The eCommerce economy is only expected to keep growing. As eCommerce sales smash through a cash value in the hundreds of billions, it seems like everyone wants to get involved. In the US alone, there’s no shortage of up and coming digital businesses.
If you want to stand out against the competition, you need to be ready to work. For true eCommerce success, there are a few key tips you should follow to hit your business goals.
1. Use OKRs to your benefit.
OKR stands for objectives and key results. It’s a goal-setting framework that can help you assess what is and isn’t working. It’s great for an ambitious goal or smaller goals that are designed for team members or on a personal level. OKRs work on a quarterly basis most commonly. At the end of the quarter, you review your OKRs and make necessary adjustments. OKRs and key results monitoring differ from key performance indicators in that they’re more focused on the goals themselves as opposed to the specific metrics. Whether you’re addressing a stretch goal at the company level or you’re using the OKR methodology during weekly check-ins, the use of OKRs can benefit your business in untold ways.
If you’re not sure how to get started, consider using OKR software. OKR software can help you track each ambitious goal as well as individual OKRs while defining measurable key results. It’s a great way to follow the OKR process if you’re not familiar with how OKRs work as a whole.
2. Find cost-effective products.
Especially if you’re an eCommerce clothing or home goods retailer in the United States, you can benefit greatly from an outlet sale. Outlet sales allow you to get name-brand dresses, footwear, and other select styles at a discount. Take expensive new arrivals, for example. If you were shopping for merchandise at a Columbia Sportswear brand retail store, you’d likely pay a premium even with coupons or bonus points. If you go to Columbia outlet stores, instead, you can snag the purchase of select items at a discount off the retail price. You’ll still pay applicable taxes and shipping charges but these are done a sliding scale commensurate with the discount price.
Relying on an outlet sale is one of the best practices of the eCommerce industry, along with purchases of gift cards and limited-time offerings. Especially if you offer products for the home and kitchen, you can find amazing merchandise that won’t drain your finances. From Berlinger Haus cookware to kitchen decor, there’s no shortage of what you can find. You can also rely on interim markdowns or promo codes to score quality merch at a fraction of the sale price.
3. Amp up your marketing efforts.
If you’re not following some key marketing best practices, you’re doing your business a disservice. Use your marketing campaigns to score valuable customer information like an email address or phone number. You can then use this information to offer special incentives like free shipping, discounted gift cards, or access to new arrivals and best sellers based on previous purchases. Of course, you need to make sure your site’s privacy policy and cookie policy accurately reflect how you’ll use customer info at a later time as well as your eligibility requirements for your full rewards terms. This helps if you offer extra incentives for credit card payments or even bonus earnings for the purchase of gift boxes.
Your marketing extends to customer service as well. Even if the phones are only manned by store employees during normal business hours, you should still have ways for customers all over the United States to connect with you throughout the day.
From implementing a set of key results from the OKR process to offering bonus points to your US shoppers, there are several ways to help your eCommerce brand succeed. By following these guidelines, your business should be in a great place in no time at all.
2018 ·