It’s no secret that e-commerce is exceptionally profitable. Just think about it; you don’t have to pay rent for your brick-and-mortar store (maybe a small subscription fee if your online store is built upon Shopify or Shoplazza), and you can sell products internationally. And the numbers prove it even more.
This year, it’s expected that there will be $4.89 trillion worth of products sold on e-commerce sites by the end of this year. How crazy is that?
Well, if you’d like to get a slice of this pie (or make yours bigger), we’ve listed the four best e-commerce best practices to apply. We call it the “CAPE” strategy. If that sounds interesting, then keep on reading.
#1 - Convenience & Simplicity
If you’re looking to increase your revenue, the best place to start is by improving the convenience of your store and making it simple for people to buy from you. But how can you do it? Well, there are many ways to do it, but here are a few:
- Simplify Your Checkout: Most people don’t want to waste their time going through multiple pages before completing a purchase. So to help you out, it’s great if you could create a one-page checkout. If that’s not possible with your store, have at least a progress bar.
- Offer Faster Shipping: If you find a way to make your shipping even faster without going bankrupt, then this is always a good thing to do. People are impatient, so adding this will make buying from you more convenient.
- Add A Chatbot: If you include a chatbot, you’ll be able to make running a store easier for both parties. First, your customers will get answers to the most frequently asked questions more quickly. As a by-product, you and your team don’t need to spend as much time on customer service.
#2 - Offer Assistance, Curation, and Recommendation
Another great thing to do in 2022 is to offer assistance to your potential customers. That helps you warm them up so they’ll be ready to buy from you.
The best way to do it is by creating quizzes.
With quizzes, you can make it easier for your customers to pick the best product for their needs. Take a look at Brevit, for example! They have a quiz that helps people understand what backpack works for them.
#3 - Offer Personalization & Flexible Solutions
And lastly, we recommend you start offering some personalization and flexible solutions in your online store. Here’s how you can do that:
- Add Payment Plans: Sometimes, your customers want to buy your products but don’t have the money to do it. So instead of losing a sale, why not offer them a payment plan? For example, you could split the cost into three months. You could even add a little interest to make even more money.
- Product Engravings: If you have the tools or your manufacturer is willing to do it, adding custom engravings to your products can increase your revenue drastically. It will add a personal touch to every customer, which means you could charge a premium.
#4 - Increase the Value of Customer Engagement
If you want to convert a stranger into a long-term client, you’ll have to build their trust. And do you know what the easiest way to do it is? It’s by increasing your customer engagement. Here are two ways you can do it:
- Create Valuable Content: Valuable content does two things. First, it keeps your brand in the minds of your customers. And secondly, it increases your authority. Both are important for sales. Begin by creating content for your blog and social media pages.
- Socialize with Your Fans: Another way to increase customer engagement is by engaging with them on social media. You can do it by responding to their comments or reposting their pictures on your pages.
Conclusion
And those were the four best practices. So to recap, if you want to increase your revenue, you’ll have to:
- offer Convenience and simplicity,
- offer Assistance, curation, and recommendation,
- offer Personalization and flexible solutions,
- And finally, increase the value of customer Engagement.
(Contributed by Andreas Ojala; Co-author: Clair Feng)
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