The boom that businesses have witnessed in terms of online shopping in the last decade has been massive.Building and growing an e-commerce business strategy requires hard work and smart work.
Like other types of business models, this one also requires you to meet unexpected demands and take difficult decisions to stay on the right path.Here is a short guide on how to start an e-commerce business that will help you throughout the process.1.
What you sell and the range that you offer will help you define your business.Sourcing your product(s)Once you are confident about your product idea, your next task is to find out where and how you will get your products.
ResearchIn-depth research on market and competitionOnce you have chosen your product and finalised the sourcing method, you can start with the research.
This will help you understand where you stand and how you will make your business unique.Creating your business planOnce you have finished your research, you can begin writing your business plan.
Set up your businessPut a name on your businessChoose an appropriate brand name that represents what your business stands for.
How can you drive top-of-funnel traffic to transform into sales and customers?
The good news is, there are various ways to do it.There are many strategies, such as using Ecommerce SEO, Ecommerce PPC, Ecommerce CRO, Organic Traffic, Facebook, or Google Ads, to drive targetted traffic.
The ecommerce strategies that you choose to use for your website’s marketing, growth, and engagement have to evolve as the algorithms change with time.Here are a few ideas that you can implement to grow your website and engage with your audience:CouponsThey have been iconic in retail promotions.
Along with using them for product purchases, you can use them to receive newsletters, download content, or ask consumers for referrals,You can use them to attract new email subscribers.
Hence, it is suggested to have a variety of coupons that can attract specific subscriber segments.ContestsYou can conduct contests on any social network such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
This is one of the tried and tested method that ecommerce companies use to build community, generate awareness, engage with the audience, drive traffic, and boost sales.The best methods to conduct a social media contest are:Use a unique hashtag for the promotion.Announce your contest using an image or video.Use a moderation tool.Have the legal rights to re-use user-generated content.Keeping the policies of the network in mind, publish the rules of the contest.UpsellUpselling can play a key role in the growth of your website and sales.
The pillars of digital e commerce marketing are:Search Engine OptimisationContent MarketingNative AdvertisingPay-per-click (PPC) AdvertisingSocial Media MarketingEmail MarketingA digital ecommerce marketing strategy is a plan you create for your business to accomplish individual digital goals using thoroughly selected online marketing channels such as paid, earned, and owned media.Steps to Create an Effective Digital Ecommerce Marketing Strategy1.
Create a customer personaThe first step of marketing is to identify who your target audience is.
For a digital Ecommerce marketing strategy to delivers its optimum results, you need to create detailed buyer personas.Buyer personas are a depiction of your ideal customer(s).
This is built by researching, surveying, and interviewing your target audience.
Also, check on which ones are suitable for your strategy.Owned media: Digital assets owned by your company include the website, social media profiles, and blog content, among others.Earned media: It is the exposure your brand gets through word-of-mouth marketing.Paid media: These are the channels on which you spend money to attract your buyer personas, such as paid social media posts and Google Adwords.4.
Examine and plan your owned media campaignsGo through your existing contentFind out gaps in your existing contentDevelop a content creation plan5.
Going online and looking for things one needs is simpler now, thanks to the easy availability of technology.
Users can quickly go online with accessible internet and smart phone technology or tablets or laptops.
While watching TV on their sofa, they can easily buy jewellery, a new dress, book a cab, order a meal, or browse for furniture options.
What they need is usually just a few clicks away from them.If you want your customers to access your products and services so easily, you need to make sure you are going digital with your business.
Ecommerce is standard now, and your customers are waiting to browse through your website.Before you start taking your business online, you need to ask yourself these questions.Is your industry operating online?Many businesses are successfully serving their customers online, but this is not true for all the industries.
For example, organizations in communication or banking technology are all about digital now, whereas industries requiring human labour such as construction or agriculture are not quick on the digital route yet.If your industry and competitors are happily catering to customers online, then it is high time that you get online as well.
Looking for products, checking out different brands, comparing prices, and going through reviews is normal for online buyers.This implies that your target audience in trying to find products or services similar to yours on Google or other search engines.
It also gives your brand exposure through organic or non-paid search engine results.
It helps you understand what your prospective audience is searching for online, what words they are using, how they are behaving online, and what kind of content they prefer.
When you understand this, it becomes easier for your brand to connect with the online audience.Why is Ecommerce SEO Important?There are other methods to drive online traffic, such as paid advertising and social media, but most traffic comes from search engines.When people search for information online, organic search results seem more credible, occupy more digital real estate, and are clicked more than the paid advertisements.
People choose organic information above paid information as they appear to be more authentic and reliable.
Ecommerce SEO plays a significant role here to make your website appear in the top results.When done right, SEO can turn to your Ecommerce site’s advantage.
Going online and looking for things one needs is simpler now, thanks to the easy availability of technology.
Users can quickly go online with accessible internet and smart phone technology or tablets or laptops.
While watching TV on their sofa, they can easily buy jewellery, a new dress, book a cab, order a meal, or browse for furniture options.
What they need is usually just a few clicks away from them.If you want your customers to access your products and services so easily, you need to make sure you are going digital with your business.
Ecommerce is standard now, and your customers are waiting to browse through your website.Before you start taking your business online, you need to ask yourself these questions.Is your industry operating online?Many businesses are successfully serving their customers online, but this is not true for all the industries.
For example, organizations in communication or banking technology are all about digital now, whereas industries requiring human labour such as construction or agriculture are not quick on the digital route yet.If your industry and competitors are happily catering to customers online, then it is high time that you get online as well.
The boom that businesses have witnessed in terms of online shopping in the last decade has been massive.Building and growing an e-commerce business strategy requires hard work and smart work.
Like other types of business models, this one also requires you to meet unexpected demands and take difficult decisions to stay on the right path.Here is a short guide on how to start an e-commerce business that will help you throughout the process.1.
What you sell and the range that you offer will help you define your business.Sourcing your product(s)Once you are confident about your product idea, your next task is to find out where and how you will get your products.
ResearchIn-depth research on market and competitionOnce you have chosen your product and finalised the sourcing method, you can start with the research.
This will help you understand where you stand and how you will make your business unique.Creating your business planOnce you have finished your research, you can begin writing your business plan.
Set up your businessPut a name on your businessChoose an appropriate brand name that represents what your business stands for.
Looking for products, checking out different brands, comparing prices, and going through reviews is normal for online buyers.This implies that your target audience in trying to find products or services similar to yours on Google or other search engines.
It also gives your brand exposure through organic or non-paid search engine results.
It helps you understand what your prospective audience is searching for online, what words they are using, how they are behaving online, and what kind of content they prefer.
When you understand this, it becomes easier for your brand to connect with the online audience.Why is Ecommerce SEO Important?There are other methods to drive online traffic, such as paid advertising and social media, but most traffic comes from search engines.When people search for information online, organic search results seem more credible, occupy more digital real estate, and are clicked more than the paid advertisements.
People choose organic information above paid information as they appear to be more authentic and reliable.
Ecommerce SEO plays a significant role here to make your website appear in the top results.When done right, SEO can turn to your Ecommerce site’s advantage.
How can you drive top-of-funnel traffic to transform into sales and customers?
The good news is, there are various ways to do it.There are many strategies, such as using Ecommerce SEO, Ecommerce PPC, Ecommerce CRO, Organic Traffic, Facebook, or Google Ads, to drive targetted traffic.
The ecommerce strategies that you choose to use for your website’s marketing, growth, and engagement have to evolve as the algorithms change with time.Here are a few ideas that you can implement to grow your website and engage with your audience:CouponsThey have been iconic in retail promotions.
Along with using them for product purchases, you can use them to receive newsletters, download content, or ask consumers for referrals,You can use them to attract new email subscribers.
Hence, it is suggested to have a variety of coupons that can attract specific subscriber segments.ContestsYou can conduct contests on any social network such as Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.
This is one of the tried and tested method that ecommerce companies use to build community, generate awareness, engage with the audience, drive traffic, and boost sales.The best methods to conduct a social media contest are:Use a unique hashtag for the promotion.Announce your contest using an image or video.Use a moderation tool.Have the legal rights to re-use user-generated content.Keeping the policies of the network in mind, publish the rules of the contest.UpsellUpselling can play a key role in the growth of your website and sales.
The pillars of digital e commerce marketing are:Search Engine OptimisationContent MarketingNative AdvertisingPay-per-click (PPC) AdvertisingSocial Media MarketingEmail MarketingA digital ecommerce marketing strategy is a plan you create for your business to accomplish individual digital goals using thoroughly selected online marketing channels such as paid, earned, and owned media.Steps to Create an Effective Digital Ecommerce Marketing Strategy1.
Create a customer personaThe first step of marketing is to identify who your target audience is.
For a digital Ecommerce marketing strategy to delivers its optimum results, you need to create detailed buyer personas.Buyer personas are a depiction of your ideal customer(s).
This is built by researching, surveying, and interviewing your target audience.
Also, check on which ones are suitable for your strategy.Owned media: Digital assets owned by your company include the website, social media profiles, and blog content, among others.Earned media: It is the exposure your brand gets through word-of-mouth marketing.Paid media: These are the channels on which you spend money to attract your buyer personas, such as paid social media posts and Google Adwords.4.
Examine and plan your owned media campaignsGo through your existing contentFind out gaps in your existing contentDevelop a content creation plan5.