4 Secrets for Managing a Successful eCommerce Business
During the sweep of the pandemic across the globe, eCommerce is one of the only industries internationally that saw unprecedented growth. If anything, the last three years have proven just how sturdy the e-commerce market really is.
So, if you are looking to expand your e-commerce business in 2023, we thought we would take a look at what other companies are currently doing in the industry. Here, we unpack some of the top hints and suggestions from marketers and business owners and identify how they are making their brands thrive in 2023.
Get Your Business Basics Right
One of the biggest mistakes most people make running an e-commerce store is forgetting the business management principles. A lot of attention is focused on the website, digital marketing, and products. But, don’t forget the actual admin behind the business. Think people management, finance management, and operational strategies.
It is never too late to start. Focus on your financial management as a start. You are going to need to consider things like taxes, business fees, and permits. You are also going to need to get business insurance. Whether you are dropshipping, or have a warehouse and supply chain, you will still need to protect your brand and the products you sell. So, make sure you get your basic foundations right, even if you are a fully functional company.
Focus on Your Online Security
Cybercrime and online fraud are even more prevalent than most people think. Especially for smaller companies and start-ups. In fact, they seek out and target vulnerable targets with lower defenses.
So, what should you as an e-commerce company be looking out for? One of the biggest threats to smaller businesses is currently phishing which targets individuals in the company. Since 2020 and the increase of work-from-home, the exploitation of remote workers has also increased.
Here it is important to partner with the right solutions and platforms to secure your company. There are a large number of security tools and partners which have elegant and updated tools to assist you in protecting yourself from online threats.
Spend Time Perfecting Your Landing Pages
As you should know, your website is your calling card, your brand representative, and your sales platform. It should be optimized to convert as many visitors to paying customers as possible.
Frequent UX exercises are well worth the ROI. You will need to map out the journey that the customer is going to take through your site and ensure that each stage in the sales funnel is totally optimized.
Take your product pages, for example. You are going to need to ensure that these have several basic elements:
- High quality, yet web-optimized images;
- Simple, yet highly descriptive product descriptions that actually sell;
- Eye-catching and well-placed CTAs;
- Vital information like shipping information, added fees, and payment instructions;
- Other customer reviews;
- Any additional information the customer will need to know before moving on to the payment process.
Measure, Monitor, Track and Test Everything
Ask yourself the following questions: How much traffic are you generating to your site? Where is your traffic coming from? How is it behaving on your site? Where is it dropping off?
Data and metrics provided by GA, your social and mailer platforms and various other data sources allow you to keep an eye on what is happening on your site and how successful your campaigns and marketing efforts are.
There are also other great tools like HotJar that allow you to monitor what is happening on your page. Which buttons do people click more? With this information, you can continuously update your page to ensure that it is optimized for your customer journey. Lastly, A/B test everything. There are some really sophisticated tools on the market to help you test and experiment with everything to see what works and what doesn’t.
The Bottom Line
Keep testing, keep experimenting and keep trying out new things. But, at the same time, keep the business and your customers’ needs in the back of your mind. You need to be doing everything for them. So make sure you know what they want at all times. If you want to get some more hints and advice, book your seat for ECOM Africa 2023 today.
