You all know eCommerce is doing really big these days, but have you ever wondered how big actually? To be honest, this is a really complex question to be answered precisely, considering all the variables and volatility involved.
However, according to a study published on internet Retailer, there are 12-24 million eCommerce sites inhabiting the virtual world now, whereas another study published by RJMetrics revealed that the eCommerce sites constitute around 11% of the top 1 million websites according to Alexa ranking of websites.
Now, what might the significance of this information be to you as an eCommerce site owner? Well, this clearly tells you that eCommerce industry carries a lot of potential for serious candidates.
Want to know how to exploit this immense potential that eCommerce industry offers? Just go through the 8 cool strategies I have listed below to feel the difference for yourself.
Zoom-in on your online audience
In my humble opinion, contemporary eCommerce pertains to identifying and establishing your ‘online territory’. You better have your business website designed specifically to reach out to a segment of online shoppers having a common interest or characteristic.
In other words, micro-target your online audience based on the niche of your product/service, so that you can penetrate through them with specialized offerings.
Personalize
Present-day web audiences are looking to find highly personalized experiences catering particularly to their needs and interest. Luckily, modern technological advancements make it easy for even small players to offer their visitors the customized shopping experiences focused on addressing their individual needs and wants.
So, if you want to win over the hearts and souls of your target audience, you better offer them exactly what they want and how they want.
Get sticky …….. by offering them valuable and meaningful content
Valuable and meaningful content is what you would need to get sticky, bringing in more and more customers ……… not just any ordinary content, but crowd-sourced content that can turn your site into a sticky web of fondness for your customers, just like Amazon.
One of the reasons that turned Amazon into a bustling hub of eCommerce activities is how they encouraged their consumers to share their experiences with the products they bought.
This enables your potential customers get insights on what they want, giving them confidence to buy from you, thus increasing your customer base and revenue stream.
Make it easy for them
Get out of the notion that brand image and website design are two distinct aspects of running a business, they go hand-in-hand now.
Not only will you need a site design complementing your brand, but you will also need a well-structured and seamless navigation to make sure your site survives and thrives through the immense competition that’s become an intrinsic feature of contemporary eCommerce industry.
Cross channel integration
You must be able to devise multi-channel offerings for your consumers, enabling them to experience consistency in your brand irrespective of their preferred method of shopping. But make sure the products you offer them via multiple channels differ adequately to justify any price differences. Otherwise, they have plenty of alternates more than ready to accommodate them in any way possible.
Go mobile
Technological advancement of recent times has served well for one thing surely, bridging the gaps. And this is what modern audiences want the most out of a contemporary eCommerce platform, i.e. to access it through their preferred channel without any glitches.
According to a report published on statista, mobile retail revenue in U.S is projected to scale up to $150 billion by 2020. HubSpot also share some interesting statistics on trends of mobile users in eCommerce realm.
In short, not having a robust mobile commerce platform means losing a significant stream of revenue. So, it’s about time you make your ecommerce totally mobile ready to keep pace with changing trends of the industry.
Improve your logistics to better your odds of success
Another area that you need to improve in to get up to par with evolving eCommerce scenario is the logistics. One of the best ways to spruce up your logistics is to resort to 3PLs (or third party logistic providers), especially if you want to succeed in managing complex orders in bulk. This also includes Reverse logistics, enhancing your eCommerce outlet’s potential of handling returns and exchanges economically as well as quickly.
Be consistent across all channels
Consistency is what will help you establish your mark as a distinct brand, offering your consumers a seamless brand experience in everything from product availability to promotional strategies across all channels.
What’s your take on this?
Enhancing revenues for your eCommerce venture cannot be confined to these few strategies, of course. There can be endless of them. However, these are the few tried and tested ones that have not only benefited me, but my clients as well.
I really appreciate you sharing your personal opinions, experiences as well as observations in the comment section below; what’s worked well for you and what’s not.
Author Bio
Khawar Zaman, a seasoned ecommerce consultant, has a flair for developing ecommerce solutions, internet marketing and sales strategies. He is also the cofounder of Technorian.com, a Magento and WooCommerce support company. It also specializes in providing dedicated developers to startups.
