course.

Speed things up by simplifying your pages. Include big, obvious buttons that direct customers to the right pages. Make it clear what a customer needs to do to create an order and purchase it.

Below, you can see MightySkins, an ecommerce store that sells customized skins for different products, clearly place three call-to-action buttons on their website to help their customers through the purchasing process. This increases conversions.

Mighty Skins

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Invest In A POS

A Point of Service Reader (POS) makes it easier for people to buy from you, and it also makes it easier for you to manage your inventory. A POS automatically updates your inventory when you sell an item, which means there’s no risk of a customer placing an order for an item that’s out of stock.

Shopify has its own selection of POS readers for you to download. You will be able to sell both online and offline.

Make Your Branding Stand Out

If you’re struggling to compete with price and products, the next best thing is to stop trying to compete and instead start trying to dominate with branding. People may be able to copy you, but they can never replicate the authentic message of your brand. In other words, if your brand and voice are unique enough, they can help you stand out from your competitors.

Carving out your brand will take some time, but you need to look for a unique take on your niche. Perhaps you’ve got an inimical sense of humor that could work well in a market that usually takes itself too seriously. Or maybe you’re super conscious of the environment.

Identify your unique selling point (USP) and what makes you, you and then exploit that.

Make The Most of Social Media

If you’re running an ecommerce store, you need to make time for social media. It’s just that simple.

Social media is a great place not only to drive more customers to your store but also to engage with them and to make your mark in the ecommerce world while making people aware of your brand.

Driving traffic is important, and you can use Facebook to create targeted ads that promote your products with engaging text, images, and calls-to-action. Twitter is a cool platform for talking to your customers, getting to know them, and establishing trust and customer loyalty.

Below, you can see GoPro engaging with its followers and showing them the video quality of the GoPro Hero6 camera.

GoPro

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There’s also Instagram, where you can show off photos of your products and include links to your store.

And the best thing about social media? Most of the stuff you do on there is totally free.

Start an Email Marketing Campaign

Imagine if the customers who buy from you end up on your email list and can be contacted again later on to see if they’re interested in any new products?

The best way to retain customers is to get them onto your email list after they’ve made a purchase. Then, start an email marketing campaign that keeps them engaged.

Below, you can see the company Tarte, a makeup brand, send me an email offering me 20% off the items I had in my cart. This strategy increases both conversions on sales and click-through rates.

tarte

Get Your Pricing Right

Pricing really matters to customers. In fact, it’s the biggest factor that influences online shoppers. If the price is wrong, people won’t buy from you, no matter how convenient the purchasing process would otherwise be. And this goes for whether a price is too low or too high.

Getting your pricing right isn’t easy. The cost-based approach is the simplest, as all you need to do is define a cost for your product or service before identifying a target margin on top.

There are, of course, many nuances when it comes to pricing. Here’s an article that can help.

These are 6 strategic ways to make your mark in the ecommerce world. Engage your customers, put them on your email list, and make your website as user-friendly as possible.

Michelle DeeryAbout the author: 
Michelle Deery is a team member and content writer for Heroic Search in Tulsa.
She helps businesses improve their online presence by writing educational and engaging content.