Running an eCommerce store is one of the best ways to grow an online business. But just offering quality products isn’t enough:
you also need to have a great site, excellent customer service and a killer marketing plan to bring in new customers and keep existing ones coming back. Fortunately, improving your eCommerce store doesn’t have to be expensive.
Consider all of the following ways to build a better online store without stretching your budget.
Also Check: Digital Marketing course in Delhi
Take Better Stock Photos
Whether you sell handmade products from home or run a massive dropshipping operation where you keep no actual product in stock, stock photos are essential.
Customers cannot see, touch and examine a product online as they can in-person, so detailed stock photos help to bridge that gap.
While there are plenty of online solutions to finding and obtaining stock photos (like Tissot), it might be in the best interest of your business to take your own photos.
Take multiple photos from different angles, showing off all aspects of a product, as well as including a possible size reference to include in some of the pictures.
For example, if selling wooden figurines, you could provide an image of them standing next to a lamp or book on a bookshelf for a size reference of your product.
Taking your own stock photos also lets your products stand out from competitors who might be offering the same thing. This is because you can make sure to add your own artistic flair in the photos and distinguish your product from those of your competition.
Learning to take better stock photos is something that costs nothing other than your time, and can lead to a marked improvement in your sales.
Alter Product Descriptions
Product descriptions are almost as important to your online store as having detailed stock photos. They should be thorough and accurately represent the product so customers are clear on what they are buying.
This prevents dissatisfaction and returns. A good product description can also set apart your product from those of your competitors.
No one wants to have to needlessly scroll to understand what they are trying to buy online! Use a succinct, yet detailed product description in order to captivate would-be customers, while still letting them know what they are looking at, and why they should buy it.
You can do this by simply making sure to include important information such as dimensions, materials and more while also keeping it brief. Be sure to include a call to action that creates a sense of urgency and urges a customer to make a purchase now.
If you are still stumped, consider taking a look at how the online products you like to purchase are described online. Maybe you could try and mimic their success when it comes to representing your own product.
Ultimately, changing your product descriptions comes at no cost but can make a big difference. A very small and simple change that will change the readability of your site for the better.
Leverage Free And Low-Cost Promotional Tools
The best online stores on the Internet won’t bring in many sales if customers don’t know that they exist. Because of the sheer volume of products being sold online and the number of people trying to make a living this way, it becomes more important than ever to put together a solid marketing plan.
Social media is often the first place to set up a presence, as it is free and offers an unprecedented possibility for exposure. You should consider what kind of social media marketing would best fit your product. Are you selling bakery kits?
Perhaps including online tutorials and short videos on how to bake with your product would be enough to attract more customers to your site. Or, maybe your product would do better by being sponsored by influencers on their blogs. The kind of marketing you choose will ultimately depend on your product niche and your marketing budget.
You may also be able to list your products on price comparison sites. You don’t need a massive marketing budget to bring attention to your online store, but paid advertising, whether through social media platforms or search engines, will cost money.
Fortunately, it is low-cost, allows you to target a very specific audience and the amount you spend can be easily controlled. This means that you can make a marketing plan for your business, and keep track of the kind of goals you want your business to meet.
Online exposure can be a funny thing to track, but, when you take the time to understand how and what is affecting your sales, you can understand what you need more or less of and alter your budget and plan accordingly.
Consider Redesigning Your Store To Be More User-Friendly
The ability for a shopper to find exactly what it is they are looking for, whether a specific product or your contact information, is critically important.
This may not be free if you have to hire a new web designer or bring back the one who designed your store in the first place, but it can be a smart move.
Websites should occasionally change their look to reflect an updated style or to improve the user experience. If you are using a store template from one of the major eCommerce hosts it may be free to make some small changes that could make big differences.
If your current host is not meeting your needs or another could serve your territory better, you could look into an eCommerce solution in Canada or other options that might be a better match for your operations.
Pay Attention To Keywords
Keywords are not only useful when utilizing the internal search function in your online store. They are critical for bringing in offsite traffic as well, particularly from the major search engines such as Google.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of using certain keywords and phrases people search for in order to list higher in search engine results and bring more traffic to your site.
To improve SEO, make a list of particular keywords people are searching for that will lead them to your site and then use them in your blog posts, product descriptions and elsewhere to improve your store’s visibility absolutely free.
Online stores don’t require as much capital up front as traditional retail outlets do in order to be successful and produce good quality service.
There are many ways you can build and continuously improve a successful eCommerce store without stretching your budget. By implementing some of the tips provided in this article, your online store will soon be thriving. Along the way, don’t forget to keep planning on what you need to change as the business grows.
Perhaps you will need to increase your digital marketing budget or even start to charge more for the shipping and handling of your product. You will only know what you need to improve once you start your business.
Then, so long as you continuously keep improving your business as it grows, you will be able to enjoy running a successful online store. Now, get creative! You can bring in more interested shoppers and make more sales with your updated online store.
