It is good news for e-commerce owners as more people opt to shop online by the day. However, it can also mean tough competition for you as more e-commerce stores emerge to grab this lucrative opportunity. If you haven’t packaged your business well, you risk struggling to get your business off the ground.
What you need to start working on right now is implementing ways that can help you grow sales. This starts with developing a solid e-commerce strategy. So what should this strategy include?
In this article, we have rounded up a few must-have features that will ensure more sales and increased success. Let’s dive in.
Great SEO strategy
Most e-commerce businesses fail to grow their sales because they don’t get enough traffic. If more people can get to your store, then you are likely to make more sales. You probably know that online searches can bring in a good amount of traffic.
That is why your first feature should be an SEO-optimized e-commerce site. Done effectively, e-commerce SEO can improve the ranking of your site in search engines. And, when you rank higher, your customer acquisition efforts are enhanced.
However, you need to keep in mind that e-commerce SEO isn’t as easy as website SEO. Consider working with an expert to help you with it. Here are some tactics that you can try:
- Include keywords in product descriptions and titles
- Create great content that is keyword optimized
- Create a user-friendly site with fast load time, easy navigation
- Add your e-commerce store on Google My Business
Optimized landing page
After getting people to your store, you want to make sure that they don’t leave as soon as they land there. Optimizing the landing page can ensure that they have a great experience and that they’ll want to stay longer. And, if they stay longer, they are more likely to make a purchase.
One of the ways to create a great experience is to improve the speed of your website. Not many people have the patience to wait for slow websites to load. Also, ensure easy navigation by eliminating unnecessary information.
As said earlier, these tactics can help improve your e-commerce SEO in addition to offering a great experience. In addition, make sure that your visitors can find their way around by providing all the necessary and relevant information.
Optimized checkout page
You might think that getting your customers to the checkout page is a guaranteed sale. However, customers can change their minds at that last phase of their buying journey. You want to make sure that your customers don’t abandon the sale at this juncture by optimizing their experience on the checkout page.
You can start by ensuring transparency. Make sure that all the costs are displayed including taxes, shipping, and any other additional cost. List the shipping points, terms and conditions – estimated shipment time and how the package will get to the customer.
In addition, simplify the checkout process. You can allow for guest checkout for people who don’t want to sign up, ensure easy password reset, and the like.
Another great idea is to have multiple payment options. This way, customers can have a choice of the payment option that they feel most comfortable with.
Additionally, keep in mind that your business can benefit from an online business account. This will ensure secure and fast payments all around the clock.
Social media presence
Having a social media presence for your e-commerce business is essential for several reasons.
One, social media platforms are great at engaging customers and building meaningful relationships with your audiences.
Two, these platforms provide multiple ways to build brand awareness. By sharing videos, images, and posts about your business, more people get to know about it. Besides this, add paid campaigns to target people relevant to your business.
Also, social media platforms are important for offering social proof. The social proof allows you to present your business as credible and honest.
We all probably know that the modern consumer first seeks the approval of other people before deciding to purchase anything. You can use social media to share customer reviews, customer testimonials, and influencer endorsements. This shows the approval of other people who have used your products.
All the mentioned social media footprints come together to drive traffic to your store, and eventually more sales. However, you need to keep in mind that different social platforms work differently. Focus on understanding your audience’s preferences and behaviors in each of them.
That will guide you in deciding which content to post where. In addition, make sure to choose influencers who are credible and relevant to your brand.
Excellent customer service
Good customer service is important in improving customer experience on your e-commerce site. When you make a good lasting impression on your customers, you are building loyalty.
You are increasing the odds of your potential customers buying and coming back for more. Remember also that loyal customers are your business ambassadors who bring you more customers through recommendations and referrals.
What can you do to improve online customer service? First, be sure to provide all the useful information on your site. You want to make sure that your potential customers can get answers to their questions regardless of the time they are visiting your store.
You can do this by providing an FAQ page. You can also include a chatbot on your site. Chatbots use AI to learn the behaviors of your site visitors. This way, they learn how to best answer their queries.
An online chat can also go a long way in enhancing online customer service. It gives store visitors a chance to chat with a customer service representative in real time.
Second, list more ways your target customers can reach you. Besides an FAQ, chatbot, and live chat, include your contact number and email. Provide a link to your social media platforms as well.
Drive more traffic to your store
Things are looking up for e-commerce business owners as the industry is growing tremendously. However, if you are to stay on top of the competition, you need to find ways to increase your sales.
Focus on improving customer experience through great online customer service and an optimized site. Additionally, work on driving more traffic to your store. You can do this through e-commerce SEO and building brand awareness and credibility through social media presence.
