Brands that are genuinely successful in e-commerce have the flexibility to adapt and adjust to take advantage of opportunities in the market. After all, what good is it to be successful today if it will only last till tonight? That’s why it’s essential to future-proof your e-commerce business. In fact, the key to achieving maximum business lifespan and general success in e-commerce is to consistently work on refining your marketing methods while also looking for new solutions to implement. To help you do this, we’ve consulted digital marketing experts and prepared three tactics to help you future-proof your business.
Ways to future-proof your e-commerce business?
As a business owner, you probably already know that it’s always a good time to stop and think about what will happen in the future. It’s essential to plan and be aware of what lies ahead if you want your business to grow. So here are three carefully selected strategies that will help you future-proof your business.
#1 Focus on lifecycle marketing
Do you prioritize the expansion of your current customer base over maintaining the ones you already have? At first, it would seem that a larger number of potential buyers would increase sales. In a twist of irony, the opposite is the case.
The Pareto Principle (or 80/20 rule) states that only 20% of your current clients account for 80% of your company’s total revenue and earnings. This means that more doesn’t always mean the merrier. Large lists comprised of poor-quality leads can be detrimental to your marketing efforts rather than beneficial.
Instead, it would be best to concentrate on cultivating smaller subsets of your consumer base. Why? Because they are more likely to become repeat customers. They are more valuable to your company than customers who only make a single purchase. If you focus on improving your e-commerce customer experience, you’ll get buyers more inclined to make purchases from your online store. Plus, they will not require any discounts to do so, and they will purposefully look to your brand to fulfill their shopping requirements.
The best part is that devoted clients can assist you in expanding your customer base. They will turn their connections into clients by spreading good words about you to their friends. You can also motivate them to leave positive online reviews. This ensures a consistent supply of clients that are of high quality and can be relied upon. This will massively help your online store thrive for as long as possible.
#2 Use workflow automation to improve your customer service
Let’s be completely honest – no company can meet the urgent requirements of every one of their customers at any point in the customer journey. To solve this problem, you can equip yourself with a sizable, albeit pricey, staff of live responders. However, why not invest in workflow automation instead?
An effective eCommerce business model is necessary for long-term success. After all, how can your company ensure that it meets every need in a timely manner without compromising the quality of the other aspects of its business operations? With the help of workflow automation, you can attend to your customers’ requirements without having to monitor emails 24/7. And if you configure it correctly, you’ll have a steady stream of revenue flowing in the background. This is true even when your workers are busy with other processes that require more hands-on work.
#3 Future-proof your e-commerce business with the omnichannel approach
If you use one marketing channel, you are missing out on communicating with a significant portion of the people you are trying to reach. Investigate different avenues of marketing to broaden the scope of your customer base. If you want to give a complete experience to your existing and potential customers, focus on the omnichannel approach to marketing and sales.
First, make sure to examine your customer base. You want to determine the percentage of people who mainly use email against those who primarily use SMS. Also, what percentage of your whole client base is most engaged on the various social media platforms? You are missing out on a large audience if you just have just one marketing channel.
An effective omnichannel approach is usually why eCommerce stores with substantial annual revenues are so successful. Maximizing the success of your online store requires you to maximize your market reach by communicating fluently in the various “online languages” that your target demographic uses (i.e., Social Media, email, SMS, etc.).
Why choose the omnichannel approach?
Here are just some of the benefits that omnichannel marketing could provide to your online store:
- Omnichannel marketing provides a seamless experience for your customers. When you have successfully built your brand’s presence across several different marketing channels, you will be able to provide your customers with a consistent experience across all of your channels.
- Using this approach will increase traffic and sales. Customers who make purchases via omnichannel spend 10% more than those who purchase via a single channel. This is because you interact with them using a form of online language that they understand.
- Lastly, omnichannel marketing will bring you an increase in customer loyalty.
Final thoughts
We hope our article helped you future-proof your e-commerce business. Always remember that when pursuing long-term success, having the ability to pivot successfully in response to shifting circumstances is crucial. Maintaining an open mind, actively searching out, and gaining an awareness of the new methods and approaches will assist in clearing the route for your business to grow and thrive despite the hurdles that life will throw at you and your online store. However, sometimes, even with your best efforts, it might seem that something is not working as you expected. If that’s the case, thoroughly analyze your current strategies and figure out what could be the issue. Perhaps it’s time to get your new and improved website that will launch your online store to the top!
Author Bio:
Tracy Jones is a freelance content writer and a member of the friendly staff at convertmore.com. She majored in journalism, but after graduating, she fell in love with digital marketing and decided to pursue her career in that field. She enjoys reading books and taking her five-year-old labrador Billy on long walks in her spare time.