It’s no secret that e-commerce is a rapidly growing sector across the world. With the UK continuing to see significant year-on-year growth, there is a huge opportunity for retailers to access new consumers on a vast scale. However, e-commerce is by no means an easy option – to make it pay you need a well-planned, brilliantly executed strategy around your e-commerce platform.

It’s important to remember that simply developing and launching an e-commerce platform really is just the first step. It’s a bit like opening a new shop on a back street and expecting people to start shopping there, you need to make sure that your customers know the shop is open: we need to do the same thing with a new e-commerce platform.

Number One:

At the top of the list of e-commerce tips has to be getting the user experience right. You can drive all of the traffic in the world to your site but if it’s difficult or awkward to use, your visitors simply won’t convert to customers. A well planned navigation and optimised page layout is the key to success and whatever you do, don’t underestimate the importance of mobile optimisation.

Number Two:

The next thing on the list is site content. Get that right and you’re edging closer to winning the battle. Well-written product descriptions and interesting blogs not only helps improve your site’s SEO but combining that with more visual and engaging content - like quality imagery and video - makes your site much more shareable. You have to work pretty hard these days to attract visitors to your site so it’s best to keep them interested when they arrive. If you can excite and impress your customers you can be pretty sure they’ll bring their friends next time!

Number Three:

I couldn’t really write an e-commerce top tips article without at least mentioning social media. It’s not new anymore and by now the majority should be aware of how important a part of the marketing mix it is, and how valuable it can be. The real trick is to make sure that you utilise it but don’t rely on it. It can be really valuable and it’s a great way of engaging with customers and building real brand advocates but it’s not the answer on its own. Get the balance right and it will pay off.

Number Four:

Sometimes you just can’t get away from good old-fashioned advertising. It still absolutely has its place when used tactically. Carefully targeted online ads will help enhance your campaigns and make sure the right message gets in front of the right people. The thing to remember is it’s not always as easy as it seems and investing in some support from an expert is well worth it to enhance your ROI.

Number Five:

The importance of quality data shouldn’t be underestimated. Email marketing still plays a huge role in a successful e-commerce strategy and will continue to do so. However, email marketing is only ever as good as the database that sits behind it. Quality data is worth its weight in gold. The best thing to do is always to build your own data organically, capturing relevant information from interested customers. The most important thing to remember is to make sure your messages are timely and relevant, segment your database and appeal to what you know your customers want – no more blanket emails.

Number Six:

The last piece of the puzzle is to test, learn and test again. The thing with a good e-commerce strategy is that it is never ending. You never have a ‘finished’ e-commerce site and it’s really important to remember that. You can always improve something and the best way to understand what works best is A/B split testing. That way, you can always test the changes to your site with actual customers in a live environment with real results. The best way to learn what appeals to your customers is to get them to tell you without them ever even knowing you asked a question. Split testing gives you the power to keep developing the site safe in the knowledge that you are making it better for your customer with every change.

E-commerce holds a vast wealth of opportunity for businesses to experience real growth, often reaching customers that were previously inaccessible to them, but the key to making it work for you is an excellent e-commerce strategy backed up with flawless execution.

The important thing to remember is that there is no such thing as cheap e-commerce success – it is well worth investing in the expertise and external support you need to build a solid foundation to reap the rewards later. It’s time to start thinking long-term and look to build long-lasting and valuable relationships.

 

By Adam Blenkinsop, head of digital at r//evolution. 

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