2 Lessons You Can Learn from eCommerce Experts in 2021
We are now solidly into the second quarter of the year and you’ve likely been reviewing where you stand with KPIs and revisiting goals for your eCommerce store.
As we transition further into 2021 and farther away from the world-changing events of 2020, many business owners are still getting comfortable with “the new normal”. Our eCommerce Experts mention the global shift to online shopping due to social distancing caused a boost in sales for many eCommerce businesses. However, as brick and mortar businesses begin to reopen many more are seeing a plateau.
We’ve scoured the internet and gathered key takeaways from business leaders and industry titans to inspire your marketing and business strategy going into the second quarter of the year!
Lesson #1. Put Yourself in the Position of Your Customer
One way to do this is to consider a buying situation you have had in the past where you were uncomfortable. No single person is knowledgeable about all things. Think back to a time you were looking to make a purchase but were not confident in your decision and needed to familiarize yourself with the available options before purchasing. You probably looked at reviews online, possibly read the product descriptions, and might have sealed the deal between two options because of an offer for free shipping.
Consider what made you choose one brand or product over another and make sure you are putting yourself in the position of the customer. How might a new customer feel navigating your website or interacting with your customer service reps? Strive to identify which positive emotional experiences you can deliver to your customers because that is likely one of the few things that sets you apart from your competition.
Author and business advisor Doug Stephens put it best when he said “assume that no one needs what you sell because they probably don’t. We’ve gone from an economy based on scarcity and services to one that offers unimaginable abundance. There’s very little you can sell that can’t be gotten elsewhere. Focus instead on how you sell what you sell.” He continued,” completely differentiate your customer experience and make sure it’s remarkable.”
Industry titan Bill Gates also has identified the importance of keeping your customer’s perspective in mind. “Your most unhappy customers are your most important source of learning,” he stated recently.
If you want to build a great, lasting business, never stop thinking about the world from your customer’s perspective. Countless successful companies have lost their competitive edge by losing sight of their customers (JcPenney’s failed rebrand comes to mind). Make sure your customers know you are continually working to improve their experience by solving problems and communicating in simple but meaningful ways.
Lesson #2. Utilize a Backend Plugin You Can Grow With
With such a wide choice of different plugins, choosing the right one is not the easiest decision to make. What makes it even more difficult is that each plugin offers varying features, options, and optimizations. When you are building an eCommerce website, our eCommerce experts mention that many considerations go into a website that has high conversions. From user experience, menu navigation, and available options like payment gateways – the right combination can make all the difference.
Andy Crestodina, director of Orbit Media Studios, illustrated it this way. “If your website was a city, there would be a highway of visitors flowing through it. But if you don’t know where that highway is, you don’t know how to guide traffic. You don’t know where to put the billboards.”
Make sure you have a solid plan in place for both designing your website and including additional options and features as your business expands. A common complaint heard from eCommerce business owners is that they regret choosing the lowest cost or easiest to find options because these are often extremely limited in functionality. Imagine you receive constant feedback from customers stating they would like the option to pay with PayPal or Stripe, only to find there is a limit to the payment gateways on your plugin? You’ll need to find a new plugin and change the backend of the website, as well as set up and design elements
You can avoid frustration by selecting plugins that are free or low cost initially but also allow you to grow as your business does, so you can opt into features as they are needed for your store.
There you have it! Two stand-out points to consider when strategizing your marketing and customer relations goals for 2021. Do you have any tips or advice you’d like to share with other eCommerce business owners? Be sure to sound off in our forums!
Check out one of our customer success stories, it may help motivate you!
