According to the World Economic Forum, the COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the takeover of eCommerce. Because of the global health scare that sent people locking down in their homes, unavailable to visit brick-and-mortar shops for their needs, digital stores became even more popular in the past year. And no one is complaining, maybe except those traditional retail outlets that had to either temporarily or permanently close shop.
If you are running an eCommerce business, congratulations! It is your time to shine. And you do not have to shine while burning, too. You can keep business operations cool and uncomplicated by following these hacks. ;
Web hosting
Sure you can maintain your website. But be ready to face the challenges common to such a choice. For instance, you might not properly track website traffic. You might miss the exact number of visitors you get per month. Or you might not get the exact data regarding where your visitors stayed the most and how long they stayed on a particular page. And these are critical information you could monetize.
Inefficient website tracking is just the tip of the iceberg though. Maintaining your website can also mean technical mistakes that lead to dead pages, missing links, outdated content and features, and poor SEO performance. These essentially mean wasted resources.
Alternatively, you can go with business website hosting. Here you’re basically putting someone else in charge of your website. And there are a variety of benefits to be had from this strategy.
You will be ensured of fast loading speeds, site security, and even 24/7 technical support. Your website host will also help you navigate through how you can best improve your online presence.
Social media marketing
Social media is a free resource for online businesses. One you can use to your absolute advantage. For a business, there’s no such thing as social media overexposure. The more you’re seen, the better. So make sure you have your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages working.
But that’s not all there is to it though. It’s not enough that you run socmed pages devoted to your brand. You need to make those pages consistent with what your business is about. If you entertain and engage your audience enough with your shared socmed content, whether original or otherwise, the better your chances are of selling to this captive audience.
Also, learn how to read social media analytics. They will help you determine what you’re doing right and where there’s room for improvement.
Customer service via socmed
Marketing your business is not the only way you can exhaust the benefits of social media. You can also use them as your customer service portal. Yes, you no longer have to outsource the job. You can do it yourself. Or you can assemble a small team to manage socmed queries for you.
Everyone is on social media nowadays. And most of them prefer brands and businesses that are accessible via these platforms. It’s in your best interest to appeal to this customer preference. After all, it won’t cost you a lot of money. It might even cost you zilch.
Simplify product catalogue
There’s a saturation of consumer products online. Anything anyone thought of googling is probably already being sold on the internet. So your goal is not to add as many products as you can to what’s already there. Your goal is to add a product or two that’s bound to stand out amid the stiff competition.
It’s best to simplify your product catalogue. Your catalogue does not have to offer a variety of products for your business to be considered legit. If you have a few that actually appeal to a certain consumer demographic, you’re already on the right track.
It does not look good to have products in your catalogue that look idle, unsought and unappreciated. Better to get rid of them and save virtual space.
Take great pictures
Selling online requires creativity. You must be imaginative enough to picture your products in the best light. This is where product photography comes in. And no, you do not have to be a professional to take great pictures. Watch YouTube tutorials and in no time you’re a pro.
November last year saw record-breaking eCommerce sales. The winners include Alibaba which sold products worth $115 billion. The much-anticipated Black Friday sales grew by 22 percent too. Obviously, there’s a huge pie here. One you can partake in.
And partaking in eCommerce need not be unnecessarily complicated for you. You can streamline business processes through strategies such as the ones we mentioned here. Now, happy selling!
