eCommerce Essentials To Take Your Online Store To The Next Level

eCommerce sales have been on an upward trajectory and are showing no signs of slowing down.

With an estimated 21.8% of global retail sales taking place online by 2024, entrepreneurs and business owners are rushing to the online arena to set up and grow their online stores.

Once your eCommerce site is up and running, the next step is to develop strategies that will help you reach potential customers and turn leads into sales. If you’ve secured proper funding and started using tools like proposal management software to close strategic deals, it’s time to think about reeling in more customers and speaking the language of the digital consumer.

Undeniably, the post-Covid digital boom creates a massive opportunity for online businesses. But with more than 12 million eCommerce stores on the market, how can online store owners ensure their products stand out? Here are some essential tips for taking your online store to the next level.

Photo by Nataliya Vaitkevich from Pexels

Master Social Media Marketing

Reaching digital customers in digital spaces - namely, social media platforms - is a no-brainer for growing your online traffic. However, having profiles across all social media pages is not enough. Being active on relevant platforms and spreading the word with the right content is crucial for your online reputation.

Social media trends evolve constantly, and so should your approach. With newer apps like TikTok playing center stage, hiring a specialized TikTok agency can help you boost your ad performance with high-engagement audiences. The same goes for any other social media platform where your target audiences go for content, so make sure you tailor your paid marketing and content efforts to the latest trends - and, of course, your brand’s newest updates.

Build Customer Relationships With Email Marketing

While social media plays a leading role in modern marketing strategies, companies often underestimate (or forget) the potential impact of email marketing. There are multiple ways to leverage email communications when building lasting customer relationships - from a welcome email to promotion announcements to a simple follow-up about a completed order. There are many lanes to follow in email marketing, and knowing which ones to take can boost your performance.

You can even use marketing automation tools to make these tasks easier and ensure timely communication. These will automatically send emails when a customer abandons their cart or when the new season collection is live. However, you don’t want to give the impression of an automated robot-like platform, so be sure to customize your emails where possible to make your customers feel recognized and appreciated.

Make The Shopping Experience Easier

If you own an online store, then you’ve probably combed through information on how to build a functional site - or maybe you’ve hired someone to do it for you. And, while that may have led to your first sales or simply a website you’re confident with, if you’re seeing large discrepancies between visitors and sales, you should probably give your site's usability a second look.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels

Is your site easy to navigate, can users find all relevant information, is it easy for them to reach the final check-out stages? These are some of the questions you should ask yourself when testing your website. Saying - and showing - as much as you can with as little as possible is the best way to ensure a smooth customer journey. To achieve this, stick to high-quality images, descriptive text, good UX/UI, and a simple check-out process, among other things.

Follow Your Target Audience

In the online world, you will constantly work on getting more consumers to follow your brand, but it’s also essential to follow them - and their actions. Stay updated on the platforms that are gaining the most traction, take note of the trends that move the consumption needle, and think about any features that customers might look for when visiting your website. Knowing your target audiences is critical to your growth and success, so have your finger on the pulse at all times.

Schedule Monthly Reviews 

Sure enough, all of the mentioned strategies have the potential to give your online site that extra boost. However, if any tactic you have employed is better suited for your business than others, or if it requires some tweaks before coming into full effect, the only way to find out is to do regular checks on your performance and tactics.

The same applies to product releases, new features, or market movements. By setting up monthly research and review plans, you will be able to make better predictions about how your products, campaigns, or features will perform in the eyes of your customers and compare them to other brands’ offerings.

​

Photo by Stephen Phillips - Hostreviews.co.uk from Unsplash

Final Words

Achieving success when you start your online business is not the most challenging aspect of diving into eCommerce waters. Sustaining that success and growing your eCommerce site to the next level invites considerably more effort. Luckily, there are some essential strategies that will assist you in the process.

If you master social media marketing, build customer relationships through email, make the shopping experience easier, follow your target audience, and schedule monthly reviews, you will likely find the formula that pushes your store to the next level.