Hosting a successful eCommerce platform requires more than just “setting and forgetting.” It takes a lot of hard work and research to not only get potential customers to visit your website but also to make a purchase.
To boost sales, you need to optimize your website using digital marketing. Follow the marketing tips in this blog, so your business can reach its full potential and get the most out of its eCommerce platform.
The Importance of Ecommerce
According to a July 24, 2020 data perspective from Stats Canada, retail eCommerce sales reached a record $3.9 billion in May 2020 with a 110.8% increase compared to May 2019. This record gain is undoubtedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though brick-and-mortar locations are opening up with larger capacities again, it seems like the past year’s events have made a lasting impact on the retail sector. Small businesses now rely on eCommerce sales more than ever, and it’s easy to see why.
The following are some of the many benefits of making a move to eCommerce:
Reach More Potential Customers
With eCommerce, you can reach a whole new customer base regardless of where you are in the world. With brick-and-mortar locations, you’re limited to the people in your geographical location, whereas with an eCommerce platform, the world is your oyster.
It’s Simple to Create an Online Store
Shopify and other popular eCommerce platforms like Wix are extremely user-friendly to set up and utilize. However, if you’re intimidated by setting up an eCommerce site from scratch, you can also take advantage of high-traffic websites like Amazon, eBay and Etsy to sell your products.
Get More Sales
By extending your reach geographically and allowing people to buy at all hours instead of just during typical business hours, you’ll increase your revenue in no time.
If you haven’t already started eCommerce, now is a perfect time. Here are some ways to optimize your eCommerce sales with digital marketing.
How to Boost Ecommerce Sales
Like with a brick-and-mortar store, you can’t just expect to open the doors and have hundreds of customers lining up; it takes some clever advertising and marketing techniques to attract customers. Luckily, digital marketing is a lot more savvy and effective than more traditional techniques you need to use for a physical store.
Here are seven tips to help you begin your eCommerce journey:
1. Communicate with Customers through Multiple Channels
It’s not enough to just set up your eCommerce platform; you need to reach customers through various platforms. From starting a blog to creating social media channels to sending newsletters, updates and promotions to customers via email, many channels can be utilized to reach your customers.
2. Build Trust with Your Customer Base
Tell your customers your story by building brand awareness. Use Google or Facebook ads to capture their attention and produce high-quality content that people want to engage with. You can also build trust and generate brand awareness by directly communicating with your customers via replying to comments on blogs or social media posts.
3. Conduct Competitor Analysis
Search similar businesses that are successful in your industry. If you’re unsure of your competitors, you can invest in tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush or Buzzsumo to help identify them. Check how often your competitors post on social media, their best-selling products, their website design, the pictures they use and their tone of voice. Allow these things to inspire you but be careful not to replicate them completely.
4. Conduct Research on Customers
To sell to your customer, you have to know what your customer is looking for. The following are incredibly helpful research tools you can use to your advantage:
Google Analytics tracks your demographics to find your ideal customer by allowing you to see how visitors find your site, where they’re located and more information about website traffic.
Google Webmaster Tools helps you determine what keywords people search to lead them to your store.
Google Trends shows you who is searching for your products and services, so you can add relevant keywords to your eCommerce platform so more people will visit and shop.
Facebook Ads help you target your key demographic audience by creating a “lookalike audience” that matches the characteristics of your Facebook followers.
5. Focus On the Customer Experience
So you’ve gotten potential customers to your site, that’s fantastic, but now they need to make a purchase. The purchasing process should be absolutely seamless. UX (User Experience) is vital when it comes to eCommerce. Your platform should be well organized and easy to navigate. To really impress potential customers: include a search bar, offer various payment methods and allow your site visitors to pay as guests instead of forcing them to make an account.
6. Monitor Your Digital Marketing Strategies
Once you’ve implemented the above strategies, it’s important to determine which ones have worked and which haven’t. Some of the best KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are the following:
Conversion Rates of Ads
Keep track of all your different campaigns. If certain ads are underperforming, make adjustments or leave them behind. Focus instead on the advertisements that are actually optimizing your sales.
Landing Pages
Pay attention to whether or not site visitors are making purchases on your eCommerce platform. If potential customers are just clicking away, improve the landing pages to generate more sales.
Cart Abandonment
Tracking cart abandonment is crucial. If the majority of your site visitors are adding items to their cart just to abandon it, there’s likely a problem with the UX of your website or the complexity of your checkout process.
7. Get Personal With Your Customers
Customers are looking for unique branded experiences (even online) as well as personalized discounts and gifts. Rewarding your loyal customer base is a fantastic way to get your eCommerce store recognized for all the right reasons, boost sales and stand out among your competitors.
Conclusion
eCommerce is crucial for success in today’s retail industry. You can reach people across the world 24/7, 365 as opposed to just the people nearby during business hours. To get the most of your brand’s online store, you must utilize digital marketing to your advantage. The seven tips listed in this blog will help you improve sales in no time.
If you’d like professional help integrating a successful digital marketing strategy into your eCommerce business, check out the best digital marketing agencies in the world.
