Tips for Improving Your eCommerce Business in 2023
New Year, New You isn’t just a catchphrase about resolutions and planned weight loss. It can also apply to your business approach and sales methods. The goal is to reassess your eCommerce activities for 2023 with an eye towards adopting to current industry trends and new technologies.
That said, performing such an exercise this year will be especially challenging. There are myriad mitigating circumstances in play, not the least of which are booming inflation, supply chain instability, and predictions of a global recession.
What’s the small business owner, of limited time and means, to do?
There are many different approaches you might be considering already. An email campaign, social media ad spend, or a shot at traditional advertising? Should you slash prices or implement premium pricing as your response to inflation? What are the best ways to stand out from your competitors as consumers undergo belt tightening? What’s the most impactful CTA for a stressed consumer who is also concerned about 2023’s economic forecast?
Don’t panic. The key to a successful 2023 comes down to keeping a cool head and having a strategic plan of action.
Here are some approaches we’re advising our clients to take:
Put Yourself in the Customer’s Position.
The 2023 consumer is facing a lot of uncertainty. They wonder where prices are going, whether items they order are actually in stock and will be delivered in a timely fashion, and if there’s someone in their corner after the sale. Be sure to address these concerns in all your customer communications, advertisements, and email campaigns.
Emphasize your businesses’ ability to handle orders and provide fast shipping. Detail for them how you plan to fulfill their order and get it into their hands as quickly as possible.
Show them, with product images on your website, what you have in stock and the selection you can offer. Let them know your team is standing by and ready to assist them in making the right purchase decision because every penny counts these days.
While you want your communications to be informative, make sure they’re also concise, to the point, and attention grabbing (i.e., big and bold). Consumers have little time to read your communication and there are many other post competing for their attention. The goal here is to present your business as the timely solution to their product or service need in the most expedient way possible.
Spruce Up Your Appearance.
According to Bain, returning customers will spend 67% more than new customers, so it behooves retailers to keep their existing customers happy. This can sometimes be a challenge in the New Year, just after weeks of holiday foot traffic has left shelves empty, staff burned out, and the sales floor looking disheveled. But this is no time to let your wrinkles show. Even if it means spending a little more money, make sure your storefront looks as fresh and inviting as it did the first day of your holiday selling season.
Existing customers will be more likely to return and spend more, while customers new to your shop will view the business as a clean and reliable shopping resource for the future.
Leverage Data to Know What Your Customers are Looking For
Audit whatever data you have on you customers. Which products have they been the best sellers? Is there a particularly hot item or one that’s experienced multiple or repeat sales? Has anyone left reviews, good or bad, about the products you offer?
Having information like this will make it easier to market to new customers in 2023 because your previous customers have already established for you what works and what’s popular.
This is also a useful way to identify your most loyal customers and how you might be able to follow up with them later in the year.
Identify and Court High Value Customers
Some 65 percent of a store’s total revenue is generated by repeat customers with approximately 10 percent of those falling into the prized “high value” category. These are customers who, when treated well, will purchase up to 3x as much as the typical customer.
Use available data to identify these customers, using values such as their average order spend, the length of time they’ve been a customer, and the frequency of their visits.
Your goal is to provide these customers with personalized care and special attention since they are you most valuable assets.
Use the Power of Personalization
For you next email campaign, go beyond simply addressing your customer by their name. Go the next step and recommend a product or service that might be of interest. Find that suggestion by checking their previous sales records. What do they seem to use regularly? What might complement their previous purchases?
While you want to keep all your customers up-to-date on your entire inventory of offerings, paying particular, personal, attention to your high value cliental will help cement a bond that surpasses other customer values, like attention to pricing.
As you can see, your small-to-midsized business can be more successful by building and maintaining a strong relationship with your customers. If you want to increase your visibility and promote your goods and services even further, consider employing a full-service marketing platform that specializes in supporting small businesses. From email marketing to review monitoring, among many other services, your local business will receive the proper attention to be seen, noticed, and remembered in 2023.
Nicole Penn CEO, The EGC Group
New year stock image by Miha Creative/Shutterstock
