Running an e-commerce business will allow your small business to reach a customer base beyond the local sphere. Your small business will be exposed to national and international markets and compete with larger companies in the same industry. This wouldn’t even be possible if you were running a brick-and-mortar store.
Getting into an e-commerce business can also seem daunting for a small business. What you need to understand about e-commerce is that it is continuously changing. Fresh ways are always being developed to help you stay relevant in the market. And when you are running an online store, you need to keep up with all these changes.
As an e-commerce owner, you will always need to:
- Make a good first impression on your customer
- Give them a seamless online shopping experience
- Reach out to them where they are
These points are essential for any e-commerce business, whether large or small.
But there are some things in e-commerce that never change. If you are running a small e-commerce business, whether it’s been a while or just starting out, you have come to the right place. In this article, we’ll list some tips that are timeless, and will help you to achieve your goals.
Do keep in mind that to successfully run an e-commerce store, you need to have an internet connection for your business. If you are facing issues with your current provider, it’s time for you to switch to Xfinity because its plans include reliable connections at fast speeds for businesses. You can call on Xfinity phone number to get more information about it so you can get started with your small businesses immediately.
Moving on, here are 10 tips you can follow to achieve your goals of successfully running a small business in the e-commerce industry:
First Impression Matters
It’s true. There’s no denying that a first impression plays an essential role in how customers feel about your e-commerce store. If they don’t have a good feeling about your online store, they won’t return, and you lose your credibility.
This is why your focus should be on the online presence of your store and how your website looks and performs. If the website takes too much time to load, users will close the browser without exploring anything. Or if your social media platform doesn’t have a link to the website, that doesn’t bode well for your business.
It only takes a few seconds for users to decide if they want to navigate through your website or not. And these few seconds are essential for making a good impression.
Pay attention to the website design. Is it easy for a user to scroll down? Does the website include the ‘About Us’ or contact information? Have the items been organized into their proper categories? Do you have a business email address for your customers to reach out to you through as it will help you to establish your credibility? Do you have social media platforms linked to your website so customers can follow you online?
Your Online Store Should be Customer-Centric
Another thing you should focus on is that your online store should give customers the flexibility to order the stuff that they need.
Since users cannot touch or try the items they are buying from your online store as they can in regular stores, the least you could do is make the whole online experience comfortable . This means, from making the website experience as seamless as possible, the payment process smooth, to offering them free shipping, there are many ways to go about it.
You could offer multiple payment options for your customers or ensure that the checking-out process does not include too many steps. If the customers feel that they had a smooth experience while navigating through your website, they are willing to return and make repeat purchases.
The Website Should be Mobile-Friendly
How many times have we come across a website on our smartphones that throws ad after ad, displays cookies preferences only for us to exit that website? It does get pretty frustrating. You need to ensure that this doesn’t happen when users visit your website.
The convenience of online shopping from smartphones makes the whole experience enjoyable for many users. You need to do the same for your customers as well.
In this ever-changing world, if you aren’t working on building your business with mobile technology in mind, then you are irrelevant. So you need to ensure that your website is mobile-friendly i.e. navigating through it is easy, contact information can be easily found, the interface is organized, etc.
Manage Your Social Media Presence
The social media platforms are where you really connect with your customers.
You introduce prospective customers to your website, provide them with information about your services and products, and update them about new promotions and changes in your brand. You also give customers the option to reach out to your support team to discuss your products and services.
Popular social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, etc are where you will find many of your customers. Although it used to be where customers could connect with their friends and loved ones, these social media platforms have now become the hub of every business in the industry for promoting their services. Effective social media management can help your business leverage these platforms to their full potential, ensuring you reach and engage with your target audience.
Users look for the brand and their services on social media platforms, and if they are unable to find one, they don’t trust the brand’s credibility. That is why you also need to manage and successfully run the social media platforms for your small business.
Plus, if you want to get ahead of your competition, social media is where it is all possible.
Provide Exceptional Customer Service
Now, this is the tricky part that most brands struggle with. If you offer the best products and services in the country, your customers won’t return to your online store again if they had a bad experience with your customer service.
You need to ensure that your customers have a smooth customer service experience when interacting with your small business. This means training your customer service team to the best of their abilities.
If your customer has reached out to your brand on social media platforms, do not ignore their messages; respond to them in a timely manner. If a user has tweeted on X platform by tagging your brand, provide an answer to them as well. If a customer posts a bad review online, respond to them as well. This shows that your brand cares about the customer’s experience.
Dealing with these customers in a professional manner instead of ignoring them is how you can build trust with your customers, eventually gaining a reputation for providing the best customer service.
Final Thoughts
There you go – the above-mentioned tips that small businesses can use to leverage the e-commerce industry to remain stable and thrive. Running a business can be pretty daunting, but if you understand the basics, you can grow your business and keep advancing to become the best in the business.
Technology is ever-changing, and so are the strategies for running an e-commerce business. However, using the above-mentioned tips are the ones that are timeless and suitable for many businesses, which is why you should consider them for running your small business.
Do keep in mind that each business is different and unique. You are the one who ultimately understands your business; which is why, choose wisely.