The increased relevance and importance of eCommerce is evident from the fact that several online businesses use targeted messaging. In addition, several brick-and-mortar retailers are also going online to register more sales. The global eCommerce sales are expected to reach US$ 4.89 trillion in 2021.
The industry continues to see enormous growth due to various factors like convenience and ease of use. However, the industry also sees tremendous competition from the incumbent players. There are several choices for the customers and other reasons why some businesses see a drop in conversions. We will discuss some of the holy grails of success in eCommerce in this article.
Table of Contents
Create brand awareness and perception
You must keep your business objectives in mind and create a robust branding strategy. Creating an ideal brand perception in the audience’s minds is one of the essential rules for success in eCommerce. Always ensure that your business processes are in line with your overall objectives.
The branding perception must resonate with the audience. Your brand must stand apart from the audience and appeal to the audience’s section it is addressing. Ensure that your branding strategy is visible on your website, including the logo, font, colors used, workflows, etc.
A catalog of products can help.
You must collate the products you are selling on the website under the suitable heads. There should be a proper hierarchy of the categories you can place the products. It is one of ensuring an ideal workflow and improves convenience for the visitor. The visitor does not have to scrape through several products to arrive at one of their choices.
There must be a collated set of features that will describe the product. It should have the product’s name, the code, color, and other critical features that will help the customer in the buying decision. Having high-resolution images of the products can also add value to the visitors.
The website must be engaging.
The workflows must be clearly defined and take the visitors through the buyer’s journey and culminate in a sale. Also, keep in mind the branding guidelines that will help the visitors connect with your brand better. The guidelines must be prepared to keep in mind the likes of your target market. Always ensure that the website’s visual appearance can entice the visitors to stay longer on the website.
You can have your marketing messages, and the customized packages must be placed on the home page. The inside pages must be connected such that there is a seamless workflow for the clients and increases conversions. Also, ensure that the content does not distract the visitors at any time.
It would be best if you were approachable.
As your business grows, your customers will start interacting with you in more significant numbers. They should not find it difficult to reach out to you. The contact coordinates must be placed on all pages of the website. Do not forget to provide the toll-free numbers and email ID so that the customers can reach you.
The customers can approach you at any point, and having a FAQ may not be the best way forward. Instead, you can have chatbots on the site that can guide the visitors to the products they are searching for. It can also be the first line of support for any issues faced or tracking the shipments. Training the customer support team at regular intervals can also help.
Install an SSL certificate
Visitors always look for the padlock before visiting any website. Moreover, you must adhere to the PCI-DSS guidelines that require the website to install an SSL certificate. The certificate protects client data residing on the servers. In addition, it can encrypt the communication taking place with the visitor’s browser.
Most eCommerce businesses have multiple sub-domains for various reasons. It is suggested that they install Wildcard SSL certificates. It can help to secure all the first-level sub-domains, and your IT security team manages the certificates better. Most certificates also come with a trust Seal that can be used on the checkout page to improve customer trust.
When you buy cheap ssl wildcard certs it will cover all sub-domains under one roof. Just keep track of one SSL certificate and get rid from multiple SSL management
Understand what your customer needs
Like all other businesses, one of the critical rules for success in eCommerce is to ensure that you understand the customer’s likes. The products being sold on your site may be targeted at different sections of the audience. You must understand the demographics of the audience for each of the products. Then, constantly personalize the messages targeting the different sections of your audience.
The site must provide an incredible experience for the visitor. It is possible only when you understand what the preferences of the audience are. Then, you can create targeted offers and loyalty and discount offers that can lead to more conversions. The support service must have a mix of automated as well as personalized services.
Use customer testimonials
The website visitors will pay more heed to what the current customers say about your products. It does not matter how much you propagate the benefits, but word-of-mouth proves to be a better proposition. Therefore, you must ensure that the customers provide the feedback to endorse content by the present customers.
You must also include the social sharing buttons on the site. It will allow the visitors to share the products they like with their friends and family. They can also share the products on their social media accounts. It will help to magnify the outreach of your business. You must also respond to the reviews within a short time.
Use of relevant content
You must also create relevant content that gels with the overall brand personality. You must ensure that your website and the content that you create can always be correlated. You must use the relevant keywords and hashtags when you post on your social media pages. Also, keep in mind the preferences of the audience so that the posts can quickly go viral.
You must socialize with the target audience and have breadcrumbs in place to lead back to your website. Writing relevant blogs and listicles can also help in propagating your brand message well. Always have a comprehensive content calendar in place that will help to schedule the activities. The use of relevant videos can help in your outreach strategy.
Build lasting relationships
One of the rules of eCommerce is to ensure lasting relationships with your customers. Therefore, it helps in reducing the cost per conversion, as it is easier to ensure repeat purchases from your customers. In addition, you can create loyalty programs that will also cover discounts and allow the customers to choose from new collections available.
To achieve this, you must have robust workflows that allow your loyal customers to feel browsing through the website a breeze. You can utilise artificial intelligence technologies to store previous searches by the customers to ensure they are presented with the ideal products during searches. You must also take proper training of your customer support team to ensure they also aid in building long-lasting client relationships.
Conclusion
The eCommerce industry presents several options for you to grow organically. However, the market is already congested with much competition. You must ensure you follow industry best practices to ensure robust growth. You must install an SSL certificate and ensure adequate trust factors across the website that will help to improve the conversion ratio. We have discussed some of the rules that can help to grow your online business.
