E-Commerce Seller Financing   •   October 21, 2019

As your e-commerce business develops, you may be looking for new ways to boost your sales. While expanding your customer base is one sure way of doing so, it’s far from being the only thing that you can possibly do.

However, acquiring new customers requires advertising, and, statistically, it can be up to five times more expensive than engaging your existing customers. Existing customers know and trust your brand, are more open to buy from you and even spend more than new customers.

If your business is still in the developing phases, then solely investing into getting more new customers can actually stagnate your e-commerce business’ growth.

But how do you get your existing customers to buy more from you? If you offer products that need continuous replacement, then it’s easy. You simply need to ensure that your buyers are satisfied and are willing to come back for more. Yet, if your products do not require replacement or at least last relatively long, your existing customers have no reasons for coming back.

Expanding your existing product line can be an excellent way of growing your business and increasing your profits. Let’s take a look and the different ways in which your e-commerce business can benefit from that.

What is a Product Line?

A product line is any group of products that fits into the same category, for example, “newborn clothes,” “hats,” “hiking gear,” “necklaces,” “bedding,” and more. Expanding an existing product line can be done by:

• upgrading existing products,
• adding new versions of products, or
• offering completely new products that fit into the same category.

Why You Should Expand Your Product Line or Add a New One

1. Expand the Life Cycle of Your Product Line

People evolve and so do the products they use. A few decades ago, we used portable cassette players to listen to music on the go. Nowadays, any new smartphone can play music. It can also wake us up in the morning, keep our notes, allows us to access the Internet and shop from virtually anywhere and at any time.

The same occurs with other products. Some are no longer needed; some gain new updated features; others go out of fashion.

This process is known as the product life cycle. Each product goes through four stages:

• Introduction,
• Growth,
• Maturity, and
• Decline

During the decline stage the product no longer fully meets the needs of buyers. Therefore, some core followers will still opt for it while an increasing number of customers will look for something newer, better, or both.

To stay in business and not to lose your customers to your competition, it would behoove to upgrade your product line. For example, if you sell disposable plastic kitchenware but the world is transitioning to a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, you may want to look into products made from more sustainable materials such as recycled paper or bamboo.

2. Expand your Market Share

While retaining existing customers and getting them buy more from you is more cost efficient than getting new customers, that doesn’t mean you should stop expanding your customer base. To maximize your e-commerce business’ growth, you should ideally do both – continuously acquire new buyers and make sure your existing buyers buy from you again and again.

If you expand your product line, it helps you do both.

Offering a wider range of products allows you to satisfy the needs of a much wider audience and reach people you haven’t been able to reach before.

You can do this in a variety of ways. For example, if you sell T-shirts, offering new models and styles can attract customers who were not interested in your previous models. Or if you sell dog accessories and add cat accessories to you store’s inventory, you will be able to reach a vast audience which doesn’t need other products you offer.

3. Meet Customer Needs and Increase Customer Loyalty

If you already have a fleet of satisfied customers, they may not necessarily buy from you again. For example, if you offer luxurious Hawaiian bedding, your fully satisfied customers may not need another new bedding set for a very long time. Therefore, they may not buy from you again even if they absolutely loved your products.

However, what if in addition to the bedding set, you also offered quilts, comforters, cushions, artwork, and other décor elements that would complement your bedding sets? Your existing customers would have more reasons to revisit your store and add more items to their cart.

If you sell cell phone cases, look into other accessories your buyers may need such as matching finger ring or grip holder, liquid glass screen protectors, wireless headphones, and more.

Aim to be the go-to place for anything that buyers may need in your industry.

Are you ready to expand your product line or upgrade your existing products? Let us know what your next more is going to be!

Feel free to check out the other articles on our blog to learn how you can grown your e-commerce business. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and subscribe to our mailing list to get the latest news and offers!