When starting an ecommerce business, the potential for growth is unlimited. Shopify is an incredible platform that lends itself to a constantly widening boundary of success for e-commerce merchants. E-commerce has little overhead costs and merchants can creatively differentiate themselves and their products or services in a multitude of ways. However, every industry comes with its own territory, and e-commerce is no exception. While retail brick and mortar may face threats of theft, rising rent rates, and issues with managers, e-commerce has its own obstacles that need navigation and support.
Shopify helps merchants with challenges such as converting website traffic to paying customers, questions about advertising and influencer marketing, or more technical issues with SEO or scam reports; every obstacle is an opportunity to grow a business even further.
Window Shoppers
A common issue that merchants around the internet express is the disappointment in a rising website traffic number that does not correlate to a growing customer base. There truly is nothing worse than a customer, even virtually, leaving empty handed. Others who relate to this dilemma have shared their tips, and they may be more basic than you would expect! One product review on your shop goes a long way. Customers love to see how others have engaged with the product and service and they build trust when they see positive reviews. Additionally, changing around an e-commerce shop's web design by adding push notifications and a strategy to target abandoned carts is pivotal to making changes in these issues. Lastly, merchants suggest reviewing advertising campaigns and the audiences that are targeted in these strategies.
Getting a Brand Out There
Advertising and marketing are the future, but what does that mean for the present in an ecommerce business? Merchants break down the importance of different streams in marketing including email marketing, influencer marketing, and other platforms as well! For email marketing, it’s important to segment audiences to targeted emails. Setting up content in advance and then hitting an automation can streamline this marketing process exponentially. Another avenue is posting content on as many platforms as possible; think Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, and even Reddit. Finally, the likes, comments, and shares that influencers push really do drive traffic to ecommerce shops and that traffic is easily converted into sales. The key is to select influencers to promote products that are aligned with messaging and target audiences. That way the advertising is authentic, and yields results. For example, don't send cookie monsters a PR box to promote a new carb free weight loss plan, that would just be ineffective! When searching for an influencer, practically ask to see their audience engagement numbers and focus on hashtags.
Working out the Kinks
Lastly, technical issues are a pain, but knowing how to deal with them allows you to get your site up and running quicker than a commercial break. If an e-commerce shop gets shut down, reach out to Shopify support, and identify the issue that caused them to flag your site. Sometimes, the issue is with PayPal and shifting payment to a Shopify partner may be helpful and less risky. Merchants also relate to scam stores that they encounter on the platform. It is so important to report scam pages, as customers will be turned off if they encounter a scam, and not be invested in further shopping. Merchants relate the desire for Shopify to do more to protect against these scam stores. On another technical note, merchants discussed the importance in understanding SEO and its multitude of abilities. Education and understanding is pivotal in both onsite and offsite SEO. Take the time to really understand link building and keep in mind that SEO is a long game strategy and not a sprint.
While e-commerce doesn't lend itself to much human interaction, there are so many others who are in the same “virtual boats.” Merchants deal with so many issues and just having direction and support is essential. Like the industry, virtual obstacles are just as distressing, and e-commerce shops need constant care and guarding. With all that warning, leaning into advice of other merchants in the industry can really springboard an e-commerce shop to new heights and allow for success that would otherwise be unparalleled in a brick-and-mortar setting.