When a small or mid-sized business gets an eCommerce site up and running, it feels good. You have just exponentially expanded your reach to clients. That’s definitely a victory to enjoy.
But data shows there are some eCommerce trends you should be aware of – things that will help you maximize your profits when selling online. By all means, enjoy each success as your company grows. But we also recommend making a note of these 4 developments, analyzed by Larisa Bedgood at Business2Community:
- Prioritize your returning customers: These customers have already started making a commitment to your company. That’s worth cultivating. Especially since this group is typically less than 1/5 of your total clients, but their spending can amount to 1/3 of your online income. Make sure your CRM tools can keep track of these VIP clients.
- Personalize the shopping experience: With that robust CRM software, make sure customers are seeing material that’s most relevant. As with any sales process, a vital aspect is building a relationship. You strengthen that relationship by delivering customer-centered recommendations and discounts.
- Promote satisfied reviews – The most persuasive comments on a product are often the words of prior customers who are happy with their purchase. The trouble is that satisfied customers don’t usually take time to communicate how pleased they are. You’ll need to get creative here, developing incentives that work for your customers and your industry. But make sure your site has a place to publish reviews and testimonials.
- Present engaging content: One way to get customers to return to your site is to provide interesting material. Taking your site from merely selling to also educating is an excellent way to strengthen customer loyalty. How you do this needs to be crafted to your industry and clientele of course – what appeals to a light manufacturing buyer will be different from what engages buyers in warehousing and retail fields. (And yes, this closes the loop back to #1.)
Whether you’re just starting out in eCommerce or have a thriving online store, these tips can help you take your business to the next level. And if you’re searching for business management software for Mac and PC, contact us today to learn more about aACE’s eCommerce integrations.
“aACE has also worked well with 3rd party software we run on the web and integrated our online store with the aACE program. We are very happy with the product and service we’ve received from the aACE team!” ~ Sabrina Fabian, The John Birch Society
