5 Easy Ways to Expand your E-commerce

During the last year, e-commerce business has dramatically increased due to social distancing and the closure of physical stores. It’s very likely that an important part of your strategy shifted and adapted to fit the circumstances. Today we share 5 ways to expand your e-commerce through omnichannel experiences so you can continue to grow.

And with more online retailers, consumers can easily find more options to buy from. And so competition between businesses started.

But don’t compete. Excell. Turn your existing and random buyers into returning customers with an omnichannel experience where, no matter the platform, they can find all the information they need about you and your products.

Think about your own dream experience. You enter a website, find a product that solves your current problems, find all the information you need to make a decision, go through a smooth payment process, and have the product delivered. If everything goes as planned, you’ll come back to that website and recommend it to your friends.

It may sound like royal treatment, but that is the dream of every customer. To encounter excellent customer service wherever we buy.

And what is customer service if not making everything as easy as possible for your everyone?

 

Why is it important?

Let’s see the numbers.

A study by Harvard Business Review showed that at least 73% of the shoppers they interviewed, used multiple channels to buy products. And they also spend 4% more in-store and 10% more online, when there is an omnichannel experience.

Another study by Business Insider found that shoppers who are engaged on multiple channels make purchases more often than those who are not.

And at least 96% of consumers across the world say customer service is an important factor (if not the most important one) in their choice of loyalty to a brand, according to Microsoft.

Creating an omnichannel support system for your e-commerce helps to smooth out the process. That way, no matter what channel or platform a consumer uses to contact you, they will always have immediate and consistent answers to their questions.

 

Here are some ideas to implement on your e-commerce, to start your omnichannel strategy.

Most of them are practically free!

 

Track everything on sight (and everything not on sight)

The best way to start on an omnichannel strategy is by taking a data-driven approach. Data will tell you where your focus should be at any stage, or what channels are not effective anymore.

Take advantage of UTMs for the links you provide in your acquisition ads. Use your e-commerce Analytics to their maximum potential. All the data analysis you can work on will help you strategically integrate all these channels, and find the right audience for each one.

 

Set up a live chat

Setting up a live chat on your e-commerce allows your customers to discuss their problems with you in real-time. Problems that they can solve with your product, or solutions that can better their experience using your product.

 

Create a chatbot

When more than 60% of consumers say they prefer digital self-serve tools, you can’t ignore this channel. And since live chat can be expensive (because you need to be available to answer it at any given time), chatbots can become an alternative to it. You set it up once and update it when needed.

This way, if a consumer comes to your e-commerce looking for answers the chatbot will be there to help immediately.

 

Be responsive on social media

People will try to use your social media accounts to reach out. In a social media world, you really need to pay attention to the messages and comments you are getting. And when you prove to your customers that you are always ready to listen to them, they will come more often to shop for something.

 

Try to make every touchpoint shoppable

You want to focus on your own e-commerce, we get it. But think about all the missed opportunities when a potential customer goes in but doesn’t buy anything (for whatever reason, because we are sure your e-commerce rocks).

That is a key point to expand your shoppable touchpoints. Integrate your store directly into Facebook and Instagram, so your fans and followers can check out natively. Add buyable pins on Pinterest and connect them to your online store.

This strategy also opens new opportunities for social media campaigns and different ad formats. Take advantage of all of them!

 

This list of ideas is not exhaustive. Not even near to it. But it’s a starting point to open your strategy and your e-commerce to greater things.

A little tweak here and there can help you reach your goals JUST by providing a better customer experience. Think of the possibilities, and add to this list everything you can make better and easier for your customers.

We have a great team of experts that can help you and guide you through the process. Send us your questions!