Tips for an Online Store That Keeps Up with the Times

With the changing consumer landscape due to technological advancement, changing consumer needs, and the internet, there is a need for an eCommerce business to not only have a good online presence, but it’s also important to sustain the tempo to remain relevant. 

Statistics show that an average of 68% of shoppers are abandoning shopping carts. Hence, you want to do everything possible to acquire new customers who will buy and make return purchases and convert them into loyal customers.

As an eCommerce business owner, what are you doing to remain relevant? Do your services and products set you apart from the crowd? Do you want to learn tips for remaining relevant? If yes, then read to discover these tips.

How to Remain Relevant

To remain relevant and in the minds of your customers, here are a few tips to guide you:

• Be Informed Always

One way to keep up with the times is to have the right information and be open to customer feedback. Pay attention to what your customers are saying, customers want to be heard and carried along. A brand that listens to its customers will almost always remain relevant. Use social media listening tools, one-on-one conversations, surveys, and feedback to stay in the loop. 

Also, double down on social media. According to statistics, nine of every ten businesses have a social media page. They are free to use, and with the right strategy, you can reach millions of people across the globe. Today’s customers make decisions based on what they read and see, so, you should consider being in their faces all the time, and having a social media page will help you do that. 

• Have An Attractive and Updated Website

No one turns away from an attractive store. Since your website is the first touch point with customers, it needs to invite them to take a second glance, stay on your site, make a purchase, and return. 

A high-quality online store will have the following features: 

• Concise, clear, and easy-to-read language
• Aesthetic format and structure
• Appealing Images and videos 
• Relevant call to action
• Easy-to-locate and helpful content pages

Always perform a periodic audit of your eCommerce store, and ensure it meets the set parameters. This way, you can spot a problem early on and fix it.

Also, the checkout process should be easy to use, and customers should be able to pay for products easily. To ensure this, collaborate with reputable global card-acquiring services, this will ensure businesses like yours can accept payment from customers from anywhere in the universe. 

• Be Aware of The Latest Trends

Although it’s only sometimes a good idea to go with the crowd, it’s also good and smart to know which way the wind is blowing. Consumers’ expectations and needs, technologies, and ideas are always changing and evolving, and you can’t afford to remain in the dark if you are to keep up with the times. 

Hence, check out what your competitors are doing and improve your site’s SEO. By optimizing your website’s search engine optimization, you will always remain in the mind of your customers because when they search key terms on google or Bling, for instance, your eCommerce site is likely to pop up. Research has shown that 63% of shopping starts online, and people are likelier to click on sites that appear first on the list. This will lead to traffic, sales, and brand relevance.

• Add Value

No matter how great your eCommerce site looks or how high you rank in SEO searches, you will fade away if you don’t meet your customers’ needs. Hence, it would help if you considered the needs, you are filling and the expectations you are meeting.

While providing a high-quality product is great, more is needed. A solid product without good customer service will relegate your business to the shadows in no time. Customers interpret poor customer service as needing more relevance and importance to the business. Because they crave these things, they will move to another store offering them great products along with excellent customer service.

• Develop an Opportunist Mindset

Developing an opportunist mindset will help you always look for prospects to improve your store. Here are some ways you can take advantage of different opportunities to improve your eCommerce store and remain relevant:

• Partner with complimentary brands

You will remain relevant and go far by collaborating with brands that complement your product, services, and values. For example, if you sell skincare products, you can partner with another brand that is into beauty products; this way, you increase your reach, exposure, and relevance.

• Network with Local Authorities

To remain relevant and keep up with the times, you need all the help you can get. Therefore, you need to network with as many people in the industry as possible. Create a relationship and join groups and relevant organizations. Networking with bloggers, industry experts, and local reporters can help expand your customer base and create product awareness.

• Create A Loyalty Program

Loyal customers deserve to be rewarded. Creating a loyalty membership can increase your customers’ conversion rate and reward them for repeat purchases.

It could be anything simple such as rewarding customers who purchase the second time or after a specific amount.

• Offer Fewer Options

People often need more time to decide when faced with too many options. When unsure, they may take further time to think and compare prices, and such customers may end up not purchasing, which is bad for business.

What to do? Structure the information on your website so that customers only see a few products at a time. This will prevent them from becoming overwhelmed and having a clear path to choosing what they want.

• Stick To the Plan

There will be times when other stores are getting all the attention, and your brand isn’t. Don’t be deterred but focus on ways to remain relevant. Like farming, there will be fallow periods; use the time to build and strategize. Your product could be the problem, or your current marketing campaign needs to be fixed. Whatever it is, buckle down; before long, you will be on the road to recovery and relevance.

Keeping up with the times involves continuous improvement, creative thinking, innovation, and being one step ahead of the game.