The current global economic uncertainty has caused not only a few brick-and-mortar stores to close. On the other hand, it brought about the proliferation of the e-commerce industry. Statista tells us that e-commerce sales account for 14.1% of all retail sales worldwide.
And according to the statistics portal, these figures will keep on growing. It forecasts that the year 2023 will see a 22% increase in growth. Data such as these are sure signs that today is the best time to start your own e-commerce store.
To get you started, we compiled 20 of the best tips to guide you in your e-commerce undertaking.
Table of Contents
1. Establish Your E-commerce Business Model
If you haven’t done so yet, research what business model you should have. You can choose to offer physical products or offer Software as a Service (Saas). Whatever you choose, do a bit of digging to know what people need. Doing this will also help you form a business structure that will work for you and your customers.
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2. Research Your Niche
Accept the fact that you can’t sell everything to everyone. You have to choose a niche and learn all there is to know. Ensure that there is a significant and competitive market. Don’t rejoice with the knowledge that there is no competition as it only means no one will buy from you.
3. Know Who Your Competitors Are
While doing your research, know who your biggest competitors will be. Understand how they do business, what their difficulties are, and how you can improve yours. This can help you create a unique selling proposition.
4. Get the Best Builders for Your Store
Getting the website for your e-commerce store also needs research. This will be your online address, so come up with a good domain name. Check out hosting providers. Bluehost can be the best for beginners, while Hostinger is one of the least expensive options.
5. Choose Your Platform Carefully
Shopify or WooCommerce? These two are the most popular, but there are plenty you can choose from. Know what you require and go on from there. Look for features that you’ll use as some can offer you ones that you won’t need.
6. Hire Competent Graphic Designers
Graphic design plays a major role in handling your e-commerce store. You’ll need them throughout your online store journey, so make sure you get a reliable and affordable one. You’ll never run out of marketing materials and visual assets to design.
7. Use Free Trials
Using free trials, whether for apps or tools you need to run your store, is a smart business move. This will help you determine which are the most suitable for your online store. And it helps save you from mistakes that can cost you money.
8. Determine Your Store Persona
Before you get to know your buyers, think about your store persona. Who are you? Who do you represent? Understanding these will help you project the right brand personality. This will help you create a consistent image that will establish a good reputation for your brand.
9. Know Your Target Audience Well
Learning who they are isn’t enough. You need to acquaint yourself on a deeper level. Knowing their age, gender, or location is good, but you need more than that. You have to understand their pain points, preferences, and even the social media platform they stay on. All these will be helpful when crafting an effective marketing strategy.
10. Plan Your Marketing Strategy
Don’t play it by ear or follow your hunches. Plan your marketing strategies well to avoid wasting time and energy on campaigns that don’t work.
11. Determine Where to Promote Your Store
After knowing where your target audience hangs out the most, go there. There’s no point in using every platform available when none of your audience goes there. Make sure you don’t leave out Google as it’s the most popular search engine.
12. Optimize Your Website
SEO may be something complicated for some business owners, but its benefits are boundless. Learn about keyword research, conduct competitor research, or create backlinks. You always have the option to get the pros to do this if it proves to be too laborious for you.
13. Set Well-Defined Goals
Set and define your goals from the get-go. Indeed Career Guide defines SMART as:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timed
Setting up SMART goals prevents you from disappointment and frustration in managing your e-commerce store.
14. Give Easy Access to Information
Make it enjoyable and easy for your customers to shop at your online store. Make the product prices visible or use an app to calculate shipping costs. Giving them the best customer experience helps in generating more leads.
15. Contact Influencers
Depending on your niche, find influencers who can promote your e-commerce website. Build a relationship with them as they can significantly help in spreading the word around. Strike a deal with them so it would be a win-win situation for you, the influencer, and your customers.
16. Write Compelling Content
From product descriptions to blog articles, you need to write content that compels prospects to buy. You can focus on the benefits your product provides more than the features. Avoid hard sell and instead, go for persuasive language.
17. Give Incentives
Offer discounts or free shipping to get people’s attention. People will generally be wary of new e-commerce stores. To prove you mean business, give them something hard to refuse. Freebies are just the right perks to give away.
18. Have Flash Sales
Emotional triggers are potent sales drivers. This is the reason flash sales can help increase revenues. The fear of missing out brings a sense of urgency that compels people to buy.
19. Outsource
You don’t have to micromanage your e-commerce store. That would be very tiring. Besides, there are people better than you at handling certain aspects of the business. You should want only the best to take care of a specific part of your store. Outsource them.
20. Reinvest Your Money
When your first earnings come, it would be so tempting to pocket it. Don’t. Reinvest it on your business. As they say, money begets money.
