Buyers 71% More Likely from Social Media Referrals [Infographic]

Ecommerce Marketing

Ecommerce companies that invest in inbound marketing can greatly increase their opportunity to grow online sales, lower COCA (cost of customer acquisition), and grow new customer retention. Consumers connect, rate, discuss, and consume product information and reviews like never before, making a strong online presence paramount for all sizes of ecommerce businesses. Ecommerce inbound marketing makes it possible for online stores to take advantage of the emerging social revolution by gravitating consumers to their own brands and products, driving organic and social media traffic and sales, lowering COCA, and increasing the adoption of customer retention along the way.

This infographic design from Killer Infographics is a great illustration of the importance of ecommerce inbound marketing and social media referrals!  Enjoy!

Ecommerce Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Marketing - Infographic
Ecommerce Marketing Software – All-In-One Inbound Marketing Software

Your Homemade Website Isn’t Cutting It Anymore

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It’s hard to believe that in 2011 Americans spent $200 billion online and projected that total would rise to $327 billion by 2016. Mainly because of the convenience and in large part because the web makes it easy to compare companies and prices.  The opportunity for retailers is huge no matter your size.  The fact remains that you’re not going to get your share of the pie with a DIY website.

A recent report from Forrester Research confirmed what just about everybody in business already knew: Americans are buying online and they are buying a lot.

Among the report’s interesting findings:

  • 53 percent of Americans made an online purchase in 2011.
  • 58 percent are expected to make an online purchase in 2016.
  • People believe they get the best deals when shopping online.
  • Tablet devices like the iPad have spurred online impulse buying.

If just these sort stats don’t make you want to reevaluate your e-commerce efforts—and perhaps plan a redesign of your website, they should.

An attractive, well-organized website, with a back-end that functions seamlessly and a shopping cart that makes the purchasing process as easy and intuitive as possible will do amazing things for your bottom line.

Ten years ago, building a quality e-commerce website was a highly expensive proposition. You had to hire an outside firm to do it. Today, businesses can use any number of open-source platforms to build a complex, yet relatively inexpensive e-commerce site.

But just because you can do it yourself, should you?

I say no. It’s too critical to your business not to get right. Granted, I work at a Web design firm, but hear me out.

These cookie-cutter websites that people are peddling for $1000 or less may be fine for some kid with a blog or a pizza parlor looking to put their menu and phone number online, but for most businesses, they just look cheesy.

Here’s the thing about cheap, template-driven websites: They look like every other cheap website out there. And that cheapens your brand. It makes you look like you don’t take your marketing and messaging seriously.

Custom designs are always going to cost more but the result is something you’ll never get from a generic template: a site that’s been designed to drive real business for you. That requires a team of people including an information architect, a designer, a front-end coder, a back-end developer, a quality assurance expert, and a project manager to coordinate all of the work.

But first, you must find the right design team. Look for one that understands your business and how to best promote your business online. When you are interviewing potential designers, make sure they can point to specific case studies of successful projects they have completed for other clients.

The design process should always start with a planning phase: That’s when your designer should demonstrate an understanding of your business, the competitive landscape, and the goals for the project.

This is followed by the design stage, where your team will map out the look and feel of the site and lay out the navigation and functionality requirements.

Finally, after all of the site specs are agreed upon, the front and back-end coding will begin. At this stage, the quality assurance process tests the site’s functionality across a variety of browsers.

It’s not a fast or cheap process. (And, by the way, it doesn’t end there: The next step involves driving traffic to it with sound marketing strategies.)

If want to be in business, then you need to be online. But if you’re doing a bad job of it online, you have no business being in business in the first place.

Improve Customer Service After the Sale

Ecommerce

It is a well known fact that an unhappy online ecommerce customer tells 10 people about their experience or more, while a happy ecommerce customer only tells three. Clearly, an unhappy ecommerce customer can have a negative impact on your e-reputation. That’s why it’s crucial to ensure satisfied online customers by improving your after-sales service.

Indeed, your post sale customer service is a major factor in the health and prosperity of your e-store. Post sale service helps increase customer loyalty, while at the same time influencing word of mouth. A good after-sales service makes for a great e-reputation – invaluable for any e-store! Here are just a few important ways to improve your after-sales service:

  • Multiply the communication channels between you and your clients
  • Establish a CRM system that allows you to build a customer profile
  • Measure customer satisfaction
  • Don’t make promises you can’t keep, and keep answers personal

Our Po!nt: Building long term customers just takes a little effort to make them feel important and appreciated.  What sort of things are you doing to build customer loyalty to your online store besides “great prices”.

Is Ecommerce Here to Stay or Is It Just A Fad?

Ecommerce

Global Ecommerce SolutionsWell based on the final three months of 2012, comScore is reporting that overall online sales increased 14 percent to $56.8 billion, marking the ninth straight quarter of double-digit growth.

With U.S. retail e commerce sales growing 15 percent to $186 billion for the full year, the strongest annual growth rate since before the recession, you will have to admit more an more people are relying on the Web to meet their needs and wants.

“With e-commerce growth rates consistently in the mid-teens throughout the year, it is clear that the online channel has won over the American consumer and will increasingly be relied upon to deliver on the dimensions of lower price, convenience and selection,” said comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni.   With this sort of comment lower prices may be an ongoing trend we may see in the coming years.

Also worthy of note from the Comscore report is that the number of buyers rose 6 percent and spending per buyer increased 8 percent for the fourth quarter.  It just goes to show that more people are willing to wait a few days to get “gratification” in order to save money and not have to pay over $3.50+ a gallon for gas to go get it!

Our Po!nt: Do you have an online store yet to sell your products or services?  It not you should start investigating how to reach more customers with an online retail store.

Is Your Online Store Mobile?

Ecommerce Mobile Marketing

If you sell a product, you’d be crazy not to focus your e-commerce on mobile and tablet apps.  This chart pretty much speaks for itself: By 2012, about a quarter of all Internet shopping traffic on Black Friday were made on either mobile or a tablet.

Mobile Ecommerce Sales

Making your online store mobile friendly is not an option any more.  Heading into this years holiday season more people will shop online via their mobile device than ever before.  The solutions are simple and not complicated. Stay tuned as we cover the How-To in the next few blog posts.

Our Po!nt: It now time to do it before your competition does!  Welcome your comments and thoughts