Ecommerce is dominating the way we shop today, in fact, more than 80% of people online have used the web to purchase a variety of goods and services. With around 3.7 billion of us currently using the internet, that’s a pretty huge market to tap into. In the US alone, there are almost 250,000 ecommerce stores, so how do you make yours stand out from the crowd?
Who are you? And what is your product going to do to help your customer? Why don’t they just head over to Amazon to get the same/similar thing? Your brand voice is everything and can be the deciding factor on whether or not a customer wants to shop with you. Add some humor to your story and most importantly, be authentic. People can spot a phony a mile off, but if you’re honest and approachable, your store will get the recognition it deserves.
Social media has become an integral part of our lives… can you remember the last time you didn’t pick up your phone for a quick scroll on Instagram or Facebook, just to see what your friends are up to, or how the other half live. Well, many successful ecommerce stores have harnessed the power of all these scrollers and converted them into sales. This company, for example, managed to grow their Instagram brand from 10k to 1 million followers, and they’re not the only ones.
If you’re growing your business in a highly competitive niche, running a digital advertising campaign could be absolutely necessary to boost your company's growth. Recent studies show that almost 60% of people aren't distinguishing paid results from organic rankings, so running a Google Adwords campaign may be extremely efficient for a new e-commerce website that needs to establish it`s brand recognition.
On the flip side, advertisements can be pretty expensive, so familiarizing yourself with case studies of top performing ads will help you maximize your success and save your marketing budget. It’s crucial for small online store owners to recognize the best practices for e-commerce ads, as this will ultimately improve your ROI in the long-term. It’s not an easy skill to master, so persistence is key to find a scalable solution.
Hire a web designer! Sure, you can use a free or paid theme for your site, whether you chose to run it through sites such as Spotify or WordPress but investing some cash on an expert can be invaluable to your business. If you were to buy a brick and mortar store, chances are, you would get someone in to decorate the place, perhaps even hire an interior designer. Don’t scrimp on the aesthetics just because you’re online. This small, initial investment can be the difference between a good site and a great site. Customers who like the look of your site, can navigate it easily, and don’t have to wait eons for a page to load are sure to spread the word.
The number one way to get your site noticed, is to start ranking well in search engines. For the first few months, you’re going to be “sandboxed” until search engine crawlers deem your site to be legit and useful to the masses. Once this happens, monitor your analytics page, see what your ranking for and try and improve it your positions. Have a blog on your site, get some backlinks to your store through guest posting and partnerships. There are thousands of resources out there about effectively optimizing your site.
These tips provide you with a starting point for marketing your new ecommerce store. Whether you produce the products on your own or use the dropshipping model, you need to promote your brand and these ways are incredibly effective for an online store, regardless of its type.
