If you plan to open an e-commerce business, then you have some work to do. You cannot just have a great product or two, set up a website, and maybe social media accounts, and expect business to flow in. Over the years of e-commerce, there are certain fundamentals that all successful companies use, and these are now “out there” for all new entrepreneurs to know and understand.
Here are six of them.
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Know Your Customer
You have to determine the market demographics for your product or service. In the early days of e-commerce, this demanded a lot of manual research. Today, though, there are big data tools that will identify demographics whose purchasing preferences and behaviors are a match for what you offer.
Other tools will tell you where your demographic(s) hangs out online. Still, others will tell you how your competition is reaching them, marketing to them, and the content on their websites, blogs, and social media accounts.
This will provide you with key information as you craft the same things for your own e-commerce efforts.
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Provide a Great UX on your Site
When visitors arrive at your website, they need to be impressed and engaged. It needs to be aesthetically pleasing, but it also must provide easy navigation, great product descriptions, and amazing visuals. Conversions should be streamlined, whether they are signing up for an email subscription or choosing a product and ultimately purchasing it.
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Use Social Media to Develop Trustful Relationships
Consumers today demand far more than a “hard sell.” They want to know who they are doing business with; they want to know that they are personally important to a company. To do this, e-commerce businesses must focus on far more than just the products or services they want to sell. Today, consumers want to be entertained, educated, and inspired. Social media posts are a great venue for doing all of this. A new e-commerce startup would do well to conduct some serious research, especially related to the social media accounts of both their competition and to related niches that are popular with the same demographic(s). what type of content do they like the most? How are other businesses developing relationships with their followers and growing that following?
If a business establishes social media accounts, it should be selective at first, and choose maybe just two that are most popular with its demographic. Post regularly motivate followers to interact with comments and feedback. Use a social listening tool that will tell a business whenever it is mentioned anywhere on the web. This provides the opportunity to access that mention and respond in some way. If there are issues or complaints, resolve them quickly.
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Spend Time on Value
Consumers have problems to solve. And if you can solve those problems via your products or services, then you need to explain that in many ways. Use “how to” and explainer videos that will show that value. One of the best examples of this is the original explainer video from Dollar Shave Club. Its audience is millennial men; the problem is the use of disposable razors – forgetting to stop at the store and buy them, having to use a dirty razor, etc. The company’s product solves this problem – a subscription razor service that delivers a monthly supply to the doorstep. The video went viral, the company sold out of product quickly, and today it is a huge success, having significantly expanded its product line.
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Be Socially Responsible
Most all demographics today, and especially the largest (Gen X’ers, millennials and Gen Z’ers) want to see a company that is doing more than just making money. They want to see commitments to the environment through sustainable activities; they want to see “giving back” through real activities and actions. E-commerce companies would do well to make social commitments, stand by them, and make them public. Even something as small as using recycled materials for shipping packages should be made known. A company can get involved in local community activities and provide photos and videos of its team participating. It can support charitable organizations. Consumers like to “feel good” about doing business with companies that give back. Consider Toms Shoes, whose one-for-one giving program started a huge movement among many e-commerce businesses. Other companies choose to donate a part of every purchase to a worthy cause.
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Stay in Touch
Whatever a business can do to stay in touch with its prospects and customers, it must do. Getting email addresses is important; engaging visitors and customers in conversation and other interactive activities – surveys, quizzes, polls, in which consumers feel they have a voice, for example. Segment email lists according to where customers/prospects are in a sales funnel and target emails accordingly. Encourage discussions on blog posts and participate in them; respond to every comment on social media accounts.
In the End…
As stated in the beginning, e-commerce success is a combination of a lot of activities, creativity, and hard work. Be grateful, though. Newer technology and lots of previous experience has made your job easier than the pioneers in this industry.