The e-commerce craze is the future of marketing. However, many e-commerce sites have trouble attracting enough shoppers on their platform. Competition from established brands also plays a role.
However, the market is still growing. Even established companies are struggling to contain the growth of new but well-orchestrated e-commerce platforms.
The success of your e-commerce site is down to how efficient you are at attracting customers to the site and converting them. Once you persuade them, you need to make them regular site users.
However, the whole process starts with traffic. These are some of the most successful ways of attracting customers.
1. Make your store worth the while
The success of anything is down to value proposition. Identify the need that you want to quench. The easiest way to do that is to look at customer comments and reviews on other e-commerce sites.
Let your website respond to client’s needs. One common problem with e-commerce sites is lack of mobile compatibility features. Others think the websites are too bulky. Respond to each query.
Ensure the checkout is smooth. Don’t clutter the process with unnecessary details.
2. Invest in search engine optimization
Online marketing relies exclusively on SEO efforts. You will rely heavily on organic search to drive people to your site. The only way to do that is to do onsite and off-site optimization. Invest wisely in keyword research. Remember, people are likely to search the product, not the website. Invest in SEO for each product.
A detailed SEO will include a keyword strategy, external links, Meta descriptions, internal links, sitemaps, product descriptions, speed optimization, and mobile optimization. You can find out more about SEO efforts at Mageworx.
3. Use social media marketing
There are over 4 billion free social media accounts. They continue to grow at breathtaking speeds. Almost everyone has a social media network. Social media is the cheapest and the most effective advertising method. All you have to do is to create worthy content.
You can push offers and discounts via Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. To leverage on social media, you need a strategy. You need a clear plan of how to do it. People can be opinionated on social networks. Maintain high ethical standards.
4. Partner Up With Other Businesses
E-commerce sites can adopt many models. The most common ones are C2C OR B2C OR B2B. You can host other products on your site. That way, you will share the responsibility of pushing the product out there in the market.
A one-stop e-commerce shop is appealing to customers. Customers hate to give their information out. Only trusted outlets get traffic. When you collaborate with reputable brands, you increase your credibility.
Be careful with this option; choose your partners wisely. Avoid anyone who has a mediocre reputation. They might infect you with bad reviews.
5. Incentivize customer referrals
Work of mouth is vital. People trust others when making buying decisions. People also don’t want to try a potentially bad experience. If you have bad reviews, people will stay away. Referrals work best when you have a reward program. You can implement that for every customer.
They also go well with feedback. After purchase, you can follow up with the client to get feedback. Once the client leaves feedback, give him or her an option to share the feedback on social media.
A simple automated message can look like this. “I bought this hairdryer at XYZ, and it’s amazing!”
6. Reward customers for making their first order
Free shipping and discounts go a long way in enticing customers to make their first order. With free shipping, customers also buy more items in the first sale. If the whole experience of the first sale is good, they always return.
Again, once the customer makes the first purchase, you can follow up with amazing offers via email. Keep the emails to the minimum though.
7. Offer flash sale
They are becoming a common phenomenon in the e-commerce industry. One advantage is that they trend like a bushfire. They can be easy ways to drive traffic to your site. Identify a discounted commodity. Give it the least possible price. Share it on social media.
You can start the campaign early. Give yourself a week or so for customers to prepare. Within that week, customers will troop to your site looking for bargain prices. Make exclusive offers to support your flash sale campaigns.
8. Blog about the related content
Search engine ranking depends on premium-level content. Start with a strategy on how you will handle the content. You can use videos, infographics, research, news, industry-specific information, podcasts, and general guest blogs.
The information must be original, structured and helpful to the reader. Don’t just produce keyword-stuffed content.
9. Be topical
It is almost Christmas; if you don’t have a Christmas theme and offers on your store, you are missing out. There are people out there looking for Christmas offers. Follow every event, social or political. Ensure you participate in each one of them. Try Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Fourth of July, Small Business Saturday, Easter, Mother’s Day, or any other event you can think of.
10. Be a king in customer service
Don’t just bring customer; make them yours. You can do that by giving your customer an unforgettable service. You don’t have to do much. Communicate effectively; let the customer know exactly how long it will take to process an order. Keep your word. Train your staff to be helpful at all times.
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