In this age of technology and the online, digital world, business has changed significantly. Over the past decade we have seen an explosion of online businesses and stores that sell exclusively to an online business. In fact, research has shown that by the end of 2019, almost 25% of the entire world population will shop online. That’s 1.92 billion people making online purchases worldwide. e-commerce will account for 13.7% of total retail sales worldwide by the end of this year!
But growth remains exponential. It is estimated that by 2040, more than 90% of people will shop online and that all companies, no matter how big or small, will do business online in some way.
How do you make sure you’re part of this global retail boom? It’s easier than you think, especially if you already have a big idea you want to bring to market. Not only do you not have to worry about the costs associated with building a physical store to sell your goods or services, but you can also target a large audience that you may never have been able to reach before. Here are some top ideas on how to get started with your online store!
Create a simple but effective site
Obviously, the first thing you should look at when kickstarting your business is your website. There are a number of elements to consider when creating a site that will appeal to a large audience.
Keep your site as simple as possible. Choose a memorable, yet simple name for your site so it doesn’t get lost in the flood of online pages and brands that people need to remember. Carefully consider your site from the customer’s perspective. Analyze the input pages and the flow from one page to the next. Make sure the customer can get to your product pages as quickly as possible, and from there to the checkout page.
ResearchStudies have shown that if a page takes longer than three seconds to load, you will experience a high drop-off rate. It is therefore essential to ensure that each page loads quickly and that you can easily move to subsequent pages.
Also take the time to examine each page carefully. Fonts, colors, images, banners, and CTAs should be tested regularly. Images are crucial here, especially on your product pages. You must ensure that your products are accurately represented by the images on the site. If you need help loading the perfect image, or want to make sure the image is flawless, there are plenty of frequently asked questions about photo retouching that can help you load the perfect images.
It’s all in the content
They say content is king, and we couldn’t agree more. The content on your site is actually multifunctional. First, it helps your ranking on Google, and second, it attracts new visitors to your site and converts them into loyal fans.
First, the content that appears on your pages is critical to SEO rankings. Google scrapes your site regularly so that it can rank in search results. This means you need to make sure there is enough content on each page for Google to find it. Keywords are the key ingredient here. You should research which keywords are most searched for in your industry and make sure they appear multiple times on each page. So for example, if you have a pet food store, words like dog food, cat food, buy dog food online etc. will be among the most searched terms.
You need to think of clever ways to incorporate these into the content to not only create interesting reading for the customer, but also to ensure that you rank highly when potential customers search for those terms.
Interesting and educational content will also resonate with your visitor and convert them into salespeople and loyal fans. If they know that your blog contains essential information that they can use in everyday life, they will become repeat visitors and most likely customers.
Convert visitors into sales through personalization
Let’s take a look at what was mentioned above. Connecting with your customer happens on multiple levels and you should continue to test content and additions to your site to see what works. As mentioned, blog content is key to attracting your customers to become regular readers, but it’s up to banners and CTAs to convert them.
Let’s look at the pet food store example. Messages like “How do I know if my dog is eating the right food?” or “What are healthy treats for my cat?” are the kind of educational posts that animal lovers will love. It’s that clever little CTA that advertises the right food that actually gets them to click through to the product page. Keep in mind that if you have something special, or are having a flash sale, a well-timed post about the product can increase sales exponentially.
Don’t just stop there, though. Ensure that all communication and engagement with your customer is brand-focused and sales-based. You need to deliver your message throughout all interactions with your customer, from social media posts to direct mail communications with them. Add as much content, images and videos as possible to keep your customers’ attention.
For example, adding a video email signature to the weekly newsletters can add that personal touch you’re looking for to convert your customer. Whether it’s advertising a sale or a brand new product on your shelves, it’s a little extra content that will help you reach and convert your customer. Make sure you AB test everything before incorporating it into your strategy. Test which CTAs get the most clicks, make sure your banners aren’t increasing your bounce rate, and make sure your mailers are converting more and more customers every week.
Conclusion:
It is essential to keep the customer and the customer journey in mind when starting your new business. Make sure you continue to browse your site as a customer and keep the pages fresh and simple. Content strategies are your best option for continuing to attract customers to your site, so it’s wise to merge these strategies with your marketing. Finally, think about what you would like as a customer and keep that at the forefront of your strategy.