Creating eshop

23 points to keep in mind

Electronic commerce (e commerce) is growing rapidly in recent years and has become a great channel for sales and marketing. The online stores generate more and larger turnover and their number is expected to multiply in the coming years.

We know that creating and operating an e-shop has proved a great financial support for business for this very reason we decided to create a list of 23 tips, which will hopefully help you increase your sales by increasing your customers and stabilize your place in the field of e-commerce.

1. The online store should look and be professional. You will have to decide whether to invest in e-commerce or not. If yes then please take the chance to spend some money and find a company specialized on web design, after having seen their previous work and only if you are completely satisfied with it. We, in Plushost.gr, are a company specializing in creating e-shops and you can see a large sample of electronic stores in "See our customers” section. Also in "Customer Comments" section you can see comments that are posted by our customers regarding our cooperation so far.

You should be very careful because usually what you pay is what you get. Lately there have been ads from web designer companies that promise to create an online store, for very low cost. Make sure that you are absolute certain about your choice before you decide to collaborate.

2. When you try to describe a product you sell, do it as well as you can and offer as many photos and information as you can.

Put yourself in the position of your client. What questions might they have when considering to buy the product? Try to find and answer as many of these questions through an integrated product description. Remember that in an online store the customer can not touch, see and feel the product and this is a handicap you must deal with seriously.

3. Ask the company that created your e-shop to install Google Analytics, with which you can track visitors to your online store.

This way you can discover the least popular pages in your online store and act accordingly. If you find out that customers leave these pages due to some specific reason, you can correct the error and increase your sales.

4. When creating an e-shop, it is necessary to have a 0800 free phone line, even if the company is run by an individual and you are the one to answer the phone.

That way you gain more credibility in the eyes of the client and create a sense of security. The customer may never call you, but just knowing that they can at any time is important and reassuring.

5. Reply to e-mails within 8 hours. If you take too long to respond to your customer it is likely to lose them forever.

Consumers when they decide to buy a product they are not willing to wait long. If you delay, they are likely to buy from a competitor.

6. Try you get the most out of affiliate marketing.

It is the best method of promoting online stores. If you do not know what affiliate marketing is and how it works, you will be amazed by the possibilities offered by this method of promotion.

7. Create a list of the most popular products on your home page. This list will be updated automatically.

It is proven that such a move helps the sales of an e-shop because the customer can immediately see the most popular products. Since the most popular products are the ones that give you the biggest profit, it is natural to try to show them as much as possible.

8. Make offers. Offers are a very important marketing tool for an online store, especially in times of economic crisis, when money flow is limited and consumers spend little.

You must carefully plan your offers separately. Offers for customers who buy from you for the first time, for customers who have purchased something in the past and offers for loyal customers.

9. Give your online store your personal touch and character.

Bring your customers closer by showing them who you really are. The Internet is impersonal. To communicate your personality through a video in an online store is really a challenge. Start from page "About Us" or "Our Company" and give as much information as possible about you and your company.

10. Use the power of email marketing by sending a newsletter.

E-mail marketing is one of the most important promotional techniques of online shops. A good moment to ask for your customer’s email is after they have bought the product, with the appearance of the page that thanks the customer for the purchase.

11. Call or send e-mail to those who left the order page, one step before completing the purchase.

This is a very effective tactic. During checkout, use 2 fields to collect the name and telephone number or e-mail of the customer and then call or e-mail those who did not complete the purchase.

12. Always call customers who have completed their purchase.

This way you can thank them and confirm the transaction. It is a very good tactic to develop trust between you and your customer. Everything in e-commerce is a matter of credibility. This kind of action builds good relationships with your customers.

13. If you use Pay per click (PPC) on Google Adwords, rather than directing the advertisements to the home page of your online store, direct them to the page that sells the product advertised.

This is a very common error in Pay per click (PPC) on Google Adwords. If you advertise on the keyword "Screen P / C», you should direct the advertisement to the pages regarding PC screens and not to the home page of the shop.

14. Encourage additional purchases with the method of up selling. A customer who has just bought something from your online store is very likely to buy a complementary product and spend more money. It is purely impulsive, a matter of the psychology of that moment.

15. When it comes to problematic orders, inform the customers about the situation before they ask you to.

We said that everything in e-commerce is building relationships and strengthening the credibility of the shop. The right attitude and professionalism of an online store is recognized, understood and definitely rewarded by the customers.

16. Send the products fast and use the fastest shipping company. Do not forget that the customer after purchasing a product is waiting for it impatiently.

The customer is not accustomed to waiting. Before the expansion of electronic commerce, the customer used to pay and get the product immediately. The sooner they receive it, the happier they are.

17. If you sell products of a drop-ship company, change one letter in the name of the product.

Because the products of drop shipping companies may have a lot of competition, by slightly changing the product name, you separate your position from the rest. Drop shipping is quite a widespread method of promoting products in electronic commerce.

18. Find the right product to sell. The ideal product is what has great demand and not too much competition.

You can see the demand for a product, doing a search for keywords related to the product on Google.

19. Be patient with customers that are hard to please, because in the end they are the most loyal.

Loyal customers are the foundation and support of any online store. They will support you with repeated orders when there is little demand and they will be the ones to promote your online store talking about it to friends and relatives (viral marketing).

20. If you sell a product that is available in several versions, show pictures of all versions.

If you have a link showing a bigger picture, make sure the photo is actually bigger in very good quality and not the same in a new window.

Generally, take your time with details. Proper e-shop creation can have great results. Details are those that make a difference in the sales of an e-shop. It is very important that your online store look professional. When the customer realizes that you have spent a lot of time and trouble on that online store, they understand that you believe in it and therefore you believe in the products you sell.

21. Take tests, see what works and stop dealing with what does not work.

There are several techniques in internet marketing that can be successfully applied to electronic commerce. Some of them will work and some will not. This depends mainly on the type of the shop, the products it sells, its target customers, but also the intensity and type of competition.

22. Offer quality service, greater in value than the monetary value you seek.

Creating optimal e-shops is the only way to earn money and establish a business that lasts. Sell only quality products, treat your customer with respect and you will succeed.

23. Always do what you promise.

It is very important for an online store to be reliable and provide quality service to the potential consumers of its products. So product information must be clear on availability and delivery time. In any case the product should be sent within a specific indicated period. Remember that if the product is received within the delivery time, the customer is completely satisfied. If it is received after the time of delivery, it is almost certain that they are unhappy and you are likely to lose them as customers.

Creating an optimal e-shop is a basic rule if you want to make money from online commerce. If you want to earn enough money from any business you deal with, you should offer quality service and add value to the customer's life, greater than the monetary value you seek.

Viral marketing, which is of the most important forms of marketing available today, will reward you. Concentrate on how to give and not how to get.