How can you stay ahead in e-commerce?

Understanding your customer data is so key to driving decisions your organization should be making towards achieving your goals. Also looking at individual kpis is key as each kpi drives a different action to make adjustments. Do I have a conversion issue? Maybe content optimization, offer adjustments, review generation strategy, cart abandonment flow optimization. Do I have a traffic issue? Do I convert high but not hitting my sales goals? This means I need to drive more eyeballs to my product listings. The data drives the action!!

Many businesses pride themselves on "knowing" their customers, but how many truly "listen" to them? In the bustling world of eCommerce, the line between these two actions can often blur. From my own experience, many eCommerce teams sideline customer feedback, deeming it the responsibility of customer service. But feedback isn't just for resolving issues. It's about understanding pain points, identifying gaps, and, leveraging this feedback to drive continuous improvement. Jeff Bezos was known to read customer emails. Why? Because he understood that these weren't just complaints or praises; they were opportunities. Opportunities to refine, to innovate, and to ensure that Amazon stayed ahead of the curve.

To do well in online selling, businesses need to focus on several important things. First, it's crucial to understand what customers want and make them happy. This means using data and really listening to customers. It's also important to make sure your website works well on mobile phones and to offer personalized recommendations to customers. Getting orders to customers quickly is important too Managing your inventory, or the stuff you sell, is also a big deal. Your prices should be competitive, not too high or low. And the way your website looks and how easy it is to use are also important. Be ready to change when needed. Using new technologies, being good to the environment, and working with others can also help your business grow.

Be aware that your "online" customer may not necessarily be your "offline" customer. It's crucial to understand consumer behaviour to identify what USP one can offer online to win against competition and against offline sales. Often it may be a simple thing like convenience or subscription. eCommerce normally gives tons of data - choose wisely and don't get lost in it :)

There is no definite target audience in E-commerce. You just need to understand where to initial position your brand then its just the matter of time where engage your customers and spread your horizon. Seems easy? Actually it isn't, in this ever so evolving world you need to continuously improve yourself by considering what exactly is the customer demanding for. If your goals are aligned with the customer feedback then the brand loyalty would increase and with time you would have a stronger customer base.

It's a common oversight: designing for desktop when the majority of consumers are on mobile. It's crucial to streamline mobile experiences. Every additional click or unnecessary form becomes a potential exit point for your visitor. Before complicating your design, consider its impact on sales. Moreover, always remember that your website is essentially your flagship store. Would you place outdated tech, inept staff, or a convoluted design in a prime location like Oxford Street or New York's 5th Avenue? I'd bet not. So, why compromise on your website's quality? It's your global showcase. Prioritize it.

Many of the times the word 'improving' is confused with having the latest technology. I know many people who have just started their Shopify store with a free theme and have just uploaded their products and boom thats it they are earning good numbers. You need to present your products & policies in such a way that the customer experience is great. There should be smooth customer journey with clear visibility of products. Please make sure to always keep in mind that is your website mobile-friendly because over 90% of your customers would visit your website on their phones so it should be compatible and presentable on your phones. ALWAYS!!

When you’re walking down the street, do you choose to walk into the shop which looks run down and neglected, or the one which the owner clearly takes pride in? If the products on the shelves (or piled up on the floor!) are a jumbled mess, do you waste your time rummaging, trying to find what you need, or do you move on to a store where everything is neatly laid out and clearly labelled? An e-commerce website is no different. Make the browsing and buying experience an easy, pleasurable one. Your customers and your bottom line will thank you.

Reduce friction as much as possible. And the process is fairly easy. 1. Make a purchase on your own site 2. Write down any points of friction 3. Fix them 4. Repeat

You'll always have a % of visitors that purchase from you on the first visit or without much nurturing. We all wish all of your traffic is like these special beautiful people haha For the 99% remaining traffic, try to prioritise data capture - If done properly your PopUp is your best friend, stop getting caught up with being overly caught up in your 'aesthetics' your a business and you need to capture leads. Once you have, nurture these audiences via your email flows and convert them!

Speaking from my Experience of WordPress & Shopify there are a ton of plugins which makes things easy and streamline. Instead of getting into any hassle and wasting your time and efforts in doing manual tasks try to take most of the plugins which makes life easy and focus on what is required from you

Remain curious, don't settle for just okay. Keep refining and trying new solutions that will streamline that boring and time consuming shit you don't like doing. Keep your enthusiasm for the things you love doing.

Try shit! Way too many people are overly cautious of trying new solutions, thinking they know best. Chances are there's new solutions out there that can help you get in front of new customers, understand data, streamline shipping etc. You won't know if something works or not if you don't try it.

Do It Yourself: Launching a Shopify store is a breeze. Get hands-on. Upload a product, initiate a sale, and deep-dive into the plethora of reports Shopify offers. The first-hand experience is gold. Mentorship Matters: Connect with someone experienced in eCommerce. Their journey, mistakes, and lessons can offer invaluable insights. Stay Updated: Tune into eCommerce-centric podcasts. Follow industry leaders and passionate practitioners. Their knowledge-sharing can be your daily dose of eCommerce wisdom.

Keep experimenting. If there's one thing we know about eCommerce is that we all don't know anything, it changes so fast. Try new things, try different marketing solutions, do brand partnerships, do it all. Gather feedback and data then double down on what worked. Do this in sprints, have a rest and go again.

1. Perform monthly competitor analysis, study their website and customer experience, marketing messaging, pricing strategy, how they handle shipping, and analyze their online reviews and social media presence. 2. Focus on product quality. 3. Establish unique branding. 4. Provide a great customer experience. 5. Focus on website usability. To help you boost your conversion rates, simplify your navigation, use responsive design, create distinct landing pages, and optimize your site for mobile users. 6. Build engagement. 7. Become part of something bigger. Nothing makes people feel better about themselves than when they contribute to a worthy cause. 8. Strive to establish an emotional connection with your buyers.

If you are into d2c then the journey from connect to convert and further retention can be tracked with ease. However in the case of marketplaces there has to be an overall analysis to actually understand what a customer segment needs.

Conducting test on a full customer journey ont he website on weekly basis will help to figure out the glitches and help them resolve and maintain customer experience smooth and easy Include Reviews, and Display Related Products. Customers tend to jump off of an e-commerce site when they either do not get to see what they are searching for, or when they are not able to make a decision. Having product reviews on your webpage will help the customer gain the much needed comfort for making a decision. Besides, the portal should also display related products which the customer could be interested in. This will lead to a more engaging experience and the customer would tend to stick to your e-commerce portal for making a purchase.