How to Create eCommerce Revenue

Jun 08, 2020

If you’ve been sitting on the fence about building a stream of eCommerce revenue, now’s the time to get off the fence. More customers now than ever before are turning to the internet to make safe and secure purchases online.

Several big names pop up when it comes to the world of online shopping, and there’s a common misconception that businesses need a big budget and plenty of resources to get an eCommerce website up and running, but that’s simply not true. With the guidance and expertise of a team of marketing professionals, you’ll be able to make this easy pivot.

Pick Your Products

Not all of your products or goods will sell well online. Choose items that you can ship without having specialty or cumbersome packaging — both of which are more expensive options. Look to your best sellers, the items that are in-demand, and the solutions to every-day challenges that you know your customers face. For local customers, think about what items they can buy online and pick up at your physical location with ease.

If you’re starting a new business, create a core set of products and make sure you can secure that inventory from vendors before offering it to customers. Don’t overlook asking for feedback on what shoppers would like to access on your website from the comfort of their computer or mobile device.

Create a Plan

The one thing that never changes about owning a business is that you can’t plan enough. Everything you do to keep cash flowing needs a robust plan with a margin for error, and your pivot to eCommerce is not an exception. Start with something fundamental: a business plan. For existing businesses, it’s important to revisit this to ensure your online website design and marketing plan aligns with your overall growth goals.

Take some time to research the competition and incorporate your findings into the plan to upgrade your website. Visit the websites of a few of the most well-known industry leaders and take notes. Pay attention to what you don’t like; as a business owner, you have a distinct advantage to see both sides of a purchase transaction. Break down your budget and make sure your digital marketing presence is clear on financial restraints so there are no surprises.

Build the Site

After you’ve fleshed out the nuts and bolts of your eCommerce site design process, it’s time to build it — with the help of web design professionals.  Your marketing team should be able to connect you with a designer who will collaborate effectively with the whole team. There are a lot of moving parts and while many platforms offer a short learning curve for users of all technical skill levels, web designers are crucial for putting all those moving parts together and making sure they’re working even after business hours.

Existing sites can be easily upgraded as well. If you’ve already established your online presence and the existing business site gets reasonable traffic, adding third party integrations and supplementing with social media and paid ads can help it become a revenue-driving machine that’s working 24/7. Don’t be tempted to DIY an eCommerce website yourself, but do feel like you can be as involved in the website building process as it is necessary to watch a vision come to life.

Preparing for Launch

Once you’re happy with your custom website, get your audience excited to visit it! Talk to your marketing team about how to ramp up social media marketing getting everyone ready to make an online purchase. Thoroughly review each page and section of the website with your marketing team to make sure the links work, the product images are clear and accurate, and customers can make payments online safely and with ease.

Once the site is live and working the way it should, talk to your marketing team about regular maintenance and promotional tasks you can perform on your own. You’ll become more familiar with tech tools and empower you to find ways to optimize the site and its marketing autonomously. Consistently check up on how well your site works to be ahead of any technical issues that a website designer needs to take care of.

Designing a business website that drives eCommerce revenue means a lot more than just choosing key colors and using keywords. You need to ensure that your website has caught shoppers’ attention and encourages them to make a purchase, increasing your bottom line. Learn about our website solutions to help you get eCommerce revenue flowing.

The post How to Create eCommerce Revenue appeared first on Cole Dalton.

Forecasting the Next Ten Years of Marketing

10 Apr, 2024
Marketing is gearing up for significant changes as we enter the new decade. With new technologies, shifts in buyer behavior, and changes in consumption culture, the way businesses reach out to customers will look very different in the coming years. While we can't say what marketing will look like in 10 years, we can examine emerging trends and strategies to forecast its future. Here are some predictions experts are suggesting could take shape moving forward. Increasing Personalized Advertising Personalized marketing should undergo even more profound transformations in the coming decade, leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to forge deeper customer connections. With the ability to glean insights from vast amounts of data, companies will craft highly tailored ads and messages that resonate with individual preferences and behaviors, fostering stronger brand-consumer relationships. From dynamic content customization to predictive marketing algorithms, the era of hyper-personalization will redefine how businesses engage with their target audiences on a one-to-one level. Advanced Device Communication The proliferation of voice-enabled devices and virtual assistants heralds a new era in consumer engagement, requiring marketers to adapt their strategies to communicate effectively through these mediums. As voice technology continues to gain traction, companies must anticipate the rise of voice commerce and tailor their approaches to accommodate this emerging trend. By leveraging conversational AI and natural language processing, brands can deliver seamless, personalized experiences that resonate with consumers, whether shopping, seeking information, or interacting with digital assistants. Wider Use of Virtual Reality Virtual reality (VR) is poised to become a ubiquitous tool in the marketer's arsenal, offering immersive experiences that transcend traditional advertising methods. With VR, brands can transport consumers into captivating virtual environments where they can interact with products and services unprecedentedly, fostering deeper engagement and brand loyalty. As VR technology becomes more accessible and sophisticated, expect to see a proliferation of immersive marketing campaigns that leverage the power of virtual experiences to captivate audiences and drive conversions.

The Power of Storytelling

12 Mar, 2024
Marketing tends to focus on analytics and systems, but we sometimes forget about one powerful tool that has existed since the beginning: storytelling. From our ancestors telling ancient myths to be passed down for the generations to come to modern-day brand narratives, stories have held the power to inspire and connect in all different ways. Today, consumers face a constant bombardment of advertisements and catered content; using the power of storytelling in marketing campaigns has become critical for businesses, especially smaller firms aiming to create meaningful connections with their target clients. Why Storytelling is an Effective Strategy When a brand uses storytelling to convey its message, it connects with the audience emotionally. By telling a compelling story, marketers can create a memorable experience for consumers, making them more likely to remember and engage with the brand. Additionally, storytelling allows marketers to communicate the brand's values and personality more authentically. Instead of bombarding consumers with sales pitches, storytelling enables brands to share their stories and build trust with their audience, increasing brand loyalty and customer engagement. The Emotional Resonance of Stories At the heart of storytelling lies its ability to bring out emotions and create profound connections on a human level. Unlike traditional marketing messages focusing solely on product features or sales pitches, stories can engage the audience's imagination, stir empathy, and spark genuine interest. By weaving narratives that resonate with their target audience's hopes, dreams, and challenges, small marketing firms can create a powerful emotional bond that transcends transactional relationships. Building Brand Identity and Authenticity Storytelling is a potent tool for small businesses to authentically define and express their brand identity. Through compelling narratives that reflect their values, mission, and vision, small firms can differentiate themselves from competitors and carve out a distinct identity in the minds of consumers. Whether recounting the founder's journey, highlighting customer success stories, or showcasing the company's commitment to social responsibility, storytelling allows small businesses to humanize their brand and foster customer trust and loyalty.

A Guide to Employee-Generated Content

13 Feb, 2024
In a world of "influencer marketing" and brand deals, companies can easily overspend their marketing budgets and get caught up in the frenzy. An influencer may feature your product or brand only for their videos to perform poorly. At best, you lose out on the money spent sending the product to the influencer and whatever you spent on hiring them. At worst, your business gets a bad reputation online, and customers don't take your brand seriously. Consider that influencer marketing is just the "shiny new toy" in marketing. In that case, companies should continue to produce consistent, cost-effective outcome. One source for this? Your Employees. Employee-generated content refers to any videos, pictures, or copy that employees publicly post about their position and the company. Find out the benefits of employee-generated content (EGC), what this content can look like, and how to implement EGC into your overall strategy. What Does Employee-Generated Content Look Like? The beauty of employee-generated content is that it can take many forms. Any content your employees make that involves details about their role, the company itself, or the relationships they've developed with coworkers or customers/clients can be EGC. A simple, straightforward EGC piece can be an employee spotlight for new hires or veteran employees. You can choose to craft employee spotlights as infographics with a picture of the employee along with some fun facts about them, write a long-form piece from an interview with the employee speaking about their time at the company, or even long or short-form videos with the employee speaking on their experiences. While these methods may require the help of a graphic designer, copywriter, or videographer, the idea is that the employees generate the content by speaking about their experiences and introducing themselves. Other ideas for EGC pieces might be "day in the life" videos following a specific employee throughout their day, reflections employees have from conferences or professional development opportunities, employment milestones or recognitions, or even just pictures employees take with each other or showing what happened that day. There are limitless options and iterations for employee-generated content, and the key is to find out what works well for your business and why.
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