Entrepreneurship gives you the opportunity to blaze your own trail and succeed on your own terms. However, most of the time, it’s also much more challenging than working as an employee somewhere. Particularly if you run an ecommerce store, the competition is fierce, and since you’re the boss, you’re responsible for the success of your store. Here are 5 tips for improving your ecommerce marketing and customer base. You will be able to get more customers to your store in no time!
One of the key factors that determines the success of an ecommerce store is how healthy the customer base is. Your Shopify store won’t function for long if the sales stop. Therefore, it’s essential to think of ways you can improve your customer base. For the ecommerce entrepreneur out there, here are some quick tips on attracting and retaining customers.
#1 Consider Time Blocking
Knowing how to prioritize tasks and manage time is one of the biggest challenges that comes with being an entrepreneur and ecommerce marketing.
A lot of business owners find that time blocking can help transform their productivity. Basically, time blocking is when you divide all your tasks for the day into chunks and you dedicate a certain amount of time for each task.
For instance, rather than responding to customer emails off and on throughout the course of the day, you might schedule to do it from 9 am to 9:30 am and 4 pm to 4:30 pm. This provides a more focused strategy to the workday and can help you minimize distractions.
#2 Keep Your Inventory Updated
If you run a dropshipping business, it’s essential to keep up with trending niches and products. Offering a mixture of your best-selling and new items will help keep your customers coming back.
Whether it’s art, clothing, wedding supplies, pet supplies, home decor or anything else, be sure to consistently offer popular products that work well in the dropshipping format.
#3 Spruce Up Your Website
Another important part of gaining and retaining customers in ecommerce marketing is keeping your website up to date. When you run an ecommerce store, your website essentially is your store.
It serves as the equivalent of a brick-and-mortar storefront, store floor, and checkout line. Make sure you invest the necessary time and money to keep your website professional on all accounts. At the very least, it should be attractive, it should be easy to navigate, and it should function efficiently.
Your store’s social media profiles should also look their best!
#4 Let Your Reputation Precede Your Marketing
Reputation is irreplaceable in the ecommerce world. As tough as the competition is, the success of your company will rely, in many ways, on people’s perception of the company.
Marketing is important, but reputation should come first in your priorities. Some ways to help build your reputation are to display your best customer reviews, offer discounts and promos, provide good warranties and stay responsive to customers.
#5 Prioritize Customer Support
Customer support is also something that can’t be replaced. If they’re not pleased with the customer service, it’s now easier than ever for a customer to shop around and find an item from a different company.
Take whatever steps are necessary to stay engaged with your customers — from answering questions to providing information to updating them on upcoming sales. Some examples of steps you could take include training your employees in customer service, hiring new customer service representatives, and/or using chatbots.
Running your own business can be the most rewarding way to make a living, but building your customer base is critical if you are to enjoy success. Remember to try time blocking to boost workplace productivity, and offer a rotation of trending products from your store.
Make sure your website is always top-notch, and focus on developing your company’s reputation. Last but not least, prioritize your customer support to keep your customers happy and coming back. These practices will help you stay ahead of the game as an ecommerce entrepreneur.