E-Commerce Seller Financing   •   September 15, 2021

COVID-19 completely changed the ecommerce landscape — for the better. Consumers are much more keyed into the benefits of ecommerce and more willing and able than ever to conduct increasingly complex tasks online. But at the same time, the number of ecommerce vendors has risen sharply, making it more difficult than before for sites to compete.

The eCommerce Sector is Booming, But Tech Is Changing and Competition is Fierce — Here Are Tips for Getting Ahead

Enhanced marketing is the tool that many ecommerce sites will need to turn to in order to remain relevant in 2021 and beyond, and in many cases, this means getting back to the basics of marketing for ecommerce. Here are seven top ways to grow ecommerce business in 2021:

1. Build brand awareness: Being discovered and becoming top of mind for consumers is key when you are operating in crowded or emerging marketplaces. Building brand awareness involves multi-pronged approaches, including regular social media posting, organic website content, paid promotions, and an adept SEO strategy.
2. Build your email list and use it: Email is a high-performing marketing tool and can have a strong impact on purchasing decisions. Launch a lead-generation strategy, include an opt-in capture form on your site, and add one during the checkout process. Start with an email campaign per week and experiment with A/B testing to find the right balance of high open rates and low unsubscribe rates.
3. Optimize for mobile: This may sound like old news but many sites are still not optimized for mobile or have made page updates for desktop users that aren’t reflected on mobile platforms. With more eCommerce sales happening on mobile devices, mobile is not a channel you can ignore.
4. Curate reviews and feedback: User reviews play a huge role in purchasing decisions. Encouraging user reviews, particularly on social media sites and search engines, can greatly influence purchasing behavior.
5. Set up post-purchase automated upsell opportunities: There are numerous tools that allow you to categorize purchases and place buyers into upsell categories. Based on prior purchases, buyers can be sent emails that recommend products or services.
6. Focus on your best-selling products: Your business likely makes the bulk of its money from a small percentage of products. By focusing on this small number of products, you can achieve exponential growth.
7. Meet your customers where they are on social media: Social media advertising can drive more traffic to your site and convert that traffic into paying customers. The average ROI on Facebook ads, for example, exceeds 150%.

eCommerce businesses cannot afford to sit still today. With markets expanding and consumers finding new opportunities for online buying, it’s critical that eCommerce companies stay on top of trends and look for opportunities to capture more sales. Not every tactic works for every company, so it’s important to experiment with technology that can improve the overall experience for consumers and the process in which you do things.