3 Tips for a Successful E-Commerce Business
I was in New York city for a few weeks and took the time to catch-up with friends, clients and business partners. I actually got to also catch up with Nadine from Stone & Strand whom I interviewed a while back.
Since, I am launching in a few weeks E-Commerce Academy with Pulkit from “I Love Fashion Retail”; I wanted to discuss with her main challenges E-Commerce businesses are faced with these days. In today’s episode, I wanted to provide 3 quick tips to help you build a successful E-Commerce Business.
- Brand Perceived Value: Perceived value is what a customer believes a product to be worth when he or she agrees to pay (or not to pay) for it. It’s popular opinion if you will – and customers are quick to deem a product a “must have” or “not”. There’s an interesting interview with Sophia Amoruso where she explains how she learned about perceived value while selling on Ebay. She explains that by embedding her style, working with a set of models and photographers, etc.; she was able to mark-up her products. You must instill within your audience this need to own your brand; and the following is usually done through design, photography, the overall tone of your copy. Make your product look larger than life by telling a story which relates back to your customer. I also encourage that you let your customers upload their pictures with your garment on – seeing others buying / wearing a garment helps increase the perceived value of your product.
- Seamless Checkout Experience: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel when designing your e-commerce store. You are better off using platforms like Shopify, Squarespace or WooCommerce (if you are using a WordPress website). Going with pre-built templates will make your life easier in the long run. User experience and design best practices have already been implemented within each template provided by these e-commerce platforms. All you have to do is customize these templates to your needs. My personal favorite is Shopify, as they offer multiple Apps which can be easily integrated into your store and a supportive community of business owners like yourself. Magento is another solution, but don’t venture there until you’re a more established and can afford hiring team of developers.
- Mailing List: Are you capturing customers email on your website? Are you provide them with an opt-in offer? A discount? Or a lookbook? I am often astonished by how many retailers do not have a mailing list in place. You must continue the conversation with your potential customers. If they landed on your website but haven’t purchased, you must try to capture their email address for the opportunity to remind them to come back to your site and potentially buy. Make sure that you put in place attractive incentives, whether it’s providing them with styling ideas, or a discount. Review at offers your competition are providing and go from there.
Finally, I know you’ve heard this over and over again, but it is imperative for you to have a social media strategy in place. What does the following mean? Be consistent with content you publish. Execute and create content that is appealing to your customer. Think of your brand as a magazine. Try to brainstorm as to how you can expand the story of your brand – an example I love to share is Frank & Oak. They have a physical magazine which they distribute in hotel lobbies. They interview influencers, share productivity hacks, carpentry tips. Check out their Instagram account to help you brainstorm ideas.
Quick reminder: I’m launching EcommerceAcademy.co in a few weeks – A Learning Platform & Resource Hub to Master Fashion Ecommerce and Grow Your Business Rapidly – I invite you to pre-register by click here >>