With so many people deciding to shop online these days, larger retailers are putting up eCommerce sites so that their patrons can enjoy in-store as well as online shopping. With as prevalent as eCommerce is becoming, many small businesses are setting up shop online as well. For most businesses, along with the right marketing strategy, eCommerce can bring in a great deal of their revenue. If you are thinking of starting an eCommerce site for your business, here are five valuable tips to help you through it.
1. Site Navigation should be Simple – Make sure you don’t go overboard with grand ideas on how you would want your online shopping experience to be. Remember that if the process becomes too difficult then it is quite possible that someone will leave the site in the middle of a sale. Keep it straight and to the point. Amazon’s checkout system is a good example with their “one-click” shopping option.
2. Design it with your Target Audience in Mind – If you sell lingerie, don’t market the site to children. This should seem simple enough, but sometimes the target audience is not so cut ad dry. Take some time to go over your numbers and identify your repeat buyers. Then, be sure that your eCommerce site doesn’t alienate others, but certainly draws that demographic in.
3. Use Online Marketing, instead of Print – This seems like it would be a no-brainer, but some people figure that they need to print materials to get the word out about their eCommerce site. Although it’s probably good to start including your website on business cards and maybe even create a small postcard-sized advertisement announcing it so that you can put it in shopper’s bags, that most profitable marketing will be done by using social media, search engines and other forms on online marketing.
4. Make sure you Give it Multiple Test Runs – Again, this would go along with site navigation, but many times people launch sites without testing out every facet of them. Be sure that you test the checkout process from start to finish before letting the site loose on the world wide web.
5. Offer Rewards and Free Gifts – I’m sure you’ve been to an eCommerce site that prompted you with a pop-up coupon if you tried to leave without making a purchase. Although your tactics don’t need to be so blatant, it is a good idea to offer something to your customers when they visit the site. Maybe a first-time buyer discount, or a pop-up with a 10% coupon off their next purchase when they check out. Give them a good reason to come back.
Have you started an eCommerce store for your small business and gained great success? Comment below and tell us about your personal experience.
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