Ecommerce websites and e-customers: an agency’s perspective

Services for Ecommerce Websites

Ecommerce websites are getting more and more popular. Of course, many success cases appear and make eCommerce desirable. First of all, eCommerce websites are the best solution to start new businesses. Another reason they are popular is the globalization of commerce. Furthermore, we live in the internet technology era and consumers spend most of their time online.

Our digital marketing agency understands the need of clients for clear information regarding ecommerce websites. Certainly, personal and presentation websites differ from ecommerce websites. Do you know what is the behavior of e-customers?  Have you verified your customer’s engagement and interaction with your company’s website?

Above all, these are hot topics and extremely sensitive to business development. Follow us in the text below as we take a closer look at e-commerce website challenges and how to verify your customer engagement with your website.

The ability to learn about your customers and act based on those lessons can create a powerful competitive advantage. This is the main reason why any business which is active online must track the behavior of their web visitors / e-customers. 

Master your Analytics

First of all, analytics work for any type of website your company may have, starting with a simple presentation website up to a complex eCommerce website.

Living in the globalization era we are sure that there are no borders between countries. Therefore, customers go online for shopping experiences anywhere and for any product they need. This brings up questions regarding the demographics and their locations.

Firstly, the languages the customers use to navigate your website. Secondly, the keywords and the time they spend exploring your products.  Furthermore, the content they prefer.

Likewise, the buying process has different steps and different cultures respond or are used with certain user interface design and website navigation path. While we know this looks like a lot of work, we encourage you.

Putting in the effort and reading your analytics report may open your eyes regarding website optimizations.

Of course, nobody wants their customer to become frustrated because they cannot find their way to the product information they want, contact details or payment. Having the option of different languages for your website is a necessity. Especially if you want to sell products worldwide.

The cost for implementing a second or even a third language to your menu or the work behind it are worth it if they bring satisfaction to your e-customers. 

E-commerce website challenges

Get a Powerful Infrastructure Map

This is a challenge!  When looking to hire an agency to create a website, companies give feedback on the visual aspects and the loading time. There are different approaches to becoming an online seller, either you use a platform such as Amazon or Shopify which offer their customer a wide variety of plugins to add the features you require.

A second way to become an online seller is to hire a professional website creation agency. As a result, work with them to create a structure of the customer path inside your store. You can find an inspiration about eCommerce sales funnels in the following article:  eCommerce Sales Funnel: The Ultimate Guide To Optimizing Your eStore For Lead Generation, Engagement & Conversions

The design and layout of a page seem a simple task, but it is far from true. All the features, menus and submenus you plan on adding the easier it will be for your client to find a trap, a dead-end or an error on your website.

Find the right products to sell

In our days, platforms such as Amazon and Shopify have made it extremely easy to enter the online retailers’ world. Although we read about many success cases we must consider that there are many who fail at this game.

The reason why companies fail are diverse, but choosing the wrong products to sell is one of these reasons.

Remember to stay authentic and find your niche, while keeping an eye on trends.

Trying to sell better than Amazon a popular product that is in the eye of the public may prove a challenge, a mistake and it can cost you your business.

Invest time in doing proper research before putting resources into an idea which so many others tried before. 

Attracting the right shopper.

Use the power of social media when you promote your product. Having a limited budget will give you problems, so it is better to apply a strategy when going after your customers.

Targeting random people will cost too much and will not pay off. This is why we strongly recommend you work with an agency which can tailor a social media strategy for your products to target precisely the public audience interested in what you want to sell. 

Gather traffic data

Strategic targeting decisions can be made only based on facts and figures. Having a bigger-sized website is possible that you lose track of what happens once a customer enters your e-commerce store. Know the customer journey and you will have a strategic advantage in your hand.

For example, the customer can enter your store with the intention of buying something and can get influenced by your other products and s/he ends up spending ten-fifteen minutes navigating all your different categories of products. What images attract your clients? Or, what copy attracts your customer’s attention?  What call to action makes the client curious and eager to add the product in the shopping basket?

Choose the right technology.

Growth problems surface when the technology you use is not up to date or it is limiting your actions. You must choose the right partners, agencies sometimes promise results which they fail to deliver and it is up to you to change the agency and choose a better partner.

Among the key elements to consider we would recommend you put an accent on finding the right shopping cart solution, find inventory management software, email software, CRM systems and an analytics system.

Find your team

Hiring in-house experts may prove expensive when you start your e-commerce business. Therefore, we recommend you work with external professionals who can give you the support of an entire team for the time you need it. To hit your targets as an online retailer you must admit that you can’t do it all by yourself.

Get in touch with an agency that can solve many of your online challenges easily and fast. Hiring an in-house person to handle the communication with the agencies will ensure the know-how is going to be taken in and managed in the long term by your company’s trusted person.  

Elements to observe

We did a selection of key elements for you to observe when analyzing the behavior of the customers visiting your online store. The list we propose is coming from the work of Dave Chaffey and PR Smith “E-marketing Excellence: Planning and optimizing your digital marketing”.

The authors are best-sellers of marketing practices and they have years of background to support their advice. We like learning from the best in the field and we show our deep respect for their work.

What about you? Which are some of the authors you read frequently and which helped you create your knowledge base regarding marketing strategies? We would love to read your recommendations, so please feel free to leave a comment below or on any of our social media channels. 

Customer engagement and interaction checklist 

1.  Is the customer a frequent visitor to the website (defined as more than ‘x’ visits per month)?

2.  Does the customer spend above the average site visit duration (‘x’ minutes) each time they visit your site?

3.  The customer engages in key service interactions? For example, choosing and comparing different products.

4.  Does the customer engage in minor service interactions? For example, checking the status of the account.

5.  The customer visits the discussion areas or blogs?

6.  Does the customer participate in discussions by posting comments regularly (‘x’ per month)?

7.  Has the customer written a product review?

8.  Does the customer express an opinion in customer service calls?

9.  Has the customer created any other user-generated content (including uploading photos or videos)?

10. Does the customer refer other customers to the site?

11.  Has the customer made any connections relevant to the brand in social networks?

12. Does the customer refer other customers to the site?

13. Are you monitoring and acting on engagements in the above areas?

Contact our Digital Marketing Agency today

In case you have a new e-commerce website, this is a list of wonderful places online where you can get educated and find inspiration or advice. 

https://www.ecommerce-nation.com/

https://www.shopify.co.uk/

http://www.wix.com/

https://www.weebly.com/