Running an ecommerce site and business is no small feat, and in a global marketplace where you face up against thousands of competitors, finding success can be difficult. Gone are the days of only competing with other businesses within the local area, online it’s a whole different ball game. But don’t worry, the following tips will help you to run a successful and profitable ecommerce site!
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Pick the Right Platform
When it comes to running a business online, there are lots of different platforms you can host your online store on. Ecommerce websites are different from your standard blog or site because they need to be able to handle transactions and sales, securely. If you have the budget, you can get bespoke websites built that integrate all the necessary features and functions of an ecommerce site, and if not, why not choose one of these options:
- Shopify
- Wix
- Squarespace
- Magento
- WooCommerce
Remember to do your research and pick the best one for you!
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Invest in SEO
eCommerce SEO is one of the most important investments to make when running an ecommerce site. This is because search engines will be a primary source of customers for your business, whether you sell art or massage guns. So understanding how to reach and connect with internet users is absolutely crucial if you want to expand your business. Through technical fixes, and optimising your site’s content using keywords, you’ll be able to find the people who are searching for your products. This also helps to drive traffic to your website and show Google that you’re a site to be trusted, and therefore shown to more users.
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Choose Your Suppliers Wisely
Supply chains for ecommerce businesses are often global, as this often results in lower costs for your business. But it’s extremely important to choose those suppliers wisely. With recent global delays in shipping and increased costs, outsourcing to places like Asia isn’t as attractive as it once was. Plus, with the added pressure to be eco-friendly, sourcing local suppliers offers dual benefits in today’s market.
Another aspect to consider when choosing suppliers is whether they reflect your company’s standards. This means in terms of quality, values and customer service.
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Prioritise User Experience
Whereas with brick and mortar stores, the customer experience includes things like customer service, the atmosphere in your store and other sensory factors, online the customer experience is more difficult to shape. With your whole business online, user experience becomes a fundamental part of providing a good service to your customers. This means ensuring that your site is not just pretty to look at, but functions seamlessly too. Here are some characteristics of good user experience:
- Quick loading times
- Mobile-friendliness
- Accessible colours and fonts
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Regularly Update Your Listings
This one is really important. We all know that frustrating feeling when you’ve found the perfect product, only to click on it and find it’s out of stock. This can be really detrimental to the customer’s experience of your website, and could cause them to leave your site and lose you a sale. So to combat this, make sure that you are regularly updating your listings. Whether you hire a content manager or devote more time to updating listings, this is a crucial part of running a successful ecommerce website. Regularly updating your listings also gives you the opportunity to make any edits to products that may have been changed, or update images.
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Showcase Reviews
Buying products online means there’s no way to trial them, or even touch them, before you part with your hard earned cash. This means that it’s quite difficult to establish a lot of trust with customers online. However, seeing what others think of products can make all the difference when a customer is choosing between two products or brands. So a surefire way to help present your product as the better option is to showcase reviews on your website. This will prove to customers that you deliver on your promises, and the more shining reviews there are, the better!
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Devote Time to Site Management
Keeping on top of your site’s updates and fixes is key in providing that all-important seamless user experience. So make sure you take the time to carry out any updates that need to be done, and are quick to fix any bugs or issues your online store might be having. It’s impossible to predict when these things will happen, but ensuring your reaction is swift is the best way to handle it.
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Create an FAQs Page
It’s likely that users will come across similar issues or have the same queries about your business. Whether it’s about your returns policy or whether you ship to their location, it’s helpful to have all of these commonly asked questions answered in one place. This saves your customers having to get in touch with you and inevitably delay the sale. So gather up as many questions as you can, perhaps from previous queries or social media, and answer them in one convenient place.
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Offer Incentives
Everyone loves a bargain or freebie, and it can really help in securing initial sales with new customers. So whether it’s a free sample of a different product or a discount on their first order, offering incentives is a great strategy for converting more leads. Plus, once a customer purchases from your business once, they’ll see how amazing your product is and want more.
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Have a Good Marketing Strategy
This one might seem obvious, but it’s so important we couldn’t leave it out. Operating in the digital world means that you need to have an ecommerce strategy in place for making a name for your business in the right places. This means having a good social media presence, interacting with customers online and getting your message out there. Choose platforms that your customers use to make it worth your while too.
And there you have it: 10 tips for running an ecommerce site! Hopefully these tips will help you take your business to the next level.
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