With the changing trends and patterns in an average shopper’s buying behavior, it has become imperative for ecommerce businesses to get their priorities straight. There are numerous ecommerce business opportunities and people are taking full advantage of the available options.
Ecommerce business in India, as well as all over the world, is flourishing. In the U.S. alone, ecommerce growth rate is expected to be 8-12%.
All too often, I get questions like; how to set up ecommerce business. To tell you the truth, it’s not as hard as you think. Well, there are several procedures involved and you need to give your everything to the cause. But if you don’t give up and work hard, the dream would soon be a reality.
Almost every week, I receive emails from people who have ecommerce business ideas but experience problem in coming up with the right keywords.
After a quick research, I found the answer. Alex Chris had the best idea as he detailed how a keyword research for an ecommerce website works.
In my conquest to find out how to start ecommerce business, I came across another pressing matter.
Starting the business is not the hardest part. For many people, the problem arises when the time comes to turn online traffic into physical foot traffic. Without the right tools and resources, it’s almost impossible to deal with this issue.
So, just to get you started on cashing in the profits, here are 5 main points that’ll make sure your online success positively affects your business.
#1. The Pre-Visit Experience
I personally am a fan of this theory. It’s really simple actually.
Once a customer visits your business’s website, use some tools to compel them to visit the store. It can be achieved through a number of ways. You have to optimize your ecommerce site and Brian Dean has put together a comprehensive guide to ecommerce SEO.
Using the right content will definitely entice customers. Using promotions and discounts on in-store visits are a sure way of luring the online buyers to visit the store.
If the customers love the pre-visit experience, they are bound to want more and visit the store soon.
#2. Online Reviews
A study conducted by Dimensional Research concluded that online reviews are a great influence in helping customers makes buying decisions.
These stats prove that online reviews that make a great tool in influencing customers.
90% of the respondents were positively affected by the online reviews and proceeded to purchase the product. Similarly, the online reviews were effective in deterring 86% of respondents from making a purchase.
This way, if your product garners a positive review, you stand to earn a lot more than just popularity. Digital media definitely has an impact on offline purchases.
Still not convinced? ROBO (research online, buy offline) is a multi-trillion dollar phenomena and BazaarVoice has explored its impact in their report, ROBO economy.
For every $1 that you earn because of online reviews, it has an impact equal to $4-5 in offline purchases. So, encourage your clients to review your product and services online so you can use it to attract more customers.
#3. Social Influencers and Brand Ambassadors
Today’s generation has a lot of distractions and a sure way of capturing their attention is by using brand ambassadors. Many people contact me with questions on how to achieve that. There are several ways you can catch customer’s eyes.
With social influencers promoting your ecommerce business, you can be sure that it will attract the right audience. It is one of the most effective way of turning your online traffic into in-store traffic.
Recently Google hosted events to promote and showcase its diverse offerings and they successfully insinuated interest of the general public. All they had to do was work with some renowned people and businesses, such as Us the Duo and Wong Fu Productions. These ambassadors spread the word for Google and sure enough, the party was a success as crowds headed over to the venue.
You can even use YouTube to market your ecommerce store. Just get in touch with a famous YouTube personality and use these well-chosen pieces of advice by Neil Patel. As long as you have a social influencer on your side, the technique can be used to draw physical foot traffic.
#4. Local Campaigns
A study by Deloitte Digital in 2014 claimed that digital influences more than $1 trillion in retail store sales. But the most surprising find was that almost 84% of shoppers used a digital device to assist them in one or another shopping related activity.
This tells how much the digital world has taken over our daily lives and that’s why it’s important to run local campaigns online. When customers search for a ‘clothing store near me’, your store should be the first one on their list.
Go for loyalty programs, coupons, discounts and promotions to make sure you get noticed by people. Make sure you update these marketing strategies on your Google Maps page too.
Make sure that all listings are optimized since most people prefer to search a business on Google rather than visiting their website. If your Google listing describes your business timings and location you can easily influence local shoppers.
#5. Email Promotions and Newsletters
Need to promote in-store events and promotions?
The best way is through email marketing and social channels. It was an emerging trend in 2016 and each year more and more businesses opt for the programs.
With the help of mobile app push marketing and location based mobile messaging, you’ll be able to better attract the locals. Come up with ecommerce newsletter campaign ideas and see the results.
For this strategy to work in your favor, you need to ensure that the emails are personalized. Obtaining the right data will help you attract more customers and of course, shed some light on your business.
So what’s holding you back now? Take inspiration from examples of ecommerce businesses and follow the path to success. Don’t wait any longer and convert your online success into physical foot traffic. Start working to improve your customers’ pre-visit experience today!
