Ecommerce has been a revolution in the world of retail. For customers it has allowed them to buy goods and services from the comfort of their own living room. For businesses it has opened up a world of opportunities by breaking down physical barriers and giving them the chance to market their products to a global audience.
Giving the advantages of ecommerce and people’s ever increasing access to the internet it is hardly surprising that it has taken off in the way it has. This is not to say however that building a successful ecommerce business doesn’t require knowledge, hard graft and a little creativity.
In order to grow your business online there are many things that need to be considered such as marketing, selling smart, utilising social media and keeping your ecommerce site secure.
Keep your site secure
Firstly you need to choose an ecommerce site that is reputable and secure. This will eliminate most of the danger associated with fraud whilst enabling you to use most major credit cards. Most hackers are after the credit card details of your customers. One way of getting around this is to try to avoid storing credit card details completely but if this is not possible then tokenization is a must.
Hackers will also try to get details such as signatures through correspondence between you and your customer, investing in PGP Encryption software will eliminate that risk.
Make your site a pleasure for the customer
If customers are able to find things easily they are more likely to make a purchase. The transition from browsing through to purchase should be seamless and painless for the customer. The page should be well designed with good high res pictures and detailed product descriptions. Whilst design is critical to the customer experience, it is important not to overlook performance.
If your site is slow or sluggish then customers are unlikely to want to come back. Therefore it is well-worth investing in good performance software that will guarantee the good health of your site.
Get found
Invest in search engine optimisation, blogging, advertising and utilise social media in order to generate as much traffic to your site as possible. Try new and innovative things when it comes to marketing on a regular basis and try to attract as many different kinds of customer as possible.
Sources:
http://www.smallbusinessheroes.co.uk/small-business-advice/38-ecommerce-tips-tricks-online-selling-pros/
http://www.blueclawsearch.co.uk/blog/2012/10/18/10-ecommerce-statistics-uk-retailers-should-know/