Creating an e-commerce site is a great opportunity for retailers to build a business that can serve even their busiest customers. Endless Aisles’ plugin for Shopify means 1,000’s of products can be available at your customer’s fingertips, any time or day of the week. However, many people expect that simply having this resource will allow their business to grow and run on autopilot- this is not true. As with any successful business, you need to put in the time and effort required to scale up.
Here are some tips and trends that we have gathered from successful e-commerce retailers.
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Create an Email Marketing Strategy.
Email is one of the most popular marketing channels among successful e-commerce retailers. According to a study by Emarketer, 80% of B2C retailers agree that email marketing is their best performing method for customer retention. According to the same source, the median ROI for email marketing is 122%, which is 4x higher than other marketing channels, including social media.
If you don’t already, you should make sure that your site has an email capture for those customers who want to sign up for email newsletters and alerts. This way you can be the first to inform them of any deals or promotions your store is running, which can lead to customers spending up to 138% more than those who do not receive email offers. Keeping your existing customers and leads engaged is a lot cheaper than going out there an acquiring new ones.
If that isn’t a reason to start email marketing, we don’t know what is!
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Get Your Staff Excited!
An excited and motivated staff means better business! Training your staff to treat your customers, store, and site with respect is guaranteed to bring increased revenue and benefit to your brand.
Take time to teach your associates how to operate and promote your online store or Special Ordering Portal. Encourage them to ask questions if there is any confusion. Your staff should feel confident when it comes to selling the online store as a resource to customers who are buying their food online. They should also know about the shipping rates and exactly how your customer can benefit the most from your home delivery services.
A solid understanding of the value your store brings to its customers, online or offline, will increase the chances of your customers feeling loyal to your store and coming back for their next purchase.
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Create or Purchase In-Store Collateral.
In-store branded signs and bag stuffers will help to remind customers of your e-commerce capabilities the next time they don’t have time to shop in-store. Check out and order our pre-made Shelf Talkers here to get started on advertising your new capabilities with Endless Aisles!
Even better, our new Kiosk Mode will allow you to display your Special Ordering Portal in your store for customer browsing. This way they can check out your catalog and pricing in case they can’t find the product they were looking for on the shelf.
If you would like to make more personalized signs for events or promotions and don’t have access to a designer, try creating flyers on Canva and printing them out professionally. This site is a great way for inexperienced designers to get professional-looking advertisements.
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Have Up to Date Pricing
This is perhaps the most tedious task but is extremely important when it comes to updating your catalog. You must make sure that you take the time to keep your pricing up to date. Keep track of our product updates and notifications to see who has changed their MAP or wholesale prices and update them as soon as you can. Setting aside some time each week will mean this is less cumbersome and overwhelming of a task.
Don’t know where to start when updating your prices? We created a Pricing Workbook to help you do it faster and more efficiently.
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Create a Great Website
One of the most obvious keys to success in e-commerce is to make your site attractive and responsive. Have clear, visible branding to develop trust in your site visitors. Include pictures of your store and staff, and don’t forget to showcase any in-store services you offer, like grooming or dog wash.
Lead obvious breadcrumb trails to specific brands and categories with an organized navigation bar. Create comprehensive product explorer pages with customer reviews – Shopify has several plugins available for this. Don’t forget to include local SEO keywords in the text on these pages so that your site has a better chance of getting found by people looking for local pet stores in their area.
Pro tip: have a friend visit your online store and give you feedback on what you can do to improve it. Consider your website to be an extension of your store- maintain it and stay up to date on trends and changes as you would an aisle.
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Promotions
Engage your customers with promotions! Whether it is a small shipping discount or a site-wide sale, people will be more likely to act on their purchasing desires if you give them a good deal. Additionally, if you create exclusive sales for members, people will feel more valued and feel a stronger loyalty towards your store.
Segment your customers and offer the steepest discounts to those who haven’t purchased in a while to win them back. Offer promotions on specific categories to expand your customers’ baskets beyond food and treats.
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Confidence and Motivation
Having confidence in your abilities to succeed is something that can benefit any business! View your new e-commerce site as a key to success rather than a burden. The more excited you and your staff are to maintain your catalog and online branding, the better it will be. This will require a lot of hard work but it is worth it in the long run!
To learn more about important strategies in email marketing, check out the following articles: