6 E-commerce Growth Strategies to Inspire New Entrepreneurs

As if e-commerce needed any further prompting, the ongoing pandemic has increased the need for online commerce even further. More people are switching to ordering their groceries online, buying clothes, and having their tech delivered to their doorstep. Reducing face-to-face interactions paired with the lockdown has enticed more online shopping than the world has ever seen. In that lucrative environment, more businesses are either completely switching to online sales, or they’re starting their e-commerce ventures.

Despite this opportune eco-system, or because of it, the sheer volume of competition can be staggering and deter many entrepreneurs from entering the market. To turn the tables in your favor and build a reputable e-commerce presence, you can use the following growth strategies that will help you navigate these competitive waters and grow your business in a scalable, manageable manner.

Use your email for abandoned carts

The current situation has inspired people to make more purchases online, that’s true, but it mostly refers to purchases within those bare necessities such as food and medical supplies. The economy is unstable and people have been losing jobs at every turn, making it extremely difficult to sell non-essential goods, online or offline. 

That said, you have the means to discover gaps in your customer journey, especially when you notice a spike in abandoned carts: their presence on your site indicates that there’s an interest in your product, but something or other is deterring your customers from completing the purchase. 

You will certainly need to adapt and improve the checkout process, introduce transparent shipping prices, and the like, but you should also use your email to send out reminders, personalized discounts, and loyalty rewards to entice customers to finish the purchase. Email marketing is a perfect vessel for increasing conversions on your site and learning about your customers’ preferences. 

Boost your customer support team with tech

More businesses are now transitioning from classic landline systems for their call centers to VoIP-based solutions. Voice over internet protocol, or VoIP, is an industry-changing opportunity, especially in current circumstances. It allows your e-commerce support team to work remotely, from the comfort of their homes, without incurring excessive phone bills for your business. In fact, it all works based on a monthly fee, and these systems come with loads of useful features.

To make the right choice, research the finest business VoIP systems that will allow you to keep your budget in check and utilize numerous features such as video conferencing, call recording, and sending voicemail to email. You’ll let your customer support agents work seamlessly, and stay connected to all of your other departments with ease, thus allowing your e-commerce business to work even remotely.

Keep your online store in perfect shape

Customer experience is the key piece of the e-commerce puzzle you cannot afford to neglect. Your web store is the pillar of that experience, and you need to make sure that it’s up to par with the latest standards in your industry and that it provides no obstacles for your visitors to enjoy your brand. 

That said, you need to optimize your store for all the core functionalities such as seamless mobile shopping, personalized offers, simple search features, easy navigation, and no interruptions in the form of too many ads. A sleek, modern experience is what modern customers need, so it’s up to you to research and implement those trends on the go.

Leverage your personal brand 

It can be extremely difficult to earn customer trust in the digital realm, especially when they have no chance to meet your shop assistants, interact with your customers at a physical store, and other, trust-building steps to learn about your business. That’s why you need to find other ways to build trust, and it often helps to leverage your personal brand to boost authority and credibility.

Using a trustworthy domain with a personalized .me extension lets you successfully personalize your experience on your website with the help of your personal brand. The domain name itself can help people understand the authenticity of your business, and having a person to relate to makes your e-commerce store much more humanized and engaging. 

Master the art of social media to drive sales

The right balance between promotional social media content and engaging social media posts is the ideal recipe for retail success in the digital realm. Sway too much to one of the two, and you’ll miss out on the opportunity to promote specific product categories or items, or simply to grow customer engagement, brand awareness, and visibility. 

With 90% of businesses using social media as a customer service outlet, it’s a vital segment of your growth strategy to connect and enable customer trust for the long term. These networks are perfect gateways for funneling more traffic to your web store, but even more importantly, they are ideal for leveraging influencer relationships and building a community online.

Don’t neglect ongoing content output

The products you sell cannot do the job on their own: you need a living, breathing brand identity to do the selling. In fact, you already know that most people choose brands based on the values they share, and not just simply because they need something in the fridge. 

In order to make the most of your content marketing strategy to boost ROI and to grow your customer base, you should diversify based on the latest trends. For example, more people are now responding to infographics and videos than long-form content. Then again, to appease search engines, you still need to produce lengthy articles infused with keywords. Striking the right balance isn’t vital just for service providers, but for e-commerce businesses, too. 

As you can see, a great portion of establishing yourself in the world of e-commerce is keeping up with the learning curve and finding creative ways to stand out and attract your customers. It takes time to earn a stable reputation, and the spotlight in your industry, but you can certainly utilize these and many other growth methods to enhance your chances of success.