Within the last few years (and particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic), e-commerce has become one of the most important, and fast-growing industries. Besides, with the use of Social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, businesses are getting exposure levels never seen before.
On the bright side, all of this means new and exciting opportunities, but on the downside, businesses now need to invest in development and brand awareness.
When executed properly an e-commerce strategy can help you get more followers, but most importantly, can help you convert more of those followers into buyers.
Your strategy must follow a clear path to be successful, that’s why we decided to bring this guide with everything you need to know about how to start a successful e-commerce business.
1. What Problem Does Your Product Solve?
Either is a digital service or something that people will get in the mail, there are some important things to consider to develop successful products.
Better Ideas Lead To Better Products And Services
The reality is that even if you had a great idea for a website, and the best marketing strategy, that won’t matter if people don’t like your product.
When you start to develop new products, don’t be afraid of trial and error! What made most of the big brands we know is the willingness to try new solutions and alternatives. You would be surprised at how many daily use products, were born out of seeming crazy ideas
The Focus Is Not Your Product, But Your Customers
We all are customers, and therefore we all know this truth: Nobody wants to hear stories about the magic recipe of your product. What people want to hear is how that product can relate to their lives and make them better.
In the post-truth, internet age, telling something around “The product you’ve been waiting for all your life” just doesn’t work anymore. Customers want products that make their life easier, or that make their business grow.
2. Why And How To Develop Your Brand For E-commerce
Your products are important, but if you aim to play big, you need to have an appealing brand and develop it correctly
Start With A Strong Why
In this old Youtube Video, Simon Sinek explains to us why it is important to ask yourself: Why do you sell what you sell?
And of course! We all build a business because of the profit! But what turns a startup into a multi-million dollar company is a stronger commitment.
The thing is, a strategy based on products, will only sell products. But if your brand has a strong reason why, and it resonates with your audience, then you can build a community… And when you have an engaged community, you can sell anything you want.
That’s the reason why big companies like Apple can sell anything from services, computers, phones, headphones, merchandising, movies, music, and a long list of etcéteras.
Your Brand Identity Is More Important Than It Seems
Developing a brand that stands out from the crowd is necessary to get into today’s competitive business field. And we’re not talking only about your brand looks. But to get more and more loyal customers.
As a customer, we all like to find those rare, unique brands who make that special something we love. Help your customers identify yours, by adding a unique logo, and a recognizable package if that’s the case.
Happy Customers Leave Reviews And Reviews Bring More Customers In
Your website should give a clear indication of your products and their benefits. And whenever possible, show the good things previous clients have to say about you!
Remember people tend to believe more in what other people say than what your product description states.
This also provides your audience with an opportunity to judge and make decisions based on facts.
Besides, If they buy the product and it delivers what was promised, then there is a much greater chance they will also buy another related product, or even recommend your brand among friends.
Never Underestimate A Good Web Design
Since the purpose is to engage your audience, contextual product descriptions and navigation should be very well drawn. Your e-commerce digital marketing strategy will suffer if the website doesn’t display clear product graphics and descriptions.
Small images, lousy text, and slow charging graphics can turn off any potential customer. We see this mistake made on hundreds of websites, and we can tell you based on facts: Bad design kills products and entire brands.
3. How To Find The Right Niche For Your Products
Once you have a clear idea about the products and brand awareness, you need to start focusing on the next most important thing: Your audience.
Gauge Customer Interest
This may sound daunting, but once you wrap your head around it, you’ll see it’s pretty simple.
You can start by using a good search tool, like Google Keyword Planner, and find out what people are looking for.
Step In Your Audience Shoes
Let’s say you want to sell sustainable fashion. Keep in mind your audience won’t type “sustainable fashion” on Google when looking for a party dress, so you have to go way ahead of the curve and develop SEO strategies for keywords as “Unique dresses”, “what to give to a vegan friend” or “how to dress to impress”.
This is a very important step for many more reasons, for instance: You can find out nobody is looking for your product idea number one. And if that’s the case, you may want to invest your efforts in idea number two.
Success in the e-commerce industry is about hitting the right target, and the only way to make sure you do so is by shooting a lot of ammo.
Why You Need A Good Seo Strategy?
Now that you know what your audience wants and how your competitors are delivering, it’s time to use that knowledge to your advantage and spread your most important keywords around your related products.
You mustn’t just use the keywords. You need to let people (and google) know, your landing page can deliver.
If you use a keyword related to footballs, for instance, but when people get there, the website turns out to sell women’s shoes, they will leave immediately and you’ll get a bounce. Get enough of those and google will and blacklist you. That is something we all want to avoid.
4. How To Choose The Right Platform
One of the early challenges you’ll find is to decide the appropriate platform for you. If you are new to online business (as many of us are) it may seem confusing at first. That’s why we present to you our best tips to pick the right one and the differences between the most popular ones.
Our best advice is to work with a professional that can guide you throughout the whole process, but if you want to try and do it by yourself, here are some of the most important things you need to consider.
Can I Set It Up By Myself?
Make sure you don’t need any particular set of skills to set up, upload, and design products and sections. Many e-commerce platforms offer you an array of templates you can use and modify.
Can My Customers Navigate Around Freely?
When your customers come to your page, they want to find what they want right away. Look for a user-friendly platform that lets them organize their purchases, wish lists, and payment methods.
Is The Platform Secure?
This is very important for your safety, but also to get new business! The reason is quite straight: would you type in your card number on a website that says “Not Secure” in the address bar? Neither your customers.
Does It Offer Integration With Other Platforms And Sites?
If you want to see your business grow, then you need to reach beyond the limits of your virtual store and get into video, social media, or blogging. Look for platforms that can integrate your profile with social media sites or ith your actual CRM platform.
Will My Seo Strategy Work On That Platform?
This is the best way to rank high among your niche. SEO strategies are a vital part of the online business scene and if your platform does not support it, finding customers it’s going to be a real challenge.
Is It Mobile-friendly?
53% of online purchases are made on a mobile device. So pay special attention to responsiveness. Take a quick look at the platform mobile site. This is usually a good indicator.
Can I Use Analytics?
Information is power, you want to have access to every information aspect from your e-commerce to improve and make changes. Look for a platform that provides you with all the information you need.
Can I Talk To Someone At Tech Support?
Even if you are well versed in online business, sometimes you are going to need to contact tech support. Check out how difficult is to get to a human being on the other side
Which One Is The Best Option For Me?
Here’s a brief analysis of the main e-commerce platforms out there.
Shopify
Chances are you have heard of Shopify before and even purchased something at a Shopify store. This platform offers their software as a service. This means you don0t own any domain or server, but you just “rent” the online space. This works great for startups, but if your business grows, maybe you will need to evaluate again in the future.
- Setup Process: Easy to moderate
- Navigation: Unlimited bandwidth
- Security: PCI (Payment Card Industry)-compliant
- Integrations: Almost with any app. It just doesn’t work great with MailChimp
- SEO friendly: Yes
- Responsive ready: Yes
- Analytics: Reports, key metrics, finance reports
- Tech Support: 24/7
- Payment methods: PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, even cryptocurrency
Magento
They have two main offers: Magento Open Source and Magento Commerce. The first one is a free version you can download, customize and host by yourself. It is advertised as an all-in-one solution for online stores. You can check both of them here
- Setup Process: Requires Technical knowledge
- Navigation: Optimal front-end performance
- Security: It has its own DEsignated Security Center
- Integrations: Almost with any app
- SEO friendly: Yes
- Responsive ready: Yes
- Analytics: Live stats, sales, orders, and product data.
- Tech Support: 24/7
- Payment methods: All payment methods
BigCommerce
A platform that allows you to create your online store with many built-in features. BigCommerce even sends automated Abandoned Cart emails to bring customers back in.
- Setup Process: Easy
- Navigation: 20% faster than average
- Security: High
- Integrations: Almost with any app and social network
- SEO friendly: Maybe the SEO-friendliest platform.
- Responsive ready: Yes
- Analytics: Analytics and insights reports. It also shows you the interaction with customers.
- Tech Support: 24/7
- Payment methods: All payment methods
WooCommerce
An open-source e-commerce plugin, that is very popular among the e-commerce community. This plugin is built on the WordPress platform and lets you start selling products from your WordPress site.
- Setup Process: Easy. Particularly to WordPress users.
- Navigation: Easy to categorize, tag, and navigate.
- Security: As this is a plugin for WordPress, security is on you.
- Integrations: With all popular apps and networks
- SEO friendly: Yes. Integrated on WordPress
- Responsive Ready: It depends on your WordPress site responsiveness.
- Analytics: Sales, orders, and general store status. It also integrates with Google Analytics
- Tech Support: The worst, but you can find a lot of self-help guides on the internet
- Payment methods: All payment methods
5. How To Write Better Content, Ads, And Product Descriptions
The audience visits your website for a reason – they are looking for specific information. They’re either searching for/looking to purchase a product or service, or they landed here while scrolling their favorite social media platform.
Your task here is pretty simple, but in the practice, it can get out of hand: To let them know you have what they came here for.
Online ad content has to be amazing, attention-grabbing, creative, and at the same time, relevant for the keywords you sprinkle all around it. Look for the following criteria in your online ad.
Simplicity
make sure it’s clear, concise, and to the point. It should have balance and will not seem to stand alone. Remember the objective is to get the users’ attention. Do not abuse flashy animations and focus just on one product, topic, or benefit at a time.
Never Underestimate The Power Of A Good Header
A well-thought header can draw your audience’s attention to your message.
When writing your content, remember the goal is to communicate the main benefit of your products, that’s right, just one. Why only one? Because of the previous point: Simplicity.
Trying to tell everything about your product in a 300-word product description is a recipe for failure.
Focus on the ONE attribute that previous customers weren’t able to ignore. The one thing your friends and family always say about your product or the main reason that drove you to start this business.
How To Write The Perfect Body Copy
Do not be cheap with your words. There is nothing more disappointing than to click an appealing product just to find out there is no extra information.
Your body copy is your best shot at converting a curious visitor into a returning customer. Use relevant words and keywords, make the copy concise, and don’t ever leave an empty product description.
Your Ads Should Not Be About You
Your ads should be about solving the prospects’ pain, achieving a solution, and the benefits of using your product to do so.
This may sound intimidating, but you can write better product descriptions by just changing the questions you answer.
| Instead of this | Instead of this |
| What are my product perks? | What those perks can do for the public? |
| How much does it cost? | How much value does this bring? |
| What does my product offer? | What you lose if you miss out on this opportunity? |
| What does my product do? | How does this product improve your life? |
Online Advertising -Which Type Is Best For Me?
There are two main types of online advertising. You should evaluate which one is the best one for your particular product. Here are some of the main reasons to choose one or the other.
Pay-per-click Search Engine Advertising
This is commonly referred to as PPC, pay-per-click, or cost-per-click. It provides very affordable procedures for individual and account owners to create ads in the digital environment.
It also provides sellers with an opportunity to specify the time lag that they are willing to pay, using a data-driven auction. Several retailers are incorporating PPC options into their site for generating and empowering leads to purchase and support their products and services.
Direct Response Advertising
Social networking websites have tremendously influenced the way consumers get matched with products. They are increasingly finding their way to social networks before even checking out their email. For that reason, online businesses are seeking to understand the characteristics of social media so that they can target their online marketing efforts.
Conclusion
E-commerce digital marketing requires a lot of commitment, time, and expertise. But if you apply these steps and use the right strategies, you can launch your e-commerce digital marketing strategy in a reasonably short space of time.
However, if all this marketing process seems overwhelming, you can find someone else to do all the hard work for you, just like Chavez Web Design, LLC. If you don’t know where to start, send us a message!
Either if you want to innovate with an online store, a powerful Pinterest strategy, or learning how to sell real estate online, we are the experts! We’ll be glad to help.
Sources:
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/275029
https://www.drip.com/blog/E-commerce/choosing-an-e-commerce-platform-comparison
https://www.statista.com/statistics/249863/us-mobile-retail-commerce
https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/09/05/ecommerce-digital-marketing
https://www.bigcommerce.com/blog/ecommerce-marketing/
