10 Tips to Grow Your Online Store

Whether you run a small boutique or a large-scale specialty shop, getting your marketing strategy right is key to success. While you’re sure to face challenges, there are steps you can take to grow your ecommerce shop.

1. Focus on Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is crucial for both online and brick and mortar stores. Today’s consumers have a plethora of options when it comes to online shopping. Building up your brand that your target audience can relate to and respect can help boost sales.

Building a brand will take some work, but the rewards will be worth the effort.

Focus on:

• Your visual identity, which includes your colors, logo, design and fonts.
• Packaging design.
• Your positioning (budget-friendly, luxury, vegan, natural, eco-friendly, etc.).
• Copy for your website.

The goal is to create an identity for your brand. Establish your voice and your message.

2. Make Your Site Mobile-Friendly

To succeed in the ecommerce world, your shop and your website must be mobile-friendly. More consumers are making their purchases on mobile devices. Make sure that your design is responsive and will work on all devices.

A clean, simple design that’s easy to navigate will help keep visitors around and boost your sales – whether they’re on their smartphones or desktops.

It’s also important to consider the ecommerce platform you will use. There are several to choose from, so take your time when choosing one. Weigh the pros and cons to find a platform that meets your store’s needs and the needs of your customers.

3. Show Off Your Products with Large Images

Customers can’t see your products in person, which can make them reluctant to hit the “buy now” button. High-quality, large images of your products are the next-best-thing to seeing your items in person and being able to inspect them.

Let’s say that you run a fashion store that sells bags and purses. Adding high-resolution images that allows users to zoom in will help boost sales. Potential buyers can see all of the details of the bags, including the texture of the material and the colors.

High-quality product images allow buyers to ensure that the purchase will meet their expectations. They also go a long way in building your brand and establishing yourself as a leader in your industry.

4. Tweak Your Product Descriptions

Your product descriptions are almost as important as your product photos. Detailed descriptions help buyers make their decisions faster. Give as much information and detail as possible. Be poetic in your descriptions to play on the senses of potential buyers.

Product descriptions are more important than you think. In one study, 20% of shoppers did not complete their purchases because of unclear or incomplete product descriptions.

5. Optimize and Create Content

Search engine optimization is crucial for any website, but it’s especially important for online stores. Organic traffic from search engines like Google will boost your visitor count, increase exposure and boost sales.

Content marketing and on-page optimization can help boost your rankings in the search results. SEO and content marketing are both complex marketing strategies. While you can do your own research and carry out your own online marketing, most ecommerce store owners find that it’s best to leave this job to the professionals.

6. Win Back Abandoned Cart Customers

Abandoned carts is an issue that every online store owner will have to deal with at some point. There are many reasons why a customer may abandon their purchase. They may decide last-minute that they aren’t ready to buy, or they may want to shop around a bit more.

Most online stores have a cart abandonment rate of 60%-80%. Reaching out to these customers through personalized emails will give you an opportunity to bring them back to your shop and complete their purchases. Offering a discount or simply reminding the recipient of the items they abandoned can bring them back to your shop.

7. Offer Order Tracking and Free Shopping

Customers expect to be able to track their orders, and most also expect online stores to offer free shipping. You may have a minimum purchase requirement for free shipping, but every customer should be able to easily track their order.

If possible, offer free standard shipping on all orders. Customers are more likely to make a purchase if they don’t have to pay for shipping.

8. Create a Loyalty Program

Loyalty programs are a huge success in the retail sector. Data has also shown that happy and loyal customers outspend new customers 2:1. The goal is to gain as many repeat customers as possible, and loyalty programs are a great way to do that.

Offer credits, bonus points or future discounts to entice customers to continue buying through your store. Make sure the reward is worthwhile. Otherwise, customers may not bother coming back.

9. Make Customer Service a Priority

Customer service should be a priority. It’s important to be responsive to questions, feedback and problems.

• Respond to messages and comments on social networks, including Facebook and Twitter.
• Respond quickly to messages sent directly to your shop by customers.
• Implement a live chat function.

Customers want to be able to get in touch with your business quickly and easily. Accommodate them by offering as many contact options as possible, including email, phone (if possible), live chat and social channels.

10. Offer Referral Discounts

A referral discount is a classic marketing tactic, and it’s a great way to promote your online store – especially if you want to reach a new customer.

Consider offering similar discounts to your customers on their purchases when their referrals make a purchase from your store. There are many tools available that can help you implement a referral discount scheme.

Growing your online store will take some dedication and persistence, but all of your hard work will pay off when your sales increase and you build your brand. Of course, it’s important to ensure that you offer quality products. Your products will speak for themselves, but the tips above will help spread the word about your brand and expand your customer base.

 

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