At the forefront of all businesses is business growth plans. Ensuring that you have the right strategy in place can be stressful, especially if you are an e-commerce business. Look at the sales in recent months, in particular to Black Friday events, e-commerce sales soared and businesses witnessed significant revenue growth!
In the US, it is expected that online commerce sales will have generated a staggering $262.3 billion in sales! The trend is only set to increase in the UK this year, and therefore there's never been a more crucial time for your business to deploy a strategy for your e-commerce growth.
Here are 10 strategies that you can implement in your e-commerce business this year:
1. Personalisation
All site visitors are demanding and now expect one-of-a-kind experiences that pamper to their every need and interest. An increase in technology is available to your target audience and therefore capturing your shoppers' interest and preferences allow you to tailor promotions that really engage with your target audience.
2. Content - Create Stickiness
Creating a site that is sticky to potential buyers requires crowd-sourced content. Take the likes of Amazon, for example, they encourage buyers to share their opinions of items they have bought to engage with other buyers. Using keywords and meta descriptions can really raise your ranking in search results and can get your products and/or services found much quicker!
3. Tailor the Browsing Experience
Attracting an audience and getting them to return can be a task in itself. A brand-appropriate design and well-structured navigation is the key to ensuring you attract the right people that return to your e-commerce site. Multi-platform browsing is key and ensuring you provide that enticing experience must be compatible. For example, if you're wanting to sell backpacks to school children, use an eye-catching design and bright colours to instil a sense of youth.
4. Mobile
There is a growing rate of mobile commerce sites appearing, increasing at a rate of 130% annually. The lack of a robust mobile commerce platform will see a dramatic drop in revenue over the coming years. Offering mobile ready services such as delivery statuses, notifications [real-time], click-to-call and product information can really make your online commerce business have that significant competitive advantage.
5. Internet-Only Merchandise
Establishing an exclusive brand with e-commerce at the core of the distribution channel is fundamental. If your business can offer goods that are not available elsewhere and sell them directly to your consumers will ensure you have greater control over your margins.
6. Online Audience
Establishing a 'territory' on the internet is important. Defining and designing your e-commerce website to reach a specific audience who share a common interest sounds simple, but it takes a great deal of time and thought. Identifying your niche markets can ensure you penetrate the online market with specialised offers that really engage with your audience.
7. Integrate Across Channels
Multi-channel offerings are another key component to enable your consumers to experience your brand consistently, whichever their shopping preference. If you are selling products via different channels, ensuring that they are differentiated is crucial to allow for accountability for price differences.
8. Subscription Commerce
A subscription on your e-commerce site can take several forms, the replenishment model sends out items to your customers on a monthly basis. The other concept is the discovery model, where it offers a curated experience that delivers new, customised items directly to the customer's doorstep.
The key strategies to grow your e-commerce business may sound simple, but the key component in all of them is ensuring you understand and know your target customers.
With online shopping up by 45% in 2016, for the first time ever smartphone revenue is set to overtake desktop revenues - therefore ensuring your e-commerce business deploys one of these key strategies can get you on the track to growing your business this year!
