Starting an Online Store – the Ultimate eCommerce Checklist

The availability of various benefits and advantages has made more people prefer online shopping these days, over conventional in-store shopping. To make your life easier, we’ve put together the important things to note to start an online store. 

• Website

Choose a channel to sell your products. For an online business that means you need a website that people can use to order your products. Having a website is not as simple as buying something in a store. Many different elements work together to make a successful site. 

• Ecommerce platform

Choose an eCommerce platform where you can show off your products. Shopify, Magento and BigCommerce are a few platforms that businesses use. 

• Finding products

There are millions of products to choose from. So finding the right product for you may seem a little daunting. Things to keep in mind, while picking a product to sell:

1. Is the product on the trending list?
2. Is the product easy to find anywhere else?

Check if a product is in the trending list by using Google trends. Google trends track how often a particular term is entered in the search, relative to the total searches across different regions of the world, and various languages.

• Payment processor

Find a payment processor, so people can buy your products with real money. Your e-commerce platform may have its payment processor, or it may let you choose your own.

• Web hosting provider

You need a web hosting provider, which gives you space on a server that then allows you to put your site on the web. Your e-commerce platform may offer hosting services. So, do proper research before you invest in something. 

• Website domain

Your website needs a domain that people can use to find you. You purchase domains through a domain registrar. Your e-commerce platform may also function as a domain registrar.

• Site Security 

You want to make sure your site is secure so that your customers’ private information such as their credit card numbers, addresses, and emails remains private. Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard or PCI DSS standard focuses on keeping people’s payment information secure, and you should do everything in your power to make your website compliant. You can secure your website in a bunch of different ways such as:

• Installing an SSL certificate, which encrypts customer data entered into your site. So hackers have a hard time stealing it. 
• Address verification system (AVS) to make sure the billing address the customer enters matches the one associated with their card. 
• Requiring the customer to input their Credit card verification value (CVV) during their purchase adds a security layer. 
• Anti-malware software to stave off disruptive infections.
• Automated website backups to prevent data loss
• DDoS(Distributed Denial of Service) mitigation service to protect against bot attacks that slow down your website, or make it crash. 

• Content management system (CMS) 

Your E-Commerce platform may have its own CMS, so you may not need to look too hard to find one. WordPress is a very popular, user-friendly CMS. 

• Inventory management software

With your online store comes the need for inventory and inventory management software to help you keep track of what is in stock. Be curious about the latest product ideas that could attract visitors to your store. At the same time, you should always be revising your stock of steady-selling products. If something is not selling, replace it with another item that is trending. 

1. Research new products using Google trends
2. Add new products to your existing collection to drive sales.

Promoting your business in different marketing channels and building relationships with your audience can lead to more sales, increased revenue, and returning customers. 

• Search engine optimization

You’ll need to work on your website’s search engine optimization, which will help people find you when they are searching for a product you sell. 

• Content marketing strategy 

A content marketing strategy goes hand-in-hand with your SEO. Your content not only gives you a chance to appear in search engines, but it also lets you share your expertise, shows off your products, and create trust between you and your audience. 

• Digital advertising plan

A digital advertising plan is a great investment too because you can reach people who are most likely to make a purchase. This is also a great short-term strategy for promoting special deals, new products, or anything else that needs a lot of attention in a short period. You can use social media and email marketing to connect directly with potential customers. With emails, you can provide product recommendations based on past purchases, remind people that they have something in their cart, or just send out fun and informative newsletters. 

• Customer service

Having great customer service is significant to the long-term success of your online store. There are different ways to offer good customer service:

1. Create a detailed FAQ page.
2. Provide live chat support to the customers.
3. Ask customers to give product reviews. 

• Conversion optimization

On average 69% of your website visitors will leave your site without completing a purchase. It is worth investing some time to find a way of capturing your abandoned carts at the checkout. For this, you can create limited-time offers, launch a cart abandoned emails campaign, or set up a retargeting ads campaign. 

• Store Optimization

Most online shoppers will tell their friends about a bad experience online. So, always try to keep the performance of your website up, and try to optimize it every time possible. 

1. Improve your website speed
2. Create an intuitive navigation bar
3. Focus on creating a great product page
4. Display related items
5. Optimize your store search
6. Check how your store looks on devices like mobile and tablet devices.

• Analytics tool 

Don’t forget to invest in an analytics tool or implement a free tool like Google analytics to track the impact your marketing has on your sales. 

• Your store needs a privacy policy and a return policy for complete transparency with your customers. 
• Learn by doing

It is fine to make mistakes. Be curious, be bold, and build your store sooner rather than later.

10 Examples of Killer eCommerce Websites

While this might sound easy, it’s not a simple task to find websites that are working just as good with their UI as they are with their marketing, some websites are just simply beautiful, and others are working just fine, but look faceless. So to make things easier, we did the hard work for you, here are 10 of the best examples of e-Commerce websites that are killing the UI/UX game.

What is UI/UX?

Before getting started with the countdown, let’s take a look at what UI/UX is and what differentiates them. Moreover, how these design elements make a difference to our page and its visitors. UI stands for user interface, and UX stands for user experience.

In the context of software development and design, the user interface is the visual design of the application, including the layout, buttons, and other interactive elements. User experience, on the other hand, refers to how easy and enjoyable it is to use the application, including things like the speed and responsiveness of the interface.

A good UI/UX design can benefit a website’s performance in several ways. First, it can make the website more user-friendly, which can encourage visitors to stay on the site longer and interact with more pages. This can help to improve the website’s bounce rate, which is a measure of how quickly visitors leave the site.

Second, a well-designed UI/UX can make it easier for visitors to find the information they are looking for, which can improve the overall user experience. This can lead to increased customer satisfaction and engagement, which can ultimately lead to more conversions and sales for the website.

10 websites that are ruling the niche

Now that you know what is the importance of a proper website design, let’s take a look at the 10 best examples of this

1. Allbirds

Allbirds is an apparel store focussed on providing an aesthetically pleasing and modern look to the site while being simplistic to guide through. A brand that is aware of sustainability in the ecosystem, Allbirds has found the sweet spot with high-quality image placement and relatable and inspiring mottos.

2. Indian Summer

A beautifully crafted site that has made it pretty evident how eco-conscious they are. The message of their brand is clearly stated on their about us page, which is upcycling swimwear to reduce the adverse effects on the ecosystem. Basically, the brand knows how to establish its desirable audience.

3. Thesus (formerly Alice + Whittles)

This is a footwear brand that realizes the importance of a clean and clutter-free site. They feature high-quality product photography and descriptions and have excelled in a well-padded and spaced look in all device interfaces.

4. Gay’s The Word

This particular brand has been successful in including a sense of community on its website. It’s an LGBTQ bookstore and they include colorful images of their store and books to wake the sense of relevance in the user.

5. Sticky Lemon

Focussed on the quirky and funky clothing of children from all age groups, this site automatically conveys a sense of quirkiness with its abstract page design and funky mottos.

6. Bliss

Bliss is a great example of a site using colorful and energizing themes, the site is filled with colors and has a fresh feel to it. The theme easily delivers the brand message of freshness here as Bliss is a skincare product site.

7. Bon Bon Bon

Bon Bon Bon is simply a chocolate selling e-Commerce site and its sense of color and theme is on spot. Based in Detroit, this brand uses a theme that not just the natives but even others would love to navigate through.

8. Cruisemaster

Cruismaster’s web design is a great example of how websites can be cleanly designed even when there’s a lot of information to display. They have a clutter-free website that still conveys a lot of information.

9. Crossrope

This brand has taken a minimalistic approach and has been pretty successful in spreading its message as a fitness brand. Their homepage, unlike others, consists of videos, creating a sense of activity in the user, a USP in itself!

10.  Simply Chocolate

Simply Chocolate is a chocolate brand and they’ve integrated some unique ways to design their site differently. Knowing that their Unique Selling Proposition is nothing but chocolate, they introduced a unique way to present their products. They also have this distinctive vertically oriented hamburger menu.

Getting started

Seeing these excellent examples, getting started or improving your own e-Commerce store is an obvious thought, here’s a simple guide to get started:

Make the website easy to navigate

Customers should be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Use a clear and consistent page layout, and include a search function to help customers find specific products.

Use high-quality images and product descriptions

Visuals are an important part of the online shopping experience, so use high-resolution images of your products to help customers see what they are buying. Include detailed product descriptions that provide all the information customers need to make a purchase decision.

Create a user-friendly checkout process

The checkout process should be as seamless and straightforward as possible. Use clear and concise calls to action, and make sure the process is secure to help customers feel confident in their purchase.

Offer multiple payment options

Different customers have different preferences when it comes to paying for online purchases. Offer a range of payment options, such as credit and debit cards, mobile payments, and online payment systems like PayPal.

Make the website mobile-friendly

More and more customers are using their smartphones to shop online, so it’s important to make sure your website is mobile-friendly. This means it should be easy to use and navigate on a small screen, and the checkout process should be optimized for mobile devices.

Provide excellent customer service

Good customer service is crucial for e-commerce websites. Make sure you have clear contact information and a way for customers to get in touch with you if they have questions or need help. Also, consider offering live chat or other real-time support options to help customers in real time.

Conclusion

A well-designed e-commerce site helps sales by providing a user-friendly experience for customers, making it easy for them to find and purchase products. This can include features such as clear product descriptions, high-quality product images, and a simple checkout process. By making the shopping experience smooth and enjoyable, a well-designed e-commerce site can help increase sales and customer satisfaction. 

Thanks for reading so far, catch us on social media for more interesting content, and drop your questions, queries, and feedback in the comments section. Until next time, keep growing!

E-Commerce and Performance Marketing Optimization

E-Commerce or electronic marketing consists of buying and selling goods and services over an electronic system such as the internet. It is the purchasing, selling & exchanging of goods and services over a computer network or the internet through which transactions or terms of sale are performed electronically. E-Commerce marketing can be super complicated. 

E-Commerce has become a solid catalyst for economic development, and a significant component of business strategy in the fast-developing global economy. E-Commerce helps you reduce your costs because all of your products are presented in an online store. The business can go global because the presence is online and there are no more geographical barriers. In a time when people have moved into the four walls of the house, because of a variety of reasons, e-commerce has become a great option for purchases. E-Commerce is generally convenient, cheaper, and more accessible than storefront sales. 

Marketing is a necessary process for any business that is looking to take a leap towards growth.

• Understanding the purpose behind the marketing plan is important.
• Start with an executive summary ( overview of the company). 
• State the company’s mission, vision and values. 
• Identify the market and competition. 
• Outline your marketing goals. 
• Defining your budget 
• Present your marketing strategy 

E-Commerce marketing strategies

• Conduct more research on industry booms and slumps. Use Google trends to understand recent trends. 

• Simplify the buying process. Try to avoid pain points (problems faced by customers while interacting with a site)

• Use a good shopping cart. 

Choose carts that are good from a perspective of SEO, design and also paid search. 

• Spend some time optimizing your product pages about design and SEO. Do some keyword research and figure out what people are searching for, that part of your product title. Add that to the product description. Write a good description. Don’t forget the importance of product photography. If you can do a  product video, it is massively valuable. Do some videos on the product to explain your products in more detail. 

• Ensure you have trust badges on the page. It should provide options like fast shipping, free shipping, and all of that if you have them. Also, get reviews of your products. 

• You need to make sure that you have schema markup on your product pages. When somebody searches on Google, right there on the Google search page, before they even go to your website, they are going to see what Google calls product rich cards, which show the image of the product and some information that is required on the search page. This will give you an advantage over your competitors, and make you a little more visible organically to people as they are searching for things. 

• Optimize your product feed via Google merchant center. You are going to use this to run Google shopping ads. The product feed is hugely important. You want to make sure that you have good information in there about your product title, description, keywords, and so on. 

• Running Google shopping ads.

Google shopping is very popular. If you want to be in the shopping tab, you want to make sure that you are running Google shopping ads. Invest in running product ads. Take measures to optimize your product ads based on results. 

• Run dynamic retargeting campaigns for your Google shopping ads and your website visitors, so that people go to your website and browse products. 

• Run Facebook and Instagram ads, as they are very important. Target people on Facebook and Instagram. 

• Investing in your social media organically. You need to ensure that you have an organic presence on social media. 

• Automate your email marketing. A lot of e-commerce stores fall short because they don’t remarket to those people who purchased from them once, to get back to their business. They just spend a lot of money to get the customer to make their first purchase. But after that, they don’t approach them via email marketing and other channels.

• Invest in SMS marketing. SMS marketing is text message marketing. Only about 20% of people will open up your emails, and check them. Sometimes even less. Also, they won’t open it up in real time. But with text messages, almost 100% of people open the text message. Most of these customers are within a five-minute window. 

• Use a CRM. Many eCommerce stores don’t have a CRM. They are using the backend of their cart, to look at customer data and using that as a CRM. Integrate your cart with an actual CRM so that you can populate all of your customer data and eventually can add additional data in there. 

• Make a customer care package to send with all of the product purchases to your customer.

Expanding Your eCommerce Business Globally – How Do You Do It?

This scaling up doesn’t just kick up the performance and popularity of your business, it can help to expand your customer base, increase revenue, and gain access to new markets and opportunities. Additionally, it can also provide a way to diversify and mitigate risks, as well as enhance the reputation and brand recognition of the business. 

Getting started

Taking your e-commerce business to a global level can be a major growth opportunity, but it also requires careful planning and execution. It has its own set of challenges, employee management, data silos, management systems, and software development become the new roadblocks to your path and you progressively learn to get over them. In this article, let’s take a look at some essential steps to take your business to global levels:

Identify market

Research potential international markets for your products. Start by identifying countries or regions where there is likely to be demand for your products. Look for markets that are relatively untapped by competitors, or where your products can offer unique value. 

Consider factors such as market size, economic conditions, consumer preferences, and shipping logistics. You can also use tools like Google Trends and export.gov to gather data and insights on potential international markets.

Strategize

Develop a global marketing and branding strategy. Once you have identified potential international markets, you will need to create a plan for reaching and engaging with international customers. 

This can include creating localized versions of your website, utilizing social media and influencer marketing, and running targeted advertising campaigns. You should also consider how to adapt your branding and messaging to different international markets while maintaining a consistent overall brand identity.

Gain market trust

Provide high-quality products and services that meet or exceed customer expectations. This is the foundation of building trust, as customers will be more likely to trust a business that consistently delivers value. Communicate transparently and openly with customers, and be responsive to their needs and concerns. 

This can include providing clear and detailed product information, responding promptly to customer inquiries, and addressing any issues or complaints in a timely and professional manner. Use customer testimonials and reviews to showcase the positive experiences of previous customers. 

This can provide social proof and help to build trust with potential customers who may be unsure about your business. Utilize security and privacy measures to protect customer information and transactions. This can include things like encryption, secure payment processing, and compliance with relevant privacy laws and regulations.

Facilitate Partnership

Partner with reputable international payment processors and logistics companies. In order to facilitate international transactions and shipments, you will need to work with trusted partners who can handle the complexities of cross-border e-commerce. 

This can include payment processors that support a wide range of currencies and payment methods, as well as logistics companies that can handle customs and other international shipping requirements. It’s important to do thorough research and due diligence when selecting these partners, as their performance can have a major impact on your international success.

Get verified – Licenses

Obtain necessary licenses and permits, and ensure compliance with international laws and regulations. Depending on the products you sell and the markets you operate in, you may need to obtain various licenses and permits in order to do business internationally. 

This can include things like export licenses, product certifications, and tax registrations. It’s important to consult with legal and compliance experts to ensure that you are complying with all relevant laws and regulations in each market you operate in.

Hiring

Consider hiring international employees or partnering with local businesses. As you expand into new international markets, you may find it helpful to have local expertise and knowledge on the ground. 

This can include hiring employees who are familiar with the local culture and market conditions or partnering with local businesses that can help with market entry and expansion. These partnerships can provide valuable insights and connections that can help your business succeed in new international markets.

Automation

By using tools like machine learning and natural language processing, you can automate the process of gathering and analyzing data on potential international markets. This can help to identify the best opportunities for expansion and provide insights into consumer preferences, competition, and other market conditions. 

Using tools like marketing automation, you can create and manage targeted advertising campaigns that reach international customers in different languages and locations. By integrating with international payment processors and logistics companies, you can automate the process of handling cross-border transactions and shipments. 

Using automation tools, you can manage and track compliance with international laws and regulations, ensuring that your business is operating in a legal and ethical manner in all markets.

Analytics

Monitor and analyze your international performance, and make adjustments as needed. Once you have launched your international operations, it’s important to regularly monitor and analyze your performance in each market. 

This can include tracking metrics such as sales, traffic, and customer engagement, as well as conducting market research and customer surveys. Based on this information, you can make adjustments to your strategy and tactics to continue growing your international e-commerce business.

Conclusion

Overall, taking your e-commerce business to a global level requires a combination of market research, marketing and branding, strategic partnerships, compliance, and ongoing performance monitoring. By following these steps, you can lay the groundwork for a successful international expansion and continued growth for your e-commerce business.

If you were reading so far, then you definitely added value to your time, hoping to see you again soon, till then, find us on social media and we can connect! Don’t forget to drop your questions, queries, and feedback in the comments below, follow for more.

Creating an eCommerce Video Marketing Strategy for your products

Video marketing has changed a lot over the past couple of years. Not only do customers expect video, but there are additional benefits to live streaming and life selling. Video has always been an important part of the e-commerce space. Video allows getting a better picture of your product than just images. It gives them a sense of scale, color, and space. 

To be effective with the video marketing strategy for a business, you need to be planning for multiple videos to use at different stages of the journey that your customers go through. Effective video marketing for a business is about using the right video at the right time, in the right way to move the right audience to take action. Video marketing can’t be all about the sale. There is a journey that people go on, to buy from you, and it is based on the psychology of how people buy. Here you need to understand the customer better. 

The first goal for video in a marketing strategy is brand positioning. This is the process of aligning with people. It is all about getting an emotional connection, which is the idea of getting people to buy into your brand before you ask them to buy from you. Generally, the kinds of videos that work well here are storytelling ones. The power of storytelling to move people on an emotional level to take action is so critical. Taking people behind the scenes, taking them on a journey with you or your business, getting them to buy, or using concept films which can take a whole bunch of different styles. While looking at the brand story or client story you need to look at who the hero is, which is your customers. Here you become the guide or the mentor that comes alongside your customers to achieve a better outcome for them. When you are crafting these stories regardless of the platform, you need to lift your customers and tell stories that resonate with them. When people have made the right emotional connection to your brand or business, now the goal is social engagement. This is all about getting people to come on the journey with you. Then what needs to be considered is how we can get people to buy from us. When we come to the purchase end of the customer journey the goal is conversions. The goal here is to create content that is focused on sales. Sales focus content can take several different forms. Using personalized videos can help the audience to better connect with your brand. Livestreaming the sale can also help in driving sales. 

Best practices for live streams for live selling products to get supercharged sales. 

• Be sure to promote your live streams, so that customers and potential new customers know when and where to watch. You want to tell them the date and time, what platform to watch on, and what you’ll be talking about or selling. This can all be done in an image post or a quick selfie video posted across all of your social media channels. 
• One of the best parts about live streaming is being able to interact with your customers in real-time. Being live allows you to build customer loyalty when you interact with your audience. You can answer their questions about your products live and even show comments on screen. 
• Try to bring in remote guests.

Bring in satisfied customers, or influencers from all over the world to do live testimonials or further explain the stories about your products. 

How to create an ECommerce video marketing strategy?

• Carry out some basic market research.

The purpose of this research is to find out exactly who your ideal customer is, and what problem your products solve for them. The goal here is to put ourselves into our potential customer’s shoes and experience the product like they would when they are seeing it for the very first time. 

The three quickest and most effective ways to do this are:

1. Analyse the psychographics and demographics of your audience on Facebook to find out exactly who they are.
2. Go to your competitor’s Facebook ad library, and analyse their messaging.
3. Read your own in your competitors’ customer reviews to see what the people are saying about yours and similar products.

In your competitor’s Facebook ad library, you can find out what type of Ads they are using and most importantly the messaging that they are using which will leave you clues as to their targeting. Sometimes this process can be long and painstaking. In this situation, adbox can be a game changer. This one consolidates a bunch of highly performing ads from all sorts of niches from agencies from all over the world. 

• Customer reviews are important. This is where you can find out exactly why people are buying your products or similar products. And use this knowledge to write potent ad copy. The process here is quite simple. Head over to your competitor’s Facebook business page, or amazon page, and go through reviews. It might take you some time, but the goal here is to go through between 50 to 100 reviews, and we are looking for clues as to why people are buying this product. Simply copy what they are saying, and paste it in an organised fashion into your,r notes. Next we need to organize them into categories. 

• Take the statements and create a visual sequence for everyone. 

This part may vary from project to project. This is because there are always creative limitations that come with budget restrictions. You may have a budget, and hire a crew, or you could be a one-man band. Whatever your situation is, just know that, there are always creative solutions to budget restrictions. 

• Add in titles

Don’t show more than three words at a time on the screen.