E-Commerce is one of the fastest growing online business models in the digital landscape and every day numerous new e-commerce websites come into existence. However, many, if not most, of them fail to turn into sustainable brands or profitable long-term ventures. One of the common factors behind the failure of any new eCommerce website is the lack of the right strategies. In this post we will discuss some of the major factors that play a vital role in determining the success of an eCommerce site:
Be clear about your sales objectives
Clarity about your sales objectives helps you to determine the fast-selling inventory. You may either focus on selected, exclusive products that quickly attract attention and enjoy premium price tags. On the other hand, mass products offer regular sales and higher volumes provided that you sell them at competitive prices. In short, if you prefer the value over volume model then maintain a minimalist inventory of carefully selected premium items. These products don’t sell very fast but you benefit from higher profit margins per sale.
On the other hand, if you prefer high volume sales and daily cash inflow then you would need to maintain a bulk stock of general daily use products like household goods, stationary, daily wear, grocery, and the like. While the profit margins are modest, bulk sales and fast movement offer quicker liquidity and maintain a healthy cash inflow.
Both the models have their advantages and limitations but what’s most important is to select the model that resonates best with your sales objectives and targeted audiences. >>
Build a mobile-first website
In a survey, it was found that more than half of e-commerce websites are mobile-responsive, but only some of these sites go above the minimum technical thresholds to offer an exceptional mobile shopping experience. Their additional efforts do pay off very decently as 9 out of every 10 customers prefer to repeat the order from responsive sites with a superior mobile shopping experience.
As a part of important ranking methods, mobile friendliness also helps in improving Google's ranking. You can make your site mobile-friendly by speeding up page loading speed, using clear, contextual imagery and legible typography and content that easily accommodates small mobile screens without limiting the reading experience. Create a mobile-friendly user interface that actively facilitates quicker, smoother shopping experiences with zero lag time. If you are using a template, then make sure to install only mobile-responsive themes. Does it support single-hand browsing? How long does it take to browse, pick and purchase the items? How does your site score on the level of complexity? These questions will help you determine your competitive edge in the market, and how to achieve it.
Show review and ratings to the visitors
Reviews and recommendations significantly help in boosting your conversion rate by building the credibility of your products. Most shoppers look at ratings/reviews from real customers as a solid reputation metric
Customer ratings/reviews offer a glimpse into the after-sales experience which is a key concern for new shoppers. While the website content, promo offers, and social media posts are generally considered extended ways of marketing, the reviews are looked at as unbiased, organic insights that shoppers are more willing to act on.
Add engaging videos
Adding engaging video content is a proven tactic to build trust, improve rankings and grow sales over time.
In fact, around 70% of Indian customers are much more likely to buy your products if your eCommerce site has rich video content. It is even more important if you are selling a B2B product that requires some learning curve or technical know-how. Customers want to be sure about efficiency and ease of use before they you're your product. A good video gives them a direct realistic idea without any guesswork.
Build a mobile shopping app
Unlike a website, the mobile app promises you a true 24X7 connection with the shoppers. Mobile shopping apps offer a quick zero-friction shopping experience to your targeted audiences which eventually increases your conversion rate. Besides, it also provides you a comprehensive tracking and analytics data to generate detailed reports with deeper, actionable insights.
To get the most out of your mobile app investment, use the right strategies to keep shoppers updated about the latest offers, promos, and new launches by integrating features like push notifications, reward points, etc. It makes sure that shoppers won’t forget your app after a single purchase. Speedy processing, quicker and safer shopping experience, and interruption-free payment/checkout procedure are some key factors that determine the success potential of your mobile app.
Constantly improvise the user experience
If you want to thrive as an eCommerce shop, be ready to constantly improve your site and app. Identifying/working on strong and weak points of your website/app, adding trending products, analyzing customer preferences, running promo offers, and relation-building tactics like loyalty points or insider deals push you higher in the list of online shopping brands.
Add user-friendly e-commerce features and functionalities
To enjoy a competitive edge in the market you need to focus on enhancing the customer experience which keeps them engaged for longer, increases the click-through rate, and may eventually grow the average cart value.
The customers should be able to add multiple products simultaneously to the shopping cart without a repetitive back-and-forth process. Also, design a seamless “pick up from wherever you left” experience through an automatic cart saving option to ensure that any interruptions/distractions during shopping won’t hurt your sales. Such user-friendly features go a long way in increasing average order value and converting walk-in shoppers into regular customers.
Integrating relevant eCommerce analytics tools into your app offers you comprehensive insights about customer behavior to deliver them a personalized experience- something that plays an imperative role in offering you a competitive edge.
Offer lower prices to garner initial interest
To enjoy a distinct competitive edge, you need to offer your customers the experience that they are not able to get from your competitors.
Pricing is the key concern for the customers and by adopting a competitive pricing policy you can certainly build a healthy interest during the initial stage. Offering the same category of products at lower prices makes your brand get noticed among the existing players. So when starting, price your items wisely to garner maximum attention instead of making maximum profit.
Use right strategies to build customer loyalty
While customer acquisition is an important part of any business, the tough competition in the e-commerce space makes it very difficult. So, along with acquiring new customers, focus on retaining the old ones too. Research suggests that it is relatively much easier to sell to your regular customer base rather than to acquire new customers. Start by analyzing the online sales data to identify your loyal customers and their behavior. Based on these insights give them the most relevant exclusive offers and discount deals- something that specifically appeals to them. Offering them exclusive discounts and deals makes them feel special and creates a strong bond. You can further plan a slab-based loyalty points scheme with multiple thresholds and corresponding higher rewards. In this way, you can protect your loyal customer base from your competitors’ tactics.
Build strategic supplier/logistic chain relationships
Your relations with suppliers play a vital role in determining your inventory which eventually determines your sales potential. It is not advisable to depend on a single supplier only. Try building a reliable base of different suppliers. It not only ensures consistent, uninterrupted supply but may also offer you significant cost benefits. Once you have identified a few reliable vendors, build a smooth communication ecosystem with emails as your primary method of communication. It will also make it easier for you to create invoices and peruse the data for generating reports.
Ensure quick delivery
Fast delivery is another key point that helps you to stand out as an e-commerce brand. You can ensure this by using a sophisticated cloud-based e-commerce platform with a reliable order processing/inventory tracking mechanism. By selecting the right settings/configuration you can set important notifications to alert you about any speed or manpower issues before it affects the customer experience.
Facilitate seamless data synchronization with cloud-based platforms
By employing cloud online management systems, you can synchronize the entire data across all the relevant channels to keep everyone in the loop about the latest updates. Being completely automated it assures reliable end-to-end processes for warehouse shipping and delivery handling.
Conclusion
To succeed in the highly competitive space of e-commerce, it is very important to adopt some healthy business strategies. Many e-commerce sites mainly concentrate on designing and presenting. While visual appeal plays an important role, many other factors are imperative to gain long-term success. User experience, customer loyalty, logistics and delivery, and other key factors need to be tackled wisely to build a strong ecosystem that turns your e-commerce venture into a profit-oriented business model.