Entering the world of business means that the entrepreneur must be well-prepared for future outcomes including the major risk factors. With the economy evolving rapidly, it is crucial to understand the market which your business caters to so that it can withstand the hurdles and emerge out successfully. Before you start your association with your consumers and come face-to-face with your competitors, there are a few significant factors to keep in mind that will foster natural and long-lasting growth. Like they say, there’s a new lesson every day when it comes to managing a business, we have tried to cite the best e-commerce practices for SMEs that will trigger growth and positive outcomes for your business:
Be mobile-friendly
Every business’ first step is to reach out to the customers with ease, and what’s better than having a great website to connect with them? While creating a website has become cakewalk in today’s era, with the advancement of various tools which are available at the snap of a finger, it’s important that the website is mobile-friendly too. Responsive design for a website would do wonders to your business as it will be user-friendly irrespective of the device the user is accessing the information from.
Connect with every potential customer
While every business tries its level best to retain their existing customers, it is extremely important to gage new customers as well. This will further yield in the growth of the business and add more authenticity to its core value. The best way to reach out to a new visitor is to give them a way to stay in touch with a call to action. This can be an email sign-up page, such as a pop-up that welcomes the visitor and gives them information on how to stay in touch.
Follow up on the abandoned shopping carts
If your business model is online retail, it is vital to keep a track of each customer who comes on to your page. While some might come with a motive to buy something, some might just be scrolling through. Often a user who has come just to brush through the website ends up finding something that might suit their needs, but just leave the website after adding the item in the shopping cart. In such cases, help move things along by reminding shoppers about their abandoned carts. You can add an automatic feature on your website that reminds customers via email about their forgotten cart with these reminder tools.
Make your website as interactive as possible
There’s nothing as boring as a mundane website. Any user who comes to your website must get the impression of your business by the look and appearance of it, thus, make sure that your webpage speaks for your business. Adding images and crisp visuals to your website home page, product pages, blogs, and more can really capture a visitor’s interest as well as make a sale more likely.
Avoid jargon on the website
For every business, the thumb rule is “Content is King”. When creating a marketing strategy of the business, the message which is to be conveyed to the customer needs to be in layman terms. Usage of technical words and jargon would often lead to miscommunication, which will result in the consumer getting ticked off as it might test their power of knowledge. Now that is something that no business wants. Thus, always aim for a simplistic approach to convey your message to your customers.
Send weekly updates about the business and the industry
One of the best ways to stay connected with your customers is by constantly updating them about your business. By sending newsletters and weekly updates about what’s happening in the business front along with the market news, the customers will not feel dark, lost and disconnected. This will trigger them to interact with us on an everyday basis and answer any possible questions before they even ask them out loud.
Have a strong social media presence
The world has gone social and that’s no news. Unless you have been living under a rock, the concept of social media is not unknown to you. From celebrities to start-ups to big organisations, everyone is on social media in order to stay updated with the market trends and be aware of their surroundings. Like various functions in a business setup, just staying on social media isn’t enough, but to make the most of it, one has to maintain an active account on the portals. There are many options to choose from in terms of which platform will be the most lucrative for your business. But, you don’t need to limit yourself to one platform, if you can showcase your brand successfully on multiple platforms – do it.
Stay updated with the latest technology
Automation plays a crucial part in improving your business standards. Thus, it is extremely important to stay updated with the latest technology and hire personnel who would provide expertise in adding more value to your current business. Cyber-attacks are constantly getting coverage lately with breaches in data and cybersecurity. It’s important to install regular software updates, alleviating possible breaches and staying up-to-date on current technology security trends.
