Online stores are fairly easy to set up once you have your inventory and niche in place. However, scaling them beyond your family and friends requires a bit more finesse. What the next level looks like can vary, depending upon your goals as a business. You may want to bring in more customers, sell higher ticket items to the ones you already have or perfect processes in preparation for future growth.
How Can I Expand My E-Commerce Business?
According to eMarketer, e-commerce sales will surpass $1 trillion in the United States in 2022. The increase is a couple years beyond what experts previously thought might happen primarily due to the pandemic and more people shopping online. More online traffic means more business and higher revenues.
If you’re ready to take advantage of the growth in e-commerce, try these tips to attract and keep customers.
1. Expand Your Social Reach
Social media gives you an opportunity to level the playing field between your small business and the mega corporations selling similar products online. What is unique about your product and how can you highlight it on various platforms.
You’ve likely noticed the product videos on Instagram, showing off new items and what makes them unique. Some brands enlist the help of an influencer to show off their products. Make it a habit to post daily and come up with new ways to talk about what you sell.
2.Perfect Inventory Management
Overstocking and understocking costs companies billions of dollars a year. Anything you can do to improve inventory management will save you time and money. You also will have what customers want so you don’t risk them bouncing away to a competitor.
Choose the best inventory management software you can afford. Come up with a system that allows you to easily find the items you need when packing orders. For example, you might use a date and alphabet system and then number items in a particular bin.
You may not have the robots and systems a larger company does, but you can still be highly organized and use software that integrates with your online shopping cart to ensure you order low stock items in a timely manner.
3. Consider Third Party Channels for Selling Inventory
Although it may seem odd to consider third party channels for selling your inventory, it’s an excellent way to reach your consumer base. They’re already familiar with sites like eBay and Amazon because so many people use them for daily purchases and speedy deliveries.
Casting a wide net for selling inventory can increase sales as well. However, you don’t need to worry about monitoring numerous sites individually in addition to running your business. Resources like Shoppingfeed centralize active channels for business owners with the most suitable sites for your products and customers. They also offer marketing abilities on social platforms that work best with your chosen channels. It’s easy to use while working on other ecommerce business factors so your company reaches the next level without complicating your time or efforts.
4. Improve Customer Relationships
Customer loyalty helps you keep the customers you have while seeking new ones. It’s impossible to grow if you constantly lose current customers and have to replace them. Your e-commerce store will remain stagnant and you won’t see much growth.
Look for ways to improve customer experience. Survey your current bosses to find out what they would like to see from your brand. Send them reminders when you receive a new product they might be interested in. Reach out on their birthday with a greeting and a special offer.
5. Add Product Videos
You can improve conversion rates by as much as 113% simply by adding a product video to descriptions. People shopping online can’t touch or hold items, but a 360-degree video or example of the object in use can help them see how it might function for them. Your videos don’t have to be extensive. Add a 20-second shot showing the product from the top, bottom and sides.
Pay Attention to Analytics
Dig deep into the analytics behind your site. What are some trends you see? Can you remove features people aren’t using to put the focus on new products? What promotions worked well in the past for you? Try to analyze each area of your business and improve processes. With a bit of determination, you’ll attract new customers and take your business to the next level.
