What Should You Do To Increase Your E-commerce Sales?

The internet has thrown open a lot of opportunities for businesses, both big and small. And, one of the verticals that have seen tremendous growth in the last few years is the e-commerce business. No doubt, e-commerce is a growing industry, but not everyone with an online store is laughing their way to the bank.

Starting an e-commerce business is not all that difficult. Anyone can start an e-commerce business. The challenge, however, is to generate the right kind of sales so that you can make your business a successful venture.

Without a doubt, generating the right amount of sales should always be your priority.

If you have an e-commerce store, you sure would want to boost your traffic and sales. But how should you go about increasing your traffic and sales?

If you want to improve your traffic and increase your sales, you need to make sure that you have a smart marketing strategy.

Here are some of the smart marketing tactics that help increase your e-commerce sales. But before getting there, let us try to understand what is e-commerce marketing.

9 smart ways that can increase your e-commerce sales

As the owner of your e-commerce business, it is your responsibility to see to it that your store does well. And, the only way to succeed in this business is to make sure that your products sell and sell more.

To increase your e-commerce business sales, here is what you need to do:

1. Concentrate on upselling and cross-selling products – Believe it or not but Amazon’s 35% revenue comes from upselling and cross-selling. When you encourage your customers to buy a comparable or better product than the one in question it is known as upselling. And, when you suggest your customers to buy related or complementary items, it is known as cross-selling. 

   For example, in the case of cross-selling, if your customer is buying a blow dryer, you can suggest a comb. And, if your customer is buying a printer, it would be upselling if you convince them to buy ink as well. The two terms are often used interchangeably. In the e-commerce business, you need to prioritise upselling and cross-selling because it can generate a lot of sales, and hence revenue for your business.

2. Reduce cart abandonment – Every time a visitor abandons your cart without making a purchase, you miss out on a selling opportunity and lose money. It is a usual phenomenon, people add items to their carts, but abandon it during the checkout process. 

   There are many reasons for cart abandonment, and some of the prominent ones are – price considerations (could be due to shipping, fees, taxes, etc.), asking visitors to first open an account, complicated checkout process, unable to calculate total order cost upfront, visitors not willing to share their credit card details due to lack of trust in a site, website crash, slow delivery, unsatisfactory return policy, few payment method options, and credit card declined. 

   If you want to have a successful e-commerce business, you need to make sure that you address the concerns of your visitors so that you can reduce or eliminate cart abandonment. 

   One of the most effective e-commerce marketing idea to reduce cart abandonment is to send them follow-up emails. You can do the following to optimise the emails:
   You can remind your customers of what was there in their cart.
   Use catchy headlines to grab their attention.
   You can also send them a discount code.You can also hold their items for a while.

3. Use and spend on social media – You cannot ignore social media these days. If you want to increase your sales, you should start using social media at the earliest. And, when we talk of social media, you cannot ignore Facebook. Other platforms which you should use are Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Reddit, among others. But it is important that you select social media platforms that suit your business niche.
   
   For example, you can set up your Facebook store. Also, you can add products to your Instagram posts and stories which gives your followers a path to buy directly from the social platform. 

   If you are hesitant of spending on social media, you are making a big mistake. The sooner you jump on the social media bandwagon, the better it will be for the sales of your e-commerce business.
   

4. Look for affiliates – Using affiliates to sell your products is yet another way of improving your e-commerce sales. Affiliates work on incentives, and you only have to pay them the commission if they facilitate the selling process. Affiliate marketing is a kind of free marketing for your products and business because you pay only when a sale is made. There are several ways to make your affiliate program a success, and some of these are:Find out whether you will benefit from leveraging an existing network like commission junction or you need to start tracking a system of your own.

   You can leverage the pre-existing networks and find affiliates selling products in your niche.

   Also make sure that you pay your affiliates well. What you end up paying your affiliates would be less than what you have to spend on advertising.

   You should make it easy for your affiliates to sign up with you. Also, you can implement tracking links on their landing page, blog, or website. When you make it easy for your affiliates to work, then they can perform better for your business.

5. Be more creative – When it comes selling on the internet, you need to make sure that your product description and presentation are up to the mark. Do not use standard descriptions from a database. Create concise, clear, human, and SEO optimised descriptions for your products. Also, ensure that your product photos are professional so that they generate trust and improves the look of your site.
6. Gather as many email subscribers as you can – Email marketing is undoubtedly the most effective way to reach out to your prospects for making a sale and generating repeat customers. While social media is a cluttered space, email marketing offers a personalised interaction. Generally, people are more responsive to messages that are sent directly into their mailboxes than on their social feeds. Also, when you send an email, you can say things that otherwise would not fit into a social media post.When it comes to email marketing, you should promote your newsletter, blog, and other email gathering avenues to the fullest so that you gather as many subscribers as you can. 

    

7. You also need to ensure that you improve the standard of your email campaigns – It is not enough to have a subscriber base; you also need to ensure that your email campaign is effective. To make your e-commerce marketing campaign effective, you need to send regular and valuable emails to all your subscribers. 

   Make sure that you send your subscribers email on every occasion. 

   You can send a welcome mail when they first make a purchase. 

   You should send your subscribers newsletters so that they remain current on new discount offers, product tips, and your company news. 

   You can also send your subscribers promo codes and gifts. 

   Keep your high-value customers happy. Send them personalised emails thanking them for their renewed support. 

   It is also important to share the relevant content with your customers. Send them emails so that they can make the most of their purchases. 

   You can also send them an email soliciting their feedback. When people leave your site without making a purchase, you can ask them about their experience, and you can make things better for them. You should also take feedback from your regular customers on how to further improve their experience.
   

8. Make sure that you send wishlist reminder emails – You also need to ensure that you add the wishlist reminder email to your scheme of things. The wishlist reminder email and abandoned cart email are closely related to each other. Both serve the purpose of convincing the shoppers of buying the product they had shown interest to buy. 

   Whether it has been a while since your prospect last checked on their wishlist or an item on sale is running out of stock which has been there on your prospects wishlist, you can send them an email informing the status of the product.Wishlist email reminders can provide the thrust to your prospects and customers to finally make the purchase.
   

9. You need to have a content marketing program in place – If you have an e-commerce store, you should start blogging to connect with your prospects and customers. Regular blogging also helps you improve your search engine rankings. In case you create content, then make sure that your blog features on your online store. 

   Apart from blogging, you should consider starting a podcast. It helps you build a stronger community and allows you to feature your expertise. 

   You can also start writing guest posts on other websites and blogs which helps you build awareness, backlinks, and improves your SEO efforts. 

   You should ensure that you create long-form content and guides so that it helps your customers in using your product more effectively.

There are various other things which you can do to increase your e-commerce sales. You should generate as many customer reviews as you can. Another thing which you can do is to make sure that your customers get what they want easily. You can also start engaging your visitors with live chat. You should also optimise your site for mobile.

For a smart and comprehensive e-commerce marketing strategy, you can get in touch with vStacks Software Solutions now. We will make sure that your e-commerce sales increases to your satisfaction. Digital marketing is our forte, and we know what it takes to streamline your online operations.