Running an online shop generating profits at a level that satisfies us is not an easy task. Many factors influence the success of the whole undertaking. Both the choice of goods and the platform on which our e-commerce will operate are essential. Attention should also be paid to promotion and communication strategies with customers or order handling. So, what can you do to ensure that the business conducted in the network develops well?
Meet your customers
The starting point for e-commerce business analysis is customers and their needs and expectations. The better you get to know your customers, the better you will match the shop’s offer with them, as well as its appearance or particular functionalities.
The Gemius report shows that over 70% of the surveyed Internet users currently use online shopping. This is 11 percentage points more than last year. Among modern e-consumers are mainly young people. In the 25-34 age group, 22% of respondents admitted to shopping online, while in the 35-49 age group, 32% of those surveyed.
It is also worth noting the factors that motivate e-consumers to shop online. As many as 82% of the respondents admitted that the availability of products and the possibility of placing orders 24 hours a day is essential for them. In their opinion, the online form of shopping is also supported by unlimited time for searching for preferred goods and the lack of need to reach a stationary shop.
On the other hand, factors that annoy customers of e-shops include poorly intuitive forms, lack of mobile version of the shop, an uncomfortable way of payment or too small size of letters making it difficult to get acquainted with the offer.
From the above information, owners of e-businesses can draw conclusions that will increase the profitability of their business. So, what should they put special attention?
Prepare the e-shop for frequent visits and encourage customers to shop
The first impression counts most. This principle also applies to online shops. Visitors to your website want to quickly find the product they need and complete the transaction in as few steps as possible. You will make it easier for them if:
- You take care of the website’s UX – both the layout of the individual sections on the site and the appropriate category designation or the use of breadcrumbs in navigation are essential. Thanks to this, customers will easily navigate around your shop and will be happy to make purchases.
- You prepare unique content – remember that online shoppers have no physical contact with the seller or the product. Preparing exhaustive product descriptions and real photographs allow them to get to know the offer better. On the other hand, chatbots can help with customer service which will provide visitors with answers to frequently asked questions and, if necessary, redirect them to the customer service department.
- You take care of the aesthetics – in attracting customers to the e-shop the graphic design and attention to aesthetics also play an essential role. It is necessary to pay attention to these issues already at the stage of designing your website. Match the colours to the industry in which you are active, with the published graphics, emphasise the character of your brand and take care of the modern style in line with the current trends in online shop design.
- Your shop will be responsive – today, customers make online purchases from various devices. For this reason, your e-shop should be suitable for browsing on mobile devices as well as on laptops or desktop PCs. Dedicated mobile applications are also top-rated.
- You prepare a promotion plan – if you want to reach many customers with your offer, you must be visible on the Internet. Many factors influence SEO. You can be sure that unique content published on product cards, like on a blog, will help you to get the right positions in the search engine. It is also worth preparing descriptions of individual categories and tags. It would help if you also took care of regular communication with recipients through mailings or social media. These activities should be consistent across all channels and aimed at the most significant possible involvement of recipients. Therefore, it is not enough that you will only publish new blog posts or content in social media. It would help if you analysed your audience’s needs in-depth, learn about their preferences and then adapt the forms of promotion to your audience’s channels and purchasing stages. These actions should be based on reliable data, which you will obtain from the analytical tools available from Google or using Ecometrixo, an application enabling consistent analysis of all company data in one place.
- You monitor the effects – in the development of an online shop, it is also crucial to monitor key KPIs and the fulfilment of the adopted objectives. Remember that these objectives should be measurable and verifiable based on the generated data. Then you will know which actions are conducive to the generation of profits, and which ones you should better resign from. By acting systematically, you will achieve the best results.