How To Grow Your E-commerce Store Using 14 Effective Tactics

Setting up an eCommerce business is simple enough; growing your business requires a?solid strategy.

You'll need to implement some proven growth techniques to grow your store into a successful business with significant revenue. You need an updated game plan to make it to the big leagues of e-commerce.?

To transition into a successful e-commerce business, here are the top ten tried-and-tested tactics you need to focus on.

How to grow your eCommerce business

Focus on marketing

The more people turn online to look for products, the more you have to differentiate yourself from your competitors, which can be easier said than done. What you need is a killer marketing strategy.

If you still need to become marketing savvy, it's worth exploring marketing tactics other eCommerce companies have tried, tested, and shown to work.?

Utilize social media

Social media has been one of the most important advances in marketing in the last ten years, and the best part? You can do social media marketing entirely for free if you don't pay for sponsored ads.

The most effective way to take advantage of social media's power is to create a social media strategy that fits neatly into your overall marketing campaign. If you have an upcoming sale and you're sending emails and posting blogs about it, complement your efforts by posting about it on social media.

Social media is also where you can find the holy grail of content: user-generated content, also known as UGC.

user-generated content?

User-generated content provides an excellent form of social proof. After all, it makes sense that consumers are more likely to trust your products when other consumers vouch for them.

There are multiple ways to collect user-generated content as part of your marketing strategy. One is to hire a content creator to make content that shows your products being used in a real-life setting.?

Conduct market research

If you know you want to start an eCommerce store but are still determining what you'll sell, make the most of market research. Research industries are popular now and set to become even more popular.

Once you've found a sector experiencing significant growth, see how you can offer something different, or more niche, to differentiate yourself from existing stores within that sector.

You'll also need to do market research to create an effective marketing strategy. If your target audience is made up of Gen Z, your best bet is to focus on video marketing which has exploded into popularity alongside the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Learn lessons

In the business world, every mistake can be turned into a lesson for the future. When you try a new technique in a marketing campaign that works better than you'd hoped, don't beat yourself up. The only way you'll ever continually improve is by learning from previous mistakes and using them to inform your future strategies.

Another way to learn from the past is with analytics. There are plenty of ways to analyze the performance of marketing campaigns and the like. Depending on the email provider you use, for example, you can check click-through and open rates for your emails to match which subject lines perform well and which do not.

Invest in customer service.

Customer engagement is important, but if customers come to your store and experience poor customer service, they'll make sure people know about it. The negative impact of poor feedback on your store should be considered.

One bad interaction can cost you thousands, from negative reviews to word-of-mouth complaints. If you've ever had a poor customer service experience, you'll know it puts you off returning to a particular store or service provider.

With that in mind, excellent customer service is non-negotiable for any eCommerce business serious about growth.?

Grow your email list.

Let's say you're shopping for an outfit for an upcoming wedding. You've scoured the shops high and low, so you're now turning to an eCommerce site to find something suitable to wear.

Once you've collected enough email, you'll need to assemble an email marketing campaign. For the most part, email marketing focuses on promoting upcoming sales and collections or announcing new features and updates.

Look into Google Shopping.

If you're searching for a particular product, website, or information, there's probably only one place you go: Google. Your potential customers do the same thing.

With that in mind, advertising on the world's favorite search engine can only yield positive results for your eCommerce website.

Don't neglect existing customers.

Many businesses must pay more attention to offering shiny rewards for new customers while entirely neglecting existing customers. But the power of existing customers and customer loyalty should be considered.

Although any growth strategy involves increasing conversion rates and attracting new customers, existing customers can contribute significantly. For starters, happy customers will use you as their default supplier for the products in your niche, giving you consistent profits.

Learn from your competitors.

Nobody likes a copycat, and you certainly don't want to be accused of plagiarising another store's content, but keeping up to date with the competition is a necessary part of growing any business.

To keep up with general trends in the eCommerce space, follow some of the most in-the-know eCommerce influencers and listen to podcasts that discuss industry updates and upcoming trends.

Optimize your store for mobile.

More than 60% of shoppers use their phones for online shipping. That's a huge chunk of the market you're missing out on if your online store needs to be optimized for mobile. When updating your online store, consider the user journey for potential customers.

Consider every idea

The road to success is filled with figurative potholes, so rest assured that every business owner's journey is ever entirely straightforward. While your business grows, it's the perfect time to experiment with various business models and ideas.

Affiliate Marketing.

Affiliate marketing is a simple and effective way of getting your store seen by an entirely new audience. The premise is straightforward; you work with 'affiliates' who are usually online blog publishers, and they mention your products organically within their blogs.

Do Proper SEO?

SEO (search engine optimization) is the technique that gets you to the front page of Google, meaning more users will find your site. Off-page SEO involves backlinks, when other companies link to your website on their blog.

Backlinks show Google that you're an authority that can be trusted, making them rank you higher.

Offer Bonuses

One of the easiest ways to differentiate yourself from competitors selling similar products is to offer rewards and discounts. If a customer is stuck between you and another eCommerce store, but you offer free shipping and they don't, the customer is more likely to shop with you.

When you've started to make a steady profit and can afford to reduce your profit margin occasionally, begin to offer regular sales and discounts. Offering exclusive deals to regular customers or followers on social media is another good way to increase sales.

The bottom line

If growth is an important part of your long-term eCommerce plan, you must focus on your marketing strategy that attracts customers, increase profits, and improve your marketing. Let Whitelinko help you design, build, and run an e-commerce business you will be proud of.