5 Things You Need To Do Before Launching your E-commerce website

With 7.655 billion total population, the online marketplace is the biggest in the world. A retailer not taking advantage of this opportunity is either ignorant or not ready for business.

According to Statista, e-commerce generated 653 billion US dollars in 2018, with 1.79 billion people shopping online. As lucrative as the industry might seem, getting a piece of the revenue doesn’doesn’teasy. To stand a chance of cashing out, you must put the right machinery in place. Otherwise, there’d be one visiting your site, let alone making purchases.

Here are five things to do before launching your e-commerce website.

1. Have an email subscription form

An average e-commerce site enjoys moderate traffic by investing in numerous forms of traffic. This traffic runs through the sales funnel. (this guide is worth a read to learn more about sales funnels). The beginning of the sales funnel is the widest. It contains the raw traffic pouring into your site. As visitors move along the funnel, it gets narrower, with many finding their way out. Only a handful will make it to the end. Even at that, there’there’sarantee that they’lthey’lla purchase.

According to Hubspot, 99% of first-time visitors don’t do anything. Don’t Don’them go just like that. A visitor who didn’tdidn’tnize you today could be your highest spender tomorrow. But you can only create room for that if you get their contact for subsequent communication.

Every visitor to your website is a potential customer. Nurture them to that level by installing an email subscription form before you launch. With their email in hand, you have a point of contact for follow-ups. It’s aIt’s easier to get customers to drop their emails than make them buy from you.

2. Install a CRM software

Competition among online retailers is on the increase. Devising ways to stay ahead elongates your business lifespan.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is growing more popular in e-commerce circles due to its efficacy in enhancing the customer experience. A Salesforce report found that CRM increases customer retention by 27%.

Understanding customer behavior is integral in offering them a satisfying experience. CRM technology helps you to streamline data presented to each customer on your site based on their previous interactions. As they look up things on search engines, similar items pop up when browsing your site. This means they get to see products they are already interested in. There’There’sy a high chance of them purchasing as opposed to seeing products they have no interest in then.

3. Install live chat

The success of your e-commerce site largely depends on one thing – your customer service. Setting up a great website with all the necessary tools will waste time and resources if you don’t want your customers. They are the ones who will be making the purchases. Not getting it right with them will lead to failure.

According to eMarketer, 63% of online customers are likelier to return to your site if you have installed a live chat. That’sThat’sh number for sales.

Take a look at the top e-commerce sites; there’there’shing they all have in typical – live chat. Online buyers demand instant responses to their inquiries. A little delay ticks them off. If your arena isn’ton standby to talk to them, you might as well not open up for business.

Live chat makes interactions between customers and agents on e-commerce websites easy and fast. With the icon on your site, visitors can reach out to you with just a few clicks. Any concerns about your product(s) can be swiftly clarified, giving them the confidence to proceed with their purchase.

4. Set up your social media accounts

It’s hIt’sto separate e-commerce from social media. Statista reports that there are 2.77 billion people on social media. Not selling to that portion of the online population reduces your sales unit.

Despite the need to have your business on social media, it isn’ttory that you are on every single one. Don’t of those businesses who have accounts everywhere online just because everyone else does.

Identify your target audience, and position your brand on social sites where they are. If you don’t market on a particular social network, you have no business being on it. Save yourself the stress, and focus on places that matter to your company for high engagement.

Pick one user name across all the social sites you want to be on. It helps customers to find and recognize you. Different usernames on different platforms give you multiple identities that confuse your customers.

5. Establish an email newsletter

Your e-commerce store isn’t to thrive on organic traffic alone. You’llYou’llto’s proactive by regularly reaching out to customers and prospects about your products. An email newsletter is an effective tool for communicating this message. It takes your products into your prospects’ inboxes with well-crafted sales copies to get them interested in your offers.

There are several email marketing services online. Compare and pick one that’sthat’ssuitable for your business.

Choose a perfect template and customize it to your taste. Create a template for your welcome message and the body of your message.

A Baymard report found that there’there’serage of 69.89% cart abandonment rate during online shopping. You’llYou’lla cart recovery email campaign to keep that in check.

Conclusion

With a growing online shopping consumer population, e-commerce revenue is increasing. The Guardian reports that Amazon recorded $2.5 billion in profit in 2018. This shows that there’there’smit to how big an e-commerce business can grow when managed effectively.

AuthorAuthor’sSam Makad is an experienced writer and marketing consultant. His expertise lies in marketing and advertising. He helps small & medium enterprises to grow their business and overall ROI. Reach out to Sam Makad on Twitter or LinkedIn