Becoming King of the Ecommerce Hill

The Internet has become packed to the digital gills with online retailers hawking their wares to visitors, loyal customers and individuals who clicked on the wrong link and decided to stick around and browse for a while. With so much competition out there, you have to do everything possible to increase your sales and successfully market yourself. It’s better that you focus on the basics and branch out from there rather than try an insane and desperate marketing ploy. Even if an idea or suggestion is cliché, you have to remember that clichés have stood the test of time for a reason—because they work.

Simple and Smooth

Take a good look at your website. Is it cluttered like a storage room, or open and inviting like a spa? The key to attracting online customers and keeping them interested isn’t bombarding them with graphics, funky fonts and animations. Let visitors know what you sell, what makes you different from anyone else who sells the same thing and how your products can improve their lives. Your website should fit the items that you sell, but still be clean and uncomplicated.



You Don’t Have to Call, but Make Sure that You Write

E-mail marketing is still a great way to alert customers to upcoming specials, new products and any events that might be going on in the future. Since so many sales ads and newsletters will more than likely wind up in the spam box or trash, it’s best that you let your customers and visitors sign up for your newsletter or mailing list. This way you know for a fact that they’ll not only get the information in their inbox, but actually want to read the information that you’ll be sending them. This is a very big step because you’re starting to gain that customer’s trust. Don’t betray that trust by sending them useless information.

You also want to make sure that you aren’t bombarding them with messages every day. When they get an e-mail from you, it should feel like getting a letter from a good friend they haven’t talked to in a while, not like getting a bill.



Reach One, Teach One

Just because you’re a retailer doesn’t mean that you always have to be about selling, marketing and advertising. You should also share valuable and current information about the industry that you’re in from inventory management to what is resonating with buyers these days. What are some of the sweeping changes and trends taking place? Who’s making waves and switching the game up? Do you have any tips to share about your products or products like yours that would make them more useful?

By sharing articles, news, images and the like related to your business sector, you’re showing that you’re truly a professional and not just another company trying to make as much money as possible. If you’ve got the skills for it, you might even want to think about writing some industry-related articles or hosting a seminar. Anything to give back to your customers and your industry is sure to help build your business and your business reach.



Easy Freebie

Offering free shipping is a great way to see a spike in your sales. If you’re offering a premium product, people won’t mind paying top dollar, but if they have to pay for expensive shipping on top of that you might find your sales becoming stagnant. If you can’t offer shipping completely for free, try to get it down as low as possible. Another option is to send a free shipping code to anyone who signs up for your mailing list. That way you get new customers and new contacts at the same time.



Be Social

Social networking has become a must for online retailers and brick-and-mortar stores alike. If you aren’t very familiar with getting the most out of social networking or don’t have a department dedicated to social networking, don’t be afraid to hire a professional to do the work for you. You might be spending money, but you’ll also be reaching more customers and could potentially tap into an audience that you never knew was out there. Being sociable is a great way to make new friends and business connections in real life as well as online.

Try implementing these tools one by one or no more than two at a time. Really focusing on each individually rather than all at the same time will be a better experience for you as well as your visitors. Stick with it and you’re sure to be crowned Retail King of the Internet!  

Author Bio:
Please feel free to contact Ella Gray with any questions at ella.l.gray@gmail.com.