How
to successfully run an eCommerce business in a competitive market?
15 Tips on how to successfully run an eCommerce business

The online marketplace is becoming more
crowded as the years go by. However, there's always room for new players in the
market. A major challenge any online business owner will face is to make their
eCommerce store stand out in an increasingly crowded space. Running an eCommerce business is hard. There
are many things to consider, like how you're going to attract traffic, what kind
of products you should sell and how to keep your customers coming back for
more.
You want your store to stand out from the
crowd, but it can be not easy to know where to start. This guide will help you
get started with some tried-and-true strategies that have worked well for other
businesses just like yours! If you're looking for ways to make your eCommerce business grow, then this article is perfect for you. We've compiled a list of
15 tips that we think will help any online retailer succeed in their niche
market!
How can you make your eCommerce business stand out?
In his blog post, “The 7 Pillars Of
Exceptional eCommerce Stores", Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke outlines seven
pillars that will help you build a successful eCommerce business. Below are some of his recommendations, along
with my thoughts:
1- Use emotion to motivate action
Emotions drive people to take action, and your
product should be no different. Using pathos in marketing is a time-tested
technique and can help people relate to your product emotionally.
2- Know and understand your audience
Knowing who you are selling to will go a long
way toward helping you build the right store for them. Finding common ground
with your customer base makes it easier for you to provide products that meet
their needs.
3- Make everything simple
According to Lütke, "eCommerce stores
fail when they try to do too much." Your site should be as simple as
possible so that customers aren't overwhelmed. One of the reasons Amazon is so
successful is its one-click checkout option, which streamlines online shopping.
4- Be where the audience is
In the past, you had to be on your desktop
computer to shop online. Today, people are shopping across many different
devices, and products should work just as well, if not better, on a mobile
phone as they do on a desktop computer.
5- Personalization makes shoppers feel more comfortable
Personalizing elements of your site can help
customers feel more at home and increase conversion rates. For example, it
makes sense to offer a quick view function for each product page so that
customers can get an idea of how it will fit them before adding it to their
cart or buying it outright.
6- Trust is key
Your site has to have trust for customers to
buy from you. You can do this by providing guarantees that go beyond the
average industry standards. For example, if you sell furniture online, you
could warrant your products for residential use (instead of commercial use).
7- Have a strong call-to-action
A call-to-action is simply one or more words
designed to persuade people to take action. An effective call-to-action has
several things going for it: simplicity, specificity, and clarity. It tells
customers exactly what they should do next and why they should do it right now according to RemoteDBA.com experts.
8- Stay on top of trends
If you're not staying on top of eCommerce
trends, then you will be left behind. Keeping up with new developments in your
industry is key to success. What better
way to do this than by reading industry blogs and listening to eCommerce
podcasts?
9- Post frequently
If you're going to be in business for the long
haul, you need to establish yourself as a thought leader within your industry. One of the best ways to
do this is through creating and sharing content regularly (e.g., daily, weekly,
or even monthly). In his post " Content Shock, "Ryan Deiss outlines
why blog posts are one of the most important elements of building an audience.
10- Optimize mobile shopping
According to Business Insider: "Mobile
shopping will make up 21% of all online retail spending in 2013, compared to
15% in 2012." With that in mind, it makes sense for mobile optimization to
become a priority.
11- Use social proof
According to research by Nielsen, "88% of
consumers find social media reviews helpful when making a purchase
decisions." As such, you should integrate your site with many different
reviews and sharing apps like Yotpo.
12- Keep it simple
Customers today are flooded with information
coming at them from all formats. It is why simplicity is important. When
customers come to your site, they want to be able to find what they came for
quickly and easily without feeling intimidated or overwhelmed. Do not try to do
too much on one single page.
13- Test, test, and re-test
Testing different elements of your site
(pictures, copy, etc.) will help optimize conversion rates. If you're not
testing, then you're already behind. In our post " Which is the Best Ecommerce Website Builder? ", we outline some of the best eCommerce
software out there and how they can be used to increase conversion rates.
14- Personalize on all levels
According to a study published by Google,
personalized search results get clicked on 9% more than non-personalized ones.
Because of this, it makes sense for personalization to become part of
everything that you do online. It means segmenting your audience so that you
can provide them with relevant offers at the right time and the right place.
15- Create a strong call to action
You need to create urgency if you want your
customers to take immediate action. A good way of doing this is by creating a
sense of scarcity with time-sensitive offers (e.g., limited offers, seasonal
offers, etc.). In his post “Why does scarcity work? “ Derek Halpern outlines
how this tactic can be used as part of an overall marketing strategy.
If you're an eCommerce business that wants to
stand out from the pack, it's going to take a lot of time and effort. We've provided
just 15 ways for your company to get ahead in this competitive market. Will these
tips be enough? Probably not, but they'll give you a good start on what it
takes to succeed online!
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