Owning an e-commerce store is an attractive proposition for many. It promises the chance to run a successful business without all the overhead of traditional retail.
While the lower overhead and startup costs make it attractive, they also make for a more crowded marketplace. As a result, many smaller e-commerce operations have trouble attracting customers. Even if you have a solid base of repeat customers, you might find it difficult to grow beyond a certain point.
But what can smaller e-commerce businesses do to attract more customers? Fortunately, there are many options. This post will provide practical tips you can use to win more customers for your e-commerce store.
Review Your Website
One of the first steps is to review your website to ensure it serves visitors well. Does it have an attractive homepage? Is it easy to navigate? Consider how well your menus are laid out and how easy it is for visitors to achieve their goals. Things like adding a search feature or organizing product categories can make a big difference.
Beyond usability, you must also do what you can to improve website performance. If your website is slow or buggy, people won’t want to use it. Make sure all the software on the backend is up to date and performing well. You should also take steps to improve website speed.
Consider a New Domain Name
Your domain name can make a big difference in your success. If the name is long, difficult to remember, or hard to type, it might cost you customers. Something short and catchy will do a lot more for your business. That will make it easier to remember and easier for people to share. You should also consider the quality of the top-level domain of your website.
Update Your Product Listings
Getting a ton of traffic won’t do much to help you if your listings are not selling the products. That means you should review all your product pages and assess how effective they are. Make sure the descriptions hit all the key selling points without going on for too long.
Beyond better descriptions, you should have attractive photos to sell the products. Make sure you have clear, high-res images on the page. Get pictures of all the important angles and product variations. Some pages might benefit from having product videos as well.
Renew Your SEO Efforts
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important elements of online visibility for e-commerce businesses. With the right strategy, you can rise in the search rankings and get more organic traffic. However, many smaller businesses either stop doing SEO once they achieve their initial goals or never update their strategies. Renew your efforts and update your strategies, covering everything from keyword research to off-page SEO.
Sell on Popular E-commerce Sites
Getting sales on your website is ideal, but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the potential of selling on popular e-commerce sites like Amazon. These sites have massive user bases you can tap into if you start listing your products. It can also open opportunities to win customers on the larger site and then steer them to yours for future purchases.
The one issue with some of these platforms is the competition. If you are on Amazon, there is a good chance you’ll find businesses selling competing products. That means you’ll need to put effort into selling on the platform. Some businesses might also want to consider working with an Amazon marketing agency.
Try Email Marketing
Email marketing might sound boring and outdated. It’s been around a long time. As much as it might not excite like the newest trends, it is still one of the most effective marketing methods. When comparing ROI, it outperforms most other online alternatives. You just need to be smart when building an email list and developing a strategy. A low-quality list or strategy can lead to a lot of wasted time and money.
Work on Social Media Marketing
If you are not on social media, you should be. You can open an account and post for free. It can be a great way to engage with potential customers and steer traffic to your site. You can also do a lot to grow your brand and connect with customers using paid ads on some platforms. Some even offer the ability to sell directly to users from the platform.
However, it is important to note that you do not need to be on every social media platform. You should focus on the ones that offer the most value for your business. Consider the platforms your target customers use. Also, look at the options different platforms offer for reaching people. Assess how well they’ll help you reach your goals and focus your efforts on the top two or three platforms.
Sales and Discounts
There’s nothing like savings to attract new customers. One smart strategy is to offer a discount for the first purchase. It is usually easier to get repeat sales from a customer once you have them. You could also offer discounts for referrals. A referral discount can be great for getting your existing customers to recommend your brand.
Building a strong customer base takes time. If you are patient and deploy the right strategies, you can attract more customers and grow your business. Following the tips in this post can help you succeed in this journey.