Online shopping has increased in popularity over the past several years, but the pandemic led to an even bigger spike in sales. Today, there are new platforms that can streamline the sales process, and more stores have an online presence. While e-commerce is unlikely to slow in popularity, there are still a few ways to tailor your online sales approach, including location-based targeting and offering a sustainable experience.
Find Clients in the Right Places
Having an e-commerce store means you have many potential clients, so if you want to be on top, you will want to look to some of the bigger marketplaces. Social media users often spend their day on different platforms, and they are very likely to purchase things through these platforms. Consider putting some of your marketing dollars into meeting customers where they are on these platforms. While advertising on larger platforms can be more expensive, it’s also where most people are, and you are more likely to find people who are interested in making a purchase. When you are just getting started, you might consider getting a personal loan to get your own finances in order so you can devote more dollars to social media advertising.
Include a Loyalty Program
Adding a loyalty program is a great way to work on customer retention because they give your clients more value. These programs can encourage shoppers to come back again and again, and this can increase your profits and sales. A loyalty program also helps you better engage with each client and form a more lasting relationship since a program can show how much you care about their experience.
Get a Second Opinion on Your Personalized Strategy
You might think you have discovered how to be successful when it comes to personalizing your strategy. However, just because you are experiencing success right now does not mean you have an effective long-term strategy. It’s important to be able to ask for and accept feedback from others as well. This can give you a different perspective on how well you are targeting customers. Having someone else look things over can give you more insight into your strategy, giving ideas of how you can improve things.
Provide a Sustainable Experience
In order to run a successful ecommerce store you must learn about what your customers are searching for and become the leader in it. Long-term, sustainable growth can’t come from providing cheap products or poor service anymore. Countless customers are looking for a memorable purchase experience, and they often strive to reduce waste as much as possible. Customers expect their items to arrive soon after they purchase them, and they are also looking for free shipping.
Services like Amazon Prime have given other e-commerce businesses more to compete against. It’s a good idea to price your products in such a way that you can offer free shipping with a relatively low order minimum. You could also offer certain products that will come with free shipping when customers add them and something else to their cart.
Target Based on Customer Location
As an e-commerce business, you may have customers from around the globe, which is excellent when it comes to expanding your customer base but could mean the information is only relevant to people in a certain area. That’s where location-based targeting comes in. This allows you to show customers prices and shipping times that are relevant to their country, helping manage expectations.
You could also personalize pricing and products shown based on an IP address or by using cookies. A customer who has never ordered from you may be shown a different price than a customer who has already purchased your products in the past. This sort of personalization is one of the greatest advantages you have over a physical store. Just make sure you don’t personalize to such a degree that customers feel like you are following them across the internet.
Focus on More Than Just the Sale
If your customers sense you care more about their money than them, they will take their business elsewhere. Focusing only on the sale means you will likely lose more customers than you will gain. Instead, focus on offering a great experience. This will make them more willing to recommend your company to others or to come back.