The first online purchase was made in 1994 with a Sting album.
Back then, it was unimaginable to find, select and buy a product without seeing it in person first. Almost 30 years later, every business interaction is done online or can be done online.
This includes the transfer of money from customers to a company, the invoices sent and the delivery of the final product.
E-commerce has become an indispensable part of retail, with global e-commerce sales expected to exceed €4 trillion by the end of 2024. For those who make a living selling goods online and want to get a piece of those trillions, competition can be fierce. But there are ways to stand out from the crowd.
1. Find your unique sales proposition
Do you want to sell clothes, electronics, paint, books, or professional services? Get ready, because no matter what you sell, you will have competition.
The best way to stand out from the competition is to think strategically about your niche. Is it geographical and based on the region you live in? How will you target your audience?
Once you’ve figured out what defines your business and sets you apart from others, you can develop a business plan with clear milestones to achieve your goals.
2. Optimize your website’s user experience
The ColourPop Cosmetics homepage is both impressive and functional for visitors to the website.
An Internet user needs less than half a second to form an opinion about a company based on its website.
Even if you want your website to be more beautiful or functional than your resources allow, you should still put in the effort to make it clean, functional, and attractive.
It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should be clear and easy to navigate so users can complete their purchase without any problems.
3. Create an FAQ page for your “why”
The sustainable brand Roody offers quick answers to frequently asked questions on its FAQ page.
When you plan or update your website, add a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page.
Depending on the product or service you sell or offer, this is where your “why”—the reason you started your business—comes into play.
For example, if you sell fair trade scarves made by women in rural communities around the world, this is a place to explain why you do what you do and what the larger context of your business is.
An FAQ page can help automate the information behind the goods or services you sell and save you time in the long run. Your FAQ page can answer basic customer queries so you don’t always have to do it yourself.
4. Be thoughtful in your email marketing strategies
Send a weekly newsletter with information about sales, new content, or product launches. Your email marketing strategy doesn’t have to be fancy—and you can hire freelance help if you’re not good at it.
Repeated emails to customers keep you top of mind and can encourage them to return for a purchase. Effective strategies include:
Building your email marketing list
Data can be worth money, so create a pop-up that offers customers a discount if they sign up for your email newsletter. If you sell products or services in your local community, ask in-person customers if they would like to sign up for your newsletter to receive a discount.
authenticity
If you want to have creative control over your email marketing, use your own voice (or the voice of your brand) when communicating with customers. Your business should have a personality, and that personality starts with you.
monitoring of opening rates
When you start sending email newsletters, pay attention to your open rates. Open rates show how many people on your mailing list actually open your marketing emails. You can easily compare open rates for different types of messages to get a sense of what people want to read—and what they don’t.
5. Build an e-commerce funnel
An ecommerce funnel describes the different stages of a customer’s journey on your website—how a customer gets from point A to point B, or comes into contact with your site to make a purchase. It is typically broken down into three stages: top, middle, and bottom. Each stage uses strategies to give customers awareness and consideration and then move them to purchase from your brand.
In a typical funnel, a customer lands on your website, perhaps through social media or search engine optimization (SEO) . Then they sign up for your newsletter to receive a discount. Then they visit the website, create a shopping cart, and then abandon it.
You receive an automatic notification when he/she abandons the cart. Then an order is placed and you send an email that the order has been received and shipped. Finally, you send a survey about the experience.
This sales funnel guides a casual browser toward their final purchase through small nudges that you can automate on your website. A sales funnel has become the norm because it combines a solid user experience with consistent communication. Start your own by creating nudges for browsers and shoppers alike, such as abandoned cart notifications and final customer surveys.