You’d be hard-pressed to think of something that can’t be purchased on the web. No matter how niche the product, odds are it can be located and acquired with a few simple clicks. As such, entrepreneurs entering the online retail space are likely to feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer volume of competition. While jumping into the eCommerce game can be a bit frightening for first-timers, helping your store thrive doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. Anyone looking to grow their online business without draining their time, energy or financial resources can benefit from the following pointers.
Maintain an Active Social Media Presence
You’d be hard-pressed to find a successful business store that doesn’t maintain an active social media presence. Creating accounts for your store on the web’s most popular social platforms can be a great way to get the word out and make thousands of prospective patrons aware of your enterprise. For best results, make a point of updating each of your social media profiles multiple times per day. Of course, this isn’t to say that you need to devote a significant amount of time to this. Anywhere from one to five posts per day can help build awareness without causing followers to feel overwhelmed. Keep in mind that posting too frequently or infrequently is liable to get you muted or unfollowed. Furthermore, there’s nothing wrong with reusing the same posts across various platforms, which can save you the trouble of thinking of multiple new posts per platform each day.
In addition to creating engaging posts, take every opportunity to interact with your followers. This will help them feel more personally invested in the success of your enterprise – and the more personally invested they feel, the more likely they are to provide monetary support. When interacting with followers, try to keep things light and avoid allowing yourself to be goaded into arguments. As anyone who’s spent a fair amount of time on social media can attest, some people thrive on creating conflict, and you’d be wise to avoid giving them what they want.
Provide First-Rate Customer Service
In the age of online shopping, many businesses have placed good customer service on the backburner. Since online transactions generally don’t involve face-to-face interactions, some stores don’t believe they need to prioritize customer service. While this line of thinking is somewhat understandable, it’s also incredibly misguided. If anything, good customer service is more important than ever. Given the ever-expanding assortment of online businesses, consumers now have more options at their fingertips than ever before. If a store’s customer service leaves a lot to be desired, most shoppers won’t hesitate to take their patronage elsewhere. Additionally, if you draw the ire of someone with a large social media following, a single bad review can have far-reaching consequences.
To avoid such issues, make a point of being as professional and courteous as possible in all of your interactions with patrons – and prospective patrons. When not communicating face-to-face, it’s easy to come off as curt or dismissive, even when that’s not your intent. That being the case, you should put careful thought into your words and actions when dealing with customer concerns and queries.
Work with an Experienced Web Marketing Company
If this is your first time promoting a business, consider reaching out to an experienced web marketing company. Seasoned web marketers will provide invaluable assistance in several areas, including advertising, search engine optimization and social media engagement. In addition, they may be able to introduce you to cutting-edge procurement solutions that will take some of the hassles out of managing your enterprise.
These days, virtually any type of merchandise can be purchased online with ease. No matter what you’re looking for, multiple stores specializing in it are just a quick Google search away. While this is certainly a good thing from a consumer standpoint, it can be a little frustrating for online store proprietors trying to stand out in a perpetually congested marketplace. Fortunately, growing an eCommerce website isn’t nearly as daunting as some proprietors make it look. If a noticeable uptick in new business is what you’re after, the measures discussed above are likely to come in handy.
