While about 20% of small businesses fail in their first year, this is nothing for the conscious and knowledgeable business owner to fear. As long as you’re constantly on the lookout for ways to optimize your business, practice and become good at planning for the future, and stay passionate about your online business, you’re already on the path to success.
Still, you may like to take some concrete steps to stop yourself from becoming part of this statistic. Here, we’re going to give you some actionable tips on how you can improve your eCommerce shop and boost your ROI. Read on to ensure that your business soars to new heights!
1. Keep Your Website Up-to-Date
Keeping an up-to-date website shows those that visit your eCommerce shop that you care about remaining updated and in the moment. This bolsters your brand image because people will see that you’re constantly innovating and trying to optimize both your products and their experience.
Make sure that you’re following the latest web design trends and frequently launching new versions of your page with more user-friendly features. This means including new product images and featured items so that people have the chance to browse newer products that they haven’t seen before.
In addition to web design features like modern and appropriate colors, dark mode, blog posts, and images, you also will need to develop the logistics of your webpage. Slow load times lead to people clicking away quickly. If your navigation page isn’t easy to use, your customers are going to leave immediately and go to the loving arms of your easier-to-navigate competitors.
2. Don’t Underestimate Video
Did you know that 73% of consumers are more likely to buy something after seeing a video about it?
Well, it’s true! While graphics and images are significantly more appealing and eye-catching than text-based content, videos are even better. They show off your products in an interesting way, and since the human eye is drawn to movement, they make your website stand out.
One of the best things that an online business can do with video is to showcase featured products in an easy-to-view way. You can pan the camera around the entirety of the item and showcase it from every angle. This, along with providing narration for the item that you’re showing off, helps your customers see what you have to offer on a level that still images can’t capture.
However, using explainer videos is also essential to your business success. These are basically testimonials where you have a satisfied client (or an actor playing one) discuss the ways that your products have positively impacted them. People will see this peer talking, form a connection with their friendly persona, and want to try the products that have benefitted this individual.
3. Upgrade Your SEO Strategy
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a term referring to the manipulation of on-page and off-page elements to make your page more appealing to Google crawlers. When these crawlers see that your posts are rich in relevant keywords and contain links that establish a connection with other credible sites, they boost you up in Google’s results.
Since 71-92% of people don’t go past the first page of results, this is a key investment for any eCommerce shop! After all, if you want people to choose your brand over direct competitors, they need to see you first.
More and more businesses have been investing in SEO as time goes on, so if you aren’t already, this is a must-do. If you do have an SEO strategy in place, however, you should also look into how it’s working and reassess your needs.
Use Google Analytics to check whether your site is ranking for the desired keywords. Enter these search terms into Google yourself and see if you pop up when on a machine that doesn’t already know your search history. If you aren’t seeing the results you want, you might want to switch SEO providers or upgrade to a higher-quality package.
4. Add New Items and Products
The foundation of a good online business is the same as that of a brick-and-mortar one: unique and useful products.
Starting and maintaining an online business requires constant innovation. Make sure that you’re putting out new products every couple of months so that people stay interested in your shop. If you keep selling the same things and nothing else, you’re not going to get very many repeat customers.
Make sure that you also upload all new products to your website. This shows people what you really have to offer so that they can make informed decisions about purchases. It also demonstrates that you care about keeping your website up-to-date, just like making your page more accessible to mobile users would.
5. Invest in Tech Support
Many online businesses feel that they can conduct their own IT and technical services. However, this takes a lot of time and money that your business could be allocating towards innovation and marketing. It also likely is ineffective since you’ll be using rudimentary tools rather than expert ones.
Inloginc.com is a worldwide leader in streamlined logistics. Their service makes it easier for those behind online businesses to log order data, process checks from clients, provide real-time tracking data to consumers, and process orders more easily. With this site, your eCommerce shop can be more organized and consumer-oriented than ever before!
Downloading a new technology like this makes life easier for your employees because data will be more organized. Financial information, order receipts, and other important documents will be stored within your machines. This means that nothing will be lost and that books will always be balanced correctly.
It also is a great way to make your customer service faster and more effective than ever before. This is a great way to make sure that your customers have a positive consumer experience and retain fond feelings for your brand after any interaction.
6. Try to Inspire Repeat Customers
In general, it’s 5x more expensive to sign on a new customer than to keep working with an existing one. That’s why you need to make your eCommerce site consumer-friendly in all possible ways. Having customer service and easy tracking as we discussed above is critical, but you will also need to do some other things to keep yourself fresh in people’s minds.
Uploading new and improved products frequently makes this happen, but so does encouraging people to leave reviews about how much your product benefitted them. People are likely to make a purchase when swayed by positive reviews, especially when they saw a project in your shop before and were going back and forth on whether or not to get it.
Another way to get more repeat customers is to inspire brand loyalty. You want to really own your clients and make them innately prefer your brand to competitors. One awesome way to do this is by hosting giveaways and mailing out swag bags containing t-shirts, wristbands, USB drives, and coffee mugs to your VIP customers.
7. Reach Out to Customers Directly
You can also inspire brand loyalty by reaching out directly to those who have previously shopped with you. Direct emails are the ideal way to do this.
You can send out email templates with the name of those you’re sending it to inserted at the top. This makes people feel more connected to your brand, especially if the contents of the newsletter are engaging. Talk about insider tips on how to use your products and give out exclusive coupon codes and promos. People love to feel singled out for good things!
Another way to reach out to customers is via social media.
Using social media appropriately is key for any online business. You want to upload to platforms like Facebook and Twitter frequently so that customers feel that you’re constantly trying to make their lives easier. When they see these posts on their feeds, people will think of your business and the fond memories that have of ordering from you.
You can post links to blog posts on your official page, images of new products, follower giveaways, and even funny memes for a relatable brand voice. Make sure that you keep your DMs open and get back to customers who message you ASAP. This kind of direct communication goes a long way!
Boost Your Online Business Today!
Running and keeping up with an online business can be a challenging task. Luckily, though, it’s incredibly rewarding as well. When you’re successful at selling the goods and services you’re passionate about, you’ll boost your sense of purpose in addition to your ROI.
Now that you know how to optimize and improve your eCommerce shop, it’s time to learn more about business and the financial aspects of conducting it. Check out the ‘business’ and ‘financial growth’ tabs on our home page to get more information on these topics. Here, you’ll find articles detailing how you can better your shop and make the most of each and every investment!
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