When one looks back in time, one will notice how different the marketing strategies were. But those strategies worked fine for the generation ruling then. However, if you try to apply the same marketing techniques today, they will not give you profitable results. It is because the needs and preferences of the generation leading the market have changed a lot. Therefore, the marketing strategies should also be changed accordingly.
Nowadays, most businesses want to target Generation Z, popularly known as Gen Z. If you also have the same goal, we will help you with some of the best lead generation ways that work for this generation. But before we delve in, you must know what Gen Z means. Simply put, it is the current generation of people born between 1997 and 2012. The oldest people belonging to Gen Z are around 25 years old; some are also married and have kids. This is the generation most brands want to target because they are the present and the future market. Keep reading to know how to convert Gen Z leads for your eCommerce store!
Some people think that leads are those who buy from you, but that’s not true. Those who buy from your store are your customers and leads come before that stage. Leads are those target audiences who have interacted with your brand somehow. It can be by liking one of your social media posts, clicking on your ad, visiting your website, adding your product to their cart, etc. Lead generation is the most important step for any business because these leads are your future potential customers. So higher the lead generation, the more the chances of gaining loyal customers for your eCommerce store will be.
Gen Z people love consuming content of all kinds, be it blogs, vlogs, reels, etc. Not just for entertainment purposes, but they love content also when they want to find out more about a certain product. Hence, if you want to bring in more leads, you need to create more content around your products. For instance, if you are selling blenders, try creating product description blogs where the buyer can learn all about the blender. Besides product descriptions, you can also create other interesting blogs with helpful tips and hyperlink your website within the content.
The more information you provide about the products you sell, the higher your customers’ trust in your brand will be. They will be certain about what you are selling and how to use it. Eventually, they will click on the link, visit your website and take action. To gain success via content marketing, make sure you hire people who know how to create the right content for your target audience. Consistent content creation will help you reach potential customers quite easily!
Advertising through Vloggers
GenZ people love watching vlogs (ask those who patiently wait for an entire week just for a vlog from their favorite YouTuber). Getting in touch with vloggers and giving them the paid responsibility of advertising your brand can really help. They will make convertible “aesthetic” videos for your brand to help you advertise your brand to their own followers. Almost all eCommerce brands starting from skincare to clothing are using this advertising method to attract the attention of GenZ customers and so can you!
Besides vloggers, you can also advertise your brand through bloggers (people who write on their website instead of recording a video). You might think that people don’t read a lot but that’s not true for the GenZ community. They love reading, especially on web! The more they read, the more they get to know about your brand, and the better it sells. So make sure you use the efficiency of creative bloggers at its best!
Email Marketing
Email Marketing For Beginners
Well, you cannot be certain that your visitors will buy from you the very first time they visit your store. In that case, you need to stay in touch with them via email. Every time someone visits your store or clicks on your ad, ask for their email id. Soon you will have a list of contacts you need to mail regularly. Make sure you are not spamming their mailbox because they might unsubscribe from your mailing list. So instead, send them interesting emails that contain helpful information, coupon codes, customer reviews, etc. Limit it to three emails a week because too much of anything can become irritating in no time. You can also use email marketing to remind your leads to buy the product lying in their cart!
SEO is the current ruler of the digital marketing globe. Without it, you will have a hard time targeting a specific customer base for your products. There are many SEO strategies, on-page, and off-page, which you need to follow. For instance, when you create content, it should contain enough keywords to get a higher ranking on Google. But that does not mean you need to spam keywords because otherwise, your content will be ranked poorly on any search engine. This is just one example; there are many more SEO technicalities that an SEO strategist can help you with. So if you are launching a new eCommerce store, make sure you hire a reputed SEO specialist to reach your audience without any hassle.
Social Media
This goes without saying that Gen Z people are obsessed with social media. Pick anyone in the crowd, and you will see they are on at least one social media platform. Hence, social media is a powerful tool that every brand uses these days. Your brand must have an account on all the social media platforms where you post regular updates about your products, discounts, etc. You can also use social media ads to promote your brand widely. The most popular ones are Facebook and Instagram ads.
Besides running ads and posting content, you can also collaborate with budding influencers and promote your brand via their page. Social media marketing is evolving with each passing year. Social media platforms are also introducing new and better ways of promoting brands. So use it as the hype of these platforms can help you market your store quicker and better!
Even though SEO marketing works more effectively, in the long run, you can also introduce PPC (pay-per-click) advertising on Google ads for better promotion of your brand. PPC helps you stay ahead of the competition by giving you a range of competitive keywords. That means your ads will show when someone searches for a specific keyword. For example, if you sell women’s garments, your ad will show under the search results of ‘dresses for women,’ ‘gowns for women,’ and other such keywords. After setting the ad, you need to determine how much you are willing to pay Google for each ad. Google usually shows those ads for which the PPC rate is higher. Hence, you need to find the market average PPC rate and set something close to that.
Customization
Benefits Of Customization
The same ads won’t work for all the customers because each audience base is different. Well, that does not mean you need to create thousands of different ads for different customers. Instead, you need to create specific sets of customers and cater to them the ads that relate to their present condition. For example, if you are showing maternity wear ads to someone who isn’t even married, then it won’t work.
This applies to email marketing as well. Before sending a mail, you should determine whether it will be relevant to the reader. The right approach will be to set their age, income, demographics, and relationship status and learn more about their interests. For example, if a customer is interested in wedding-related content and they are engaged, it might be that their wedding is approaching soon. In that case, showing them ads for wedding products would be a great idea.
CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)
8 Tips For CRO
To find out what works best for lead generation on your eCommerce store, you need to apply the test and trial method. First, you need to test a few website layouts, landing pages, website info, products, etc., and see what is bringing in more leads. This process is known as the conversion rate optimization or CRO process. It helps you make the lead generation process easier by understanding the exact choice of Gen Z people. You can also hire a professional marketer for this job as they know better about what works best for a particular eCommerce niche.
When creating a Facebook ad, you need to provide free bait that stands out. If your bait is something too common, people will hardly click on your link. Do proper market research to see what kind of baits work the best for your eCommerce niche, and then create something unique for your potential customers. For instance, if you are selling diet products, you can offer a free CD that talks about health and nutrition; make sure it is free of shipping charges as well. This makes unique and attractive bait.
Conclusion
Now that you know the procedures to take, maybe your eCommerce store will receive more Gen Z leads. Keep in mind that finding leads takes a lot of time and patience. Without putting a lot of effort into your market research, you cannot expect to receive quality leads. As managing the lead-generating process alone can become a little tiresome, you might need to engage a team of professionals.
Real money or revenue for a SaaS does not lie in customer acquisition. You might get thousands of users signing up and then ghosting away. A user that does not even use the product can not convert anyway. So, where to lay focus at? Activation rate.
Activation rate is a private metric vital for every SaaS business. Imagine, you have a cap table management tool. A user signs up, goes through the demo, and does not enter a single value in the software. It means the user did not derive any value from the product.
Every marketer should focus on the activation rate to understand how many people use the product. It involves various steps to determine the activation rate. Firstly, let us see what is the activation rate. Then, we will look at some strategies to enhance the activation rate.
Activation rate is a percentage metric that shows how many users use your product. It depends upon a certain milestone, criteria, or checkpoint.
For instance, you sign up for a B2B growth hacking webinar. What is the point if you do not check the emails from the company for confirmation or event details? It clearly shows that you will miss this event.
Similarly, the activation rate focuses on certain milestones to understand if the user is extracting any value from the product. Let us take the example of Trello. It is a project management tool. Activation points could be creating a workspace or adding cards on the board. These checkpoints are unique for every business. You determine the activation milestones of your business by:
Understanding different use cases
Types of the target audience
Identifying minimum steps to achieve the value of the use case
So, you start by understanding the different use cases of your product. This is followed by different personas to address. Finally, you look for milestones that tell if the user achieved value.
Taking forward the Trello example, some use cases could be: setting up a personal workspace, using boards for collaborating teams, using multiple boards to segregate departmental work, etc. Personas could be managers, freelancers, small team owners, founders, etc. So, the activation points become:
Setting personal workspace: adding cards, using description/ other fields
Collaborating teams: adding people to the board, adding people to cards, adding descriptions and files
The activation rate directly impacts SaaS growth and revenue. An average activation rate is 20-40% for freemium and free trial products respectively. Below are 10+ ways to optimize the activation rate.
The main aim of the activation rate is to show the product value to the users. Optimization focuses on improving the onboarding process and engaging users. In a nutshell, it involves providing customer support, seamless onboarding, and lifecycle emails.
Interactive Workflows
High Level Architecture Of The Configuration Services In SaaS
Many SaaS brands opt for product demos or self-service demos in case of complex installation or setup. But there are chances that customers might find the product complex and face a lot of friction. These are great for products with limited functionality and features. But if your product has a lot of elements and features, an interactive workflow or concierge onboarding is effective.
The interactive workflow involves navigation through screens that work on trigger-based prompts. It is customizable and scalable. Also, with simple targeting and segmentation, you get away with hiring personnel for onboarding.
Personalization
Personalization For Improving Customer Experience
One time I checked out the HubSpot sales page randomly. The next day, I received an email from their team. They were checking if I needed any products or help to get started. This was relevant, personal, and effective.
Personalization can improve customer experience. They feel connected and engage with the product. For example, a marketing SaaS product could send personalized resources or recommendations based on user activity. You could either deploy heat maps or activity-based triggers to personalize the user experience.
SaaS Welcome Email Series Flow To Delight New Customers
A dedicated onboarding email series can improve product engagement. You could use this series of emails to welcome users, highlight features, send reminders for trial expiration, and much more. With simple and clear copy, you could communicate the brand story, and USP, get feedback, and set future expectations.
Also, the onboarding emails have a 50% open rate, 86% higher than regular emails. This means you have a much higher chance to motivate and engage users.
Case Studies
SaaS Case Study Examples
Case studies can motivate users to use the product to achieve a desirable result like other users.
What if I told you that Berlin saw an increase of 346% in customers by opting for BigCommerce for setting up their eCommerce store? You would look into what worked for them and employ similar strategies.
Social proof gives the user a picture of what they can achieve with your product.
Live Chat
Live Chat For SaaS Companies
Over 43% of customers prefer live chat over any other customer support channel. It is fast, convenient, and solves queries almost immediately. It gives you a better understanding of user problems and improves conversion and retention.
You just need to have trained people to handle live chat effectively. You can improve live chat support by leveraging canned responses and simple language. Read tips on live chat support to boost customer satisfaction.
What if you sign up for a product that requires multiple departments to install and operate? You would avoid such a complex product or look for support from the business.
Mapping the customer journey helps you find out loopholes. You should aim at simplifying the onboarding with lesser steps and clear language. You can install heatmaps, estimate journeys, and talk to customers to find loopholes.
Either way, make the product experience effortless and inclusive. Work on the product performance and eliminate any gaps that bug users.
Online Community
How SaaS Companies are Building Successful Online Communities
Many businesses are leveraging the online community to connect and engage with their user. It caters to a specific target audience and aims to provide value by bringing like-minded people together. How does it impact activation?
Firstly, you could use this community to share content that stimulates people to use the product. A specific case study could motivate users to hop on to the product and leverage certain features. Also, addressing specific customer pain points motivates them to use the product.
Provide Checklists
Checklist For SaaS Activation Rate
How many times do you forget a task from your to-do list? Rarely!
In-app checklists help the user to explore different features and improve product engagement. This combined with relevant prompts could boost your activation rate. For instance, a checklist for Gmail is:
Adding signature
Enable desktop notification
Personalize settings
Creating labels
A checklist like this keeps the user hooked and increases activation.
The activation rate is a percent metric showing number of active users. It can be calculated by a simple formula:
Activation Rate= Total number of active users/ Total users X 100
In addition to this, you could look at these activation metrics such as feature adoption and the ratio of the daily active users to monthly active users.
Feature adoption highlights a particular feature used the most by the user. This could help you understand your most-used features. You could hone about these and drive your new users there to maximize activation.
The ratio of the daily active users to monthly active users indicates the difference between the number of users active daily and monthly. Like, there could be scenarios where users used the product for some days or opted for your product only during a specific time of the year. For example, an edTech app will have more users during the examination period. So, by tracking this, you could understand the customer journey and refine personas.
The activation rate can impact your profits. It is not only about tracking metrics but focuses on improving user experience. A poor activation rate indicates a complex product with a lot of friction. It could also mean that users do not see a clear purpose for using the product. Activation optimization increases the business revenue as well as the total number of loyal customers.
The B2B eCommerce market was worth $5.8 trillion in 2013 which grew to $12.2 trillion in 2019. The traditional approach where the buyer research and talk to the sales rep have taken a backseat. A shift in the demographics of B2B buyers made eCommerce vital for many B2B SaaS companies. Today, more than 46% of B2B buyers are millennials who prefer an online shopping portal.
BigCommerce, an open SaaS eCommerce platform, host over 70,000 eCommerce stores. It is an eCommerce platform for small to large and fast-growing companies that wish to boost their online shopping experience. But, how to leverage BigCommerce efficiently to enhance your B2B eCommerce store?
First, let us look at some core features that every B2B eCommerce store should have and how BigCommerce fits into the role.
Retail Ecommerce Sales Worldwide from 2017 to 2025
Just like having sales, finance, and customer support departments is crucial for a company, there are some elements of a B2B eCommerce store that are a must-have. B2B and B2C stores have different needs regarding pricing, bulk order placing, catalogue, quotation requests, and much more. Here are the top 9 must-haves for a B2B eCommerce store:
Contract pricing & catalogue
Bulk ordering
Quick reordering
Restricted access control
Portal Customization
Shared Shopping Cart
Quote Management
Digital Payment Management
Product Information Management (PMI)
Apart from these core features, BigCommerce offers a wide variety of features for enhanced customization and functionality. Let us look at the advanced features of the BigCommerce B2B SaaS eCommerce platform.
BigCommerce helps B2B businesses to build an eCommerce store, which boosts their online presence to get an edge over their competitors. The biggest USP of BigCommerce is its open-source API system which allows companies to customize their eCommerce store.
The marketers get the functionality and flexibility combined. BigCommerce aims at increasing store performance by adding features (tools, automation, etc.), enhancing security measures, and making it customizable. Here are 7 features that make BigCommerce the leading open SaaS B2B eCommerce platform.
Integration
Integration – BigCommerce Advanced Features
BigCommerce provides integration with various applications, CRM, and ERP to ease the process of handling multiple aspects of the store. Also, businesses can integrate their store with social media or market channels like Amazon, eBay, Instagram, and Facebook to provide an effortless shopping experience to their customers.
Easy-To-Use Tools
BigCommerce is a no-complex, easy-to-manage platform for running eCommerce stores. It provides various tools to automate and templatize small tasks, which reduces time wastage. SEO, site traffic, promotions, checkouts, and many other tools make it easier to run the store. Also, the store’s functionality enhances.
Open Source- Exposed Over APIs
BigCommerce has focused on open source and API calling since its initial stage. Businesses can leverage the API for customization and integration. Basically, the store becomes more flexible and one can add required features or automation. It makes the store operative for marketers and flexible in case of additional needs!
Security
Security – BigCommerce Advanced Features
With the best uptimes in the eCommerce industry of 99.99%, BigCommerce offers robust security and performance. It offers many other measures such as additional SLA, HTTPS and PCI compliance, and advanced SSLs. This avoids malicious attacks and gives restricted access to eliminate system hacking.
Powerful Reporting Tool
BigCommerce offers a powerful reporting tool to keep all the data synced and manageable. From quotations to orders, all the data is presented in sleek reports. This enables businesses to handle stores efficiently.
Abandoned Cart Saver
BigCommerce offers its user an option of an abandoned cart saver. It allows sellers to send emails to the customers in case of an abandoned cart. It studies the moment along the store and triggers in case the user leaves amidst the purchase process.
Advanced Search
Advanced search is crucial for B2B eCommerce stores with field support and filters for refined searching. BigCommerce powers Nextopia and PunchOut2Go to facilitate the advanced search for buyers.
BigCommerce removes complexity and provides a seamless eCommerce store experience. In addition, BigCommerce supports over 65 online payment gateways in 230 countries and 140 currencies. It allows multiple options for bulk purchases and promotions. Businesses with a global market can opt for BigCommerce to get limitless growth.
How to Get Started with BigCommerce?
BigCommerce is easy to set up as it comes with hundreds of templates, designs, and automation tools. You simply need to pre-launch (determine TG, domain name, product launch, and research competitors and pricing), optimize (design, product designs, and SEO content), and market (website performance, outbound marketing strategy, and add keywords) your store. Here is how you set up an eCommerce store on BigCommerce:
BigCommerce – The Ecommerce Solution for All Your B2B Needs
Themes and Categories
BigCommerce has a vast library of themes and a category management system available. It has a dedicated editor where you can pick beautiful, mobile-friendly themes to boost conversions. Make the site easy to navigate and align with your brand colours. The store’s upfront design is crucial to attracting users and increasing conversions.
Product Options
Now, decide the products you wish to launch and add to the store. Either through CSV (all at one time) or one by one, you can add products to the store. BigCommerce allows a lot of options to create categories. At this stage, you could deploy SEO tools to add product descriptions which increases ranking chances.
Payment and Shipping
BigCommerce provides many options to collect payment with 65 payment gateways, supporting 140 currencies in 230 countries. You can accept payments via PayPal or credit card almost immediately.
Depending upon your audience and requirements, you can customize shipping options based on domestic or international shipping, such as:
Finally, launch your store. BigCommerce provides support for after-setup management as well. It covers technical support with in-house experts that assist with in-store setup and aftercare.
BigCommerce Case Study: Tradelink
Tradelink is Australia’s oldest plumbing business. After running successfully for 150 years, it decided to hop onto the online side of the business. How did BigCommerce play a role? Not only does BigCommerce accommodate the large volume but it also simulates the in-store shopping experience. The company was able to offer an omnichannel shopping experience by leveraging BigCommerce to combine B2B, B2C, and B2G. Result?
The company saw an increase of 346% in customers, 373% in orders, and 338% in revenue from Nov. 2020-April 2021 to May 2021-Oct. 2021.
Is BigCommerce Good for B2B?
BigCommerce is a trusted SaaS B2B eCommerce platform with over 70,000 companies using it for omnichannel growth. Small to enterprise-sized and fast-growing stores could benefit from seamless integration, security, and customization options. It prioritizes functionality and keeps bringing improved versions and updates. It also gives three different packages to choose from to align with your business needs.
Conclusion
BigCommerce is a great eCommerce platform offering software as a service to retailers. It is known to help various businesses with their online store establishment, hosting and marketing, search engine optimization, and security. Hence, be it setting up a store from scratch or switching from another platform, BigCommerce assists each business in growing its eCommerce store.
FAQs
What is B2B meaning?
B2B stands for Business-to-Business. It is a kind of eCommerce that refers to the trade between businesses rather than between businesses and consumers that is Business-to-Consumers.
Is BigCommerce good for B2B?
BigCommerce is a trusted SaaS B2B eCommerce platform with over 70,000 companies using it for omnichannel growth. Small to enterprise-sized and fast-growing stores could benefit from seamless integration, security, and customization options.
How much does BigCommerce B2B cost?
BigCommerce offers a free 15-day trial. After that its paid plans include Standard- $29.95 per month, Plus- $79.95 per month, Pro- $299.95 per month and Enterprise (customized pricing).
E-commerce is the new wave for the present era! And you being a businessman must focus on international shipping. Fame comes with effort and that is exactly what this article is all about. Well, keep reading till you read the last sentence of this content as it conveys the exact strategies you need to follow to manage international shipping for your e-commerce.
Strategies for Maintaining Regular International Shipping for Your E-commerce
Indian Ecommerce Market Growth Forecast by ibef.org
International shipping needs a lot of strategies to become successful. Transaction of your goods does not only need good communication with your customers but also a lot more other than that. You have to do research work on duties and taxes that will apply to your shipment, the type of carriers that will fit your product the most, and also whether you will add on insurance to your transaction or not.
It is better to pen down the strategies you are going to opt for your international shipping and then go for the final call. Therefore, the given points are the most preferred policies you need to research for managing your shipments to international countries.
How To Be A Pro In International Shipping
At first, you need to recognize what products you are willing to ship and to which place on earth. The following strategies are some of the steps you must keep in mind before trusting your supporting franchise.
Shop’s Traffic Analytics- Online traffic can be your inspiration for expanding your marketing establishment all across the world. So always keep track of the regular traffic analytics of your online shop.
Online Ecommerce Store Analytics
This gives you an idea of the number of insights your website faced for the given period. However, you can also opt for sending direct customer requests to sell your goods in their markets. Always remember that high online traffic implies growth! So congratulations as your efforts are paying off now!
Identify Which Domestic Market is Fit For Your Business- Are you interested in some of the domestic markets across the world, which you feel can be a good catalyst for your business growth? Well, you need to do good research on this before going for the final call. Going through e-commerce penetration is always an impressive step. Dig into the information which includes the trends and tastes, those markets prefer and sell the most.
Start Shipping Smaller Goods- If you are a beginner in international shipments, then you must first ship goods that have an amazing appeal to the international market. This will increase the public’s demand for your products. Also, lightweight goods are easier to ship and are also cost-effective. And if you are shipping a durable product then it is going to be a satisfactory delivery to your customers.
Marketing Language for Expansion- Dealing with customers worldwide is not a matter of joke! Therefore, you need to inherit some strong communication skills to mark progress toward your goal of market expansion. Moreover, if you are good at certain languages, then try to approach those countries that speak such languages to increase the reach of your business. Remember to make the best result out of your weapon, even if you have only a few of them!
Nearer transactions can be a great first step- You can fulfill the realistic expectations of your customers if you start preferring shipments to closer franchises. Small distance shipments at first give you a grip on the concept of domestic shipping. And smaller steps are always the most essential step to success. So go on and hunt behind near targets!
The Four Factors You Need to Consider for Shipping Goods
Delivery Options- The more delivery options you provide to your customers, the more good reviews you get. So why don’t you offer them the choice to select their delivery preferences? Like some are interested in instant delivery and the others on a little delay! So you give them the options and work on their choice.
International Shipping Delivery Options
Insurance and Tracking- Shipment tracking is an amazing chance to keep an eye on the shipment progress of your goods. You being the sender can stay updated with the shipment progress and the concerned customers are also eligible to have a tracking report. And this strategy gives you the chance to stay tension free as you can easily find out when your goods are lost or destroyed. Well when you are shipping goods under an express agency, they provide insurance to keep your transaction hindrance free.
Shipment tracking of an Order
Most of the global express companies do not include the “insurance” option but there is always an add-on for this option and it’s quite affordable. Therefore, whatever you are shipping, try to add proper “insurance” to it for staying tension free in the long run.
Cost Issues- Are you planning to save up money on shipping costs? Well in this case there are a lot of carrier types like- Postal carriers and Express Carriers. Postal Carriers are always the cheapest option you can go for. Of course cheaper the price, the less the service.
Postal Carrier Service Provider Companies
These type of carriers does not promise you a specific time or date for shipment, rather the transaction process takes a long time. On the other hand, Express carriers ensure a speedy delivery and automatic add-on insurance for the goods, but they charge an expensive price.
Therefore, it’s always best to do brief research and choose between postal, regional, and express carriers according to your plans and products. And it is always to know what is available for the international shipment process.
Shipping costs are the most essential thing to deal with when you are sending goods from your side to the customer’s reach. Talk to your customers about the extra charges required to keep their parcel harm free. transparent and communicative to your customers on shipping costs is paramount. Well, of course, transparency on fees does not imply scaring customers with an unexpected cost for shipment. This can degrade your online traffic. To avoid unpredictable bargaining, you can mention a fixed price on your policy page.
Create A Detailed Export Packing List
You must create a typically detailed sheet on the package and this list includes- the buyer’s name, proper address, seller’s address, invoice number, date of shipment, and likewise. This will avoid confusion in the long run and also be a compulsory step in international shipments. Furthermore, the packing list includes many more like-
Product Packaging Detail List
● Carrier info
● The mode of transport
● The quality and type of the package to be shipped
● Dimensions and weight of the package
● Package marks for approval
Guide on Shipping Rules and Regulations
Shipping goods from one part of the world to another part takes a lot of strategies as well as guts. But before taking this step you are ought to aware of the concrete rules and regulations in this field. Do a briefing with your team members on the places you are planning to ship the products. Note down the parcel laws that the country believes in and then you are good to go! Just like some countries prohibit the entry of outside goods and some sets some limits on shipments. Are you having thought about how to get this information? Then set your eyes on the rest of the content to get an acceptable answer.
● To study the specific rules and regulations of your target countries, you can take help from UPS. They can guide you on this with full authority.
● While you are preparing for packing the products to ship, check whether they fall under the less harmful category. During International Shipping, the parcels can malfunction and it is not a new thing but you must check it properly. Understand what the categories like “ safe goods” and “harmful goods” mean and design accordingly. Moreover, you can visit the country’s government website to be on the safe side.
Taxes on International Goods
A specific tariff is charged by the concerned government body on international shipments. Well, these charges and duties are not fixed to a constant percentage and it keeps on changing by the dimensions and type of the package. Duties can be of two types- DDP( Delivery Duty Paid) and DDU( Delivery Duty Unpaid). In the case of DDP, you have to pay all the taxes that apply to your shipment as the merchant. And in the case of DDU, the customer pays the associated fees that apply to your shipment. So keep a record of these duties and the concerned taxes before shipping your goods.
Conclusion
International Shipping is the best option to expand your e-commerce across the whole world. And having a good communicable working team, your business can reach an unexpected height in the upcoming years. Therefore, giving the above-mentioned factors some research and thought can be very much helpful to you if you are a beginner in this field. And also never forget to try out new approaches and techniques to flourish your business.
Therefore, now it’s time to buckle up and focus on expanding your business worldwide. Also, try to make your content reach every geographical corner of the world. And the above-mentioned article is the right key to your business interests! Therefore, good luck with your efforts!
FAQs
Which are top 10 fastest international shipping companies?
Top 10 most popular international shipping companies who ship fast are-
DHL
FedEx
UPS
USPS
DB Schenker
Royal Mail
DTDC
Bluedart
Aramex
Ecomm Express
Is it hard to ship internationally?
Shipping goods internationally is a complicated process as it needs a lot of paperwork, one must consider the custom regulations, international shipping rates, lost or damaged parcel, the delivery time.
How do I figure out international shipping cost?
You need to check out following things to get an estimate of international shipping cost-
Origin or Destination of Product Delivery
Weight Type- Either Dimensional or Product Weight whichever is larger.
Frequent online shoppers must have come across a 404 error page at least once during their online shopping journey. As the site keeps getting bigger, so do the chances of encountering such pages. An eCommerce store can render a 404 error page for several reasons.
For example, the site owner may have forgotten to permanently delete the page without any redirect, poor server configuration may be causing the problem, or the page is currently unavailable because it is being worked on. The reasons can be several, but the eCommerce store owner cannot take the risk of losing potential sales because of an error page.
To ensure store owners make the most from 404 error pages, we’ve analyzed hundreds of eCommerce stores to check how they tackle this problem. After studying various eCommerce stores, we’ve handpicked and listed below some of the best ways to boost conversions from 404 error pages. Let’s quickly head to the list shared below.
If a visitor landed on the 404 page, he was looking forward to buying a product from the online store. This opportunity should not be wasted. The best way to monetize such situations is by recommending some of the most popular products on the 404 page. Something like Urban Outfitters does.
Urban Outfitters 404 Page
Their entire 404 page is divided into two sections. The top section features an old-style black and white GIF stating the page can’t be found. At the same time, the second and lower part displays the most popular products with high-quality image and product name. Since the best and most sold products are shown, the visitor may be tempted to check them out and make a purchase.
Since this is an excellent way to optimize the 404 page, Urban Outfitters isn’t the only eCommerce store following this method. Steve Madden, a popular shoe-selling online store, also follows a similar approach for maximum conversions.
Display Product Categories with Working Links
No shopper would appreciate landing on a dull 404 page. If the eCommerce store only tells the visitor that the page doesn’t exist, the chances are rare that the visitor will continue browsing the same site. He may instead prefer going back and looking for better-optimized eCommerce stores.
To prevent this from happening, provide the visitors with a starting point once they reach the 404 page. An excellent way to do it is by adding category pages.
Missguided 404 Page
Take a look at the 404 page from Missguided, for example. It tells the visitor that the site couldn’t find the page they were searching for. But they don’t end there. The 404-page message is quickly followed by the line “let’s get back on track.” Visitors can see a list of categories with relevant images just below this message.
It prompts them to start their search again by simply clicking on any of those categories.
For example, if a visitor was searching for tops, they can click on the “tops” category instead of leaving the eCommerce store. It will boost the chances of the visitor making a purchase. Birchbox is another eCommerce store that follows a similar approach to increase conversions.
When visitors visit a particular eCommerce store knowing what they want, converting them becomes much easier. But missed sales are guaranteed if they accidentally land on a 404 page that isn’t optimized.
It is why various big eCommerce stores are taking appropriate measures to ensure visitors don’t leave their site after coming across a 404 page. Take Etsy, for example.
ETSY 404 Page
It is one of the biggest eCommerce marketplaces and knows how to bring back lost sales. It gives visitors two options – type for the relevant product in the search bar or heads back to the homepage.
These two options give visitors a reason to stay back instead of abandoning the site. Since it becomes difficult to anticipate what each visitor is looking for, giving them an option to search their way out is one of the best-performing ways.
It is why Etsy is not alone in adopting this approach. eCommerce stores like Need Supply Co., Ted Baker, UnderArmour, etc., follow a similar template while designing their 404 pages.
Sprinkle Some Humor or Add a Surprise Element
Making a prospective customer annoyed or frustrated is always a big no for eCommerce store owners. It takes them away from the brand and reduces their chances of returning for future shopping.
To prevent such events, eCommerce brands should adopt a more personal or humorous approach. Everyone can take inspiration from Amazon, the biggest eCommerce platform on the internet.
Amazon error 404 Page
Whenever a visitor lands on a 404 page, Amazon displays a picture of one of its ‘dogs of Amazon’ to make them feel less annoyed. Everyone loves dogs; hence, this approach works in most cases.
No one expects to see a smiling dog when landing on a 404 page, so it makes them giggle a little instead of making them feel annoyed. Another aspect of this page is a direct link to the homepage.
Now that the dog’s picture made the visitor smile, he can continue searching for relevant products by returning to the homepage. eCommerce store owners can either replicate the same strategy or make some tweaks to make the 404 page look humorous. It will help prevent visitors from going to another online store.
A mistake some eCommerce store owners make is ignoring their 404 page. They forget that these are also part of the website that needs proper optimization for better conversions. eCommerce store owners that desire high sales must develop unique 404-page optimization methods.
They can either design their own optimization ideas or pick one from this article. No one can entirely prevent visitors from landing on 404 pages, but efforts can be made to ensure they don’t leave the site without making a purchase. So act wisely.
FAQs
What does the 404 error indicate?
404 error is a Hypertext Transfer Protocol standard response code that indicates the server was unable to find what was requested.
What is 404 error in eCommerce websites?
404 error in eCommerce websites indicates that the webpage is down to a misspelled URL, a broken link, or a product page doesn’t exist anymore.
What are the best ways to optimize 404 error pages on eCommerce websites?
Some of the best ways to make your 404 error pages of eCommerce websites impressive are:
It is a customer’s natural instinct to read a product description before buying it. especially when they are buying the product from an online website. This is because they need to be sure of the product, its ingredients, and its functions before purchasing it. Customers cannot be sure of the product quality just from a bunch of random information. So, they will always want to read product descriptions before making a decision on them.
No matter how well-made the product is, someone cannot buy it if the product description is not clear. You need to have a very crisp yet informative description for your products as an optimized product description ensures high sales for your eCommerce store.
This article will guide you on how you can write product descriptions for your eCommerce store in the most optimized way.
What Is a Product Description and Why Is It Important?
A product description is a piece of information that describes the product’s features and benefits. An optimized product description should have a list of ingredients or materials regarding the product in order to attract potential customers and boost sales.
It is essential to have a product description for all the products on your eCommerce store. It is what will convince potential customers to buy your product and thus, aids in increased sales. People often think that a bunch of factory specifications is enough but it is not. You need to write a piece that contains well-organized and relevant information.
An optimized product description shows your potential customer the value of your products. If you write it well, anybody reading it will know exactly why they should buy it. Besides, you should also add what problem your product solves. Potential customers often look through products for a solution to a personal problem. Your product will sell more if your product description is clear about what problem it solves.
How to Write a Product Description for Your Ecommerce Store?
Global Retail Ecommerce Sales from 2016 to 2021
Writing an optimized product description is crucial for an eCommerce store. The following steps will guide you on how to write a product description for your eCommerce store:
Determine the Target Audience for Your Product
Every product does not have the same target audience. You cannot write a product description about a blanket the same way you write it for a dress. Somebody looking for a blanket is looking for comfort and good sleep. While someone looking for a dress is looking for style.
Thus, when writing a product description, you need to keep in mind who is your target audience. This will help you include key points in your product description, adhering to their needs and wants. Potential customers will lean towards your product once they read about it and know that it can fix their problem.
Add All the Features and Specifications of the Product
As a seller, you are obviously aware of all the features and specifications of your product. But the customers are not. So when writing a product description, make sure you write all the basic features and dimensions of the product. Besides, we suggest you mention how to use the product as well.
However, along with this, you also need to add what is special about the product that makes it different from its competitors. This will make your product description stronger.
A potential customer should know all the key features and benefits of your products. They will lean towards buying a product once they see that it can improve their quality of life.
Optimize the Product Description for Search Engines
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the best way to attract traffic to your eCommerce store and your product description can help you do that. You can aim for high ranks on search engines by including keywords in your product description.
Keywords are words that potential customers search online. For instance, a person looking for a black shirt will search, ‘black shirts for men’. Or a person looking for hair care products will search for something like ‘hair-fall control shampoo’. You need to include keywords like this in your product description. These keywords will vary from product to product. You will have to do research about the keywords regarding different products. But in the end, it will rank your products high on search engines. Thus, better potential for increasing revenue.
Avoid Unnecessary Information in the Product Description
Customers do not have the time to read unnecessary information in your product description. They just want to know the features and benefits of the product. If you write unnecessary phrases that do not add value to your product, the person reading it will get bored and most probably will lose interest in your product too. So we suggest you be smart with your description writing and avoid any kind of unnecessary information.
So, what you can do is add an expert’s approval comment in your product description or you can even say it is tested by professionals (making sure that you actually get it tested). An even better trick is to add customer reviews in your product description. Potential customers love to see that other people like them have benefitted from using the product. It develops a sense of trust among the customers toward your eCommerce store.
Amazon Product Description Example for Ecommerce Store
Make the Product Description Easily Scannable
People have short attention spans. They do not have the time to read everything that’s on the product page. They will only read about 16% of the content. So, your product description needs to cover that 16% effectively.
You can make that possible by making your product description easily scannable. Easily scannable basically means that it is crisp. It means that the buyer will be able to find the information they are looking for without having to read unnecessary things. You can do that by using bullet points, headings, short paragraphs, different sized fonts, and leaving enough spaces. This will make the description easy to read and understand and thus, reduce the chances of your eCommerce store losing a potential customer.
Just writing a good product description is not enough. It should be accompanied by good-quality images. About 63% of customers have more trust in product images than in the product description. Good images of the product let the potential customer imagine what the product will look like in real life. Thus, you must make it as appealing as possible.
For instance, if you are selling a mobile phone, you need to add pictures of the front view, the back view, close-ups of the cameras, and the sides. The front view will convey the screen quality of the mobile. At the same time, the back view will convey whether the mobile can withstand a heavy fall. Along with that, the close-ups of the cameras will reveal the camera quality. The close-ups of the sides will tell the potential customer whether the phone is sleek or not. Thus, if the potential customer has a preferred size, camera quality, and sleekness, they can check that easily.
Similarly, for any other product, good images are necessary. They basically say everything about the product without saying anything. You can also add a few features of the products in the images. Since people like to see the images more, you can convey a lot through them. This will enhance the product value of your eCommerce store.
Test Your Product Description
Even if you know exactly how to write a product description, using a template might help a lot. But unfortunately, there is no one kind of template that suits all product types. So, we recommend you make your own product description template.
A few things you should keep in mind when writing your product descriptions are:
· What problem the product is solving?
· What is the speciality of the product?
· Include all the features and benefits of the product.
· Include target keywords.
· Adding pictures that clearly display the product’s key features and benefits.
Once you have written a product description keeping these things in mind, test them out. Put them up on your eCommerce store along with the product and then monitor the reaction towards it. See if the description is helping to increase your sales, and boost your online traffic or not.
If this new product description increases your sales, you have cracked the code. Now all you have to do is make your product descriptions similar to the ones you tested and you will see high sales for every other product. Including the right keywords will ensure that you are increasing your traffic. Everything you try out must ensure you are doing full-proof research and identifying and eliminating factors that are leaving a negative impact on your rankings. Thus, testing your product description is very crucial as it helps you to know what’s working and what’s not for your eCommerce store.
Conclusion
Coming to the end of this article, we hope to have been of help to you in writing product descriptions for your eCommerce store in the most optimized way. Kindly remember to provide all features and benefits of the product in the description. Besides, don’t add unnecessary information that will make people lose interest in your product. Finally, make sure you have good images and have tested your templates. Doing all of these efficiently will definitely help your eCommerce store in increasing its sales.
FAQs
How do you write a product description for eCommerce?
The steps to writing a product description for eCommerce include:
Determine the target audience.
Add All the Features and Specifications of the Product.
Optimize the Description for Search Engines.
Avoid Unnecessary Information or Phrases in the Description.
Add Social Proof in the Product Description.
Make the Description Easily Scannable.
Use Good Images.
Test Your Product Description.
What is SEO product title?
Product title simply refers to the name of the product that appears on the product page of an eCommerce store. It tells the customers as well as the search engines about what you are selling.
How many words should product descriptions be?
A product description should be somewhere around 300 words. However, the number of words will vary from product to product.
Running an eCommerce business has emerged as a highly lucrative and sought-after online business model. It allows you to expand your customer base on a global level without requiring massive investment. If you know all the ins and outs of running a successful eCommerce store, you can rake millions in revenue in an incredibly shorter timeframe. But this is just one way to earn using eCommerce stores.
Another way is to sell it off for a rewarding price. If you take a quick look at different website flipping marketplaces like Flippa, Empire Flippers, etc., you will find various eCommerce stores listed for sale. The listing price is usually a multiple of the revenue the site generates. If you don’t want the hassle of maintaining multiple stores, you can choose to set up profit-generating eCommerce stores and start selling them for substantial profits.
But the question is, how will you know the ideal selling price of an eCommerce store? You can do it by evaluating the store’s worth using the following methods.
There are various methods to evaluate the worth of an eCommerce store, but specific methods are best suited for particular situations. You can use any of the techniques shared below that you deem fit.
Seller Discretionary Earnings
When evaluating an eCommerce store’s worth, factoring in the seller’s discretionary earnings emerges as the top option. It can be best described as net earnings before tax. To get the most accurate figure, you will have to deduct the total cost of products sold and operating expenses from the sales revenue and then multiply it by a given number. This number ranges from 1.5 to 5 and depends on various factors we will cover later in this guide.
After deducting these expenses, you can add back any costs that are not deemed mandatory to operate the store smoothly. The owner’s earnings can also be added to gain better clarity on the total revenue. In simple words, the net profit of the past months (generally 12 months) is taken into account and then multiplied by a number (ranging from 1.5 to 5) to ascertain the store’s present worth.
Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
Buyers that want to estimate the future return on investment after factoring in inflation should use this method to evaluate an eCommerce store’s worth. Although it is best suited to calculate the worth of traditional, offline stores that are more stable, one can always turn to this option for analyzing an online store’s value more reliably.
Under this method, you must deduct the last year’s capital expenditures from the operating cash flow. The resultant figure will be the free cash flow for the particular period. Do it for the previous five years to get an accurate cash flow growth rate and discount it according to the WACC of the eCommerce business.
For the uninitiated, WACC refers to the Weighted Average Cost of Capital. If this looks too technical, it is best to hire a professional to do it for you. If the current Discount Cash Flow (DCF) remains above the proposed investment figure, the investment could result in positive returns in the near future.
Precedent Sales
It cannot be termed the primary value evaluation method, but it can help the eCommerce store buyer and seller arrive at figures worth contemplating. If the previous two methodologies weren’t sufficient, try looking at the listed selling price of similar eCommerce stores on online marketplaces.
The acquisition price of similar eCommerce stores can offer some insightful points for reference. It can get tricky as the valuation criteria are never the same for all stores. Hence before proceeding with this point, predetermine a few key metrics, like company size, annual revenue, years of operation, and other things that are relevant to you.
Both buyers and sellers can have an unreasonable figure in mind, and checking the precedent sales can give a reality check to both.
Now that you’re aware of the standard and most popular methods to determine the worth of an eCommerce store, let’s quickly get a brief understanding of the factors that play a crucial role in most valuation processes.
Store Traffic
ECommerce Websites Traffic
All eCommerce stores rely significantly on online traffic because higher traffic often translates to higher sales and vice-versa. Besides the quantity, it is also the quality that matters. For example, an eCommerce store attracting 5,000 high-quality monthly visitors will be worth much more than a store that attracts 50,000 low-quality monthly visitors.
Customer Base
Customers are the lifeline of any business, and eCommerce stores are no different. If your eCommerce store has a dedicated and loyal customer base that makes repeat purchases, its value will always be on the higher side. Many sellers make it a point to check the statistics related to repeat purchases before making any purchase decision.
Brand Value
If given an option, would you buy a product from a well-known brand you trust or a new store? You’ll most probably go with the former option because you’ve imposed your trust on the brand. Other online shoppers also think along the same lines. The sales prospects of a branded eCommerce store will always be higher than that of a non-branded one. Hence, you should never ignore this factor while determining the store valuation.
Besides these factors, you can also consider the financial history and operating costs for a more appropriate valuation.
Determine the True Value of an eCommerce Store for Maximum Profits
Evaluating an eCommerce store’s worth isn’t easy and requires much of your time. But putting your efforts into it can prevent you from underselling your eCommerce store or paying more while buying one. If you want to employ the correct business valuation methods, you can stick to the above mentioned options. These methods are used by a major portion of eCommerce store buyers and sellers, so you have nothing to worry about.
FAQs
What are the types of e-commerce stores?
Traditional types of eCommerce stores are:
B2C (Business-to-Consumer)
B2B (Business-to-Business)
C2B (Consumer-to-Business)
C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer)
What are different ways to evaluate the worth of an eCommerce store?
The Worth of an eCommerce Store can be evaluated by:
Seller Discretionary Earnings
Discounted Cash Flow Analysis
Precedent Sales
What are the factors for ECommerce Valuation?
Valuation Factors that Matter for ECommerce are:
Store Traffic
Customer Base
Brand Value
What are the marketplaces for eCommerce stores sale?
Some marketplace where ECommerce stores are listed for sales are:
“Good communication is the bridge between confusion and clarity.” This is a well-known and rightly said quote by Nat Turner. Good communication and good customer relationships can make or break your business. However, you might be putting all that at risk by using a no-reply email.
Many businesses use no-reply emails for their email marketing campaigns. It does seem like a useful way to avoid cluttering your inboxes. But it might break the foundation on which your business stands.
No-reply emails are the email addresses that are not set up to receive incoming messages. These emails’ format looks like, “noreply@yourwebsite.com or donotreply@domain.com.” These emails do not allow the recipients to reply. The recipients receive a “Message cannot be delivered” notification in case they try to reply. Such emails are adopted by companies to avoid cluttering their mailboxes.
These emails do seem convenient to the senders. However, it acts like a brick wall between the sender and receiver as it disconnects the two-way communication.
Think of it from your customer’s perspective. Which company would you rather work with the one that values your opinion or the one that does not? Obviously, the former one. Customers value businesses that value them in turn.
So, using a no-reply email might be one of the major reasons why you’re losing customers. No-reply emails can be highly misleading and lead to mistrust among your audience. In this article, we will know how a no-reply email can harm your eCommerce store.
Why No-Reply Emails Are Bad for Your Ecommerce Store?
No-reply emails can be harmful to your business in many ways. Here are the reasons how no-reply emails can adversely affect your eCommerce store:
Average Time People Spend Reading Brand Emails from 2011 to 2021
No-Reply Emails Damages the Customer Experience
No-reply emails are used to avoid receiving responses from the users. It helps businesses save time. However, it is not worth it as in this way, you are blocking two-way communication. You might be saving time or effort but you’d be putting your customers and your reputation at risk.
Let me tell you something. A month ago, I received an email from a company. I found some gaps in there and tried to communicate the feedback by replying. However, the email kept on bouncing. I couldn’t understand why and at last, I got frustrated and unsubscribed from the newsletter. So, the company not only lost valuable feedback but also a subscriber. This is what happens when you use a no-reply email. You are probably missing out on hundreds and thousands of valuable feedback and subscribers.
You might direct your audience to other pages by adding your contact information. But still, at the end of the day, everyone prefers convenience. People would prefer to reply to your email rather than being redirected to other pages for submitting their feedback. So, you should always lead your customers to a responsive environment and not a dead end.
Domino’s Pizza No-Reply Email Example
No-Reply Emails Damages Your ECommerce Store’s Email Marketing
The main point of your email marketing campaign is to build trust among your audience and strengthen your brand’s reputation. No-reply emails don’t serve this purpose. Rather, they cause more harm than good.
An effective campaign aims at increasing customer engagement and receiving feedback from them. You might be ruling out the entire point if you’re using a no-reply email for your eCommerce store.
These emails can adversely affect your brand’s reputation. People might start to believe that you do not value your customers and their opinions. A brand’s reputation is its most prized asset and you’d be endangering it if you use a no-reply email.
Using no-reply emails for your email marketing is harmful to your eCommerce store in two ways. Firstly, you are disabling your customers to respond or send any feedback to you, leading to mistrust. Secondly, you are losing your brand’s reputation as people are less likely to engage with you on other channels like blogs or social media as well.
No-Reply Emails Harms Your ECommerce Store’s Email Deliverability
Your email might not even get delivered if you are using a no-reply email. Yes! You heard that right. All your efforts in writing the email, worrying about the subject lines, and crafting the perfect copy might all go to waste.
You must be thinking how does that even happen? Well, many internet service providers like Comcast or AT&T do not allow such emails to reach the client’s inboxes. At times, a person’s email security settings can also send the emails to the spam folder.
No-reply emails lead to low deliverability and open rates. Since, emails are an important aspect for an eCommerce store, using no-reply emails is sure to be harmful to your business.
No-Reply Emails Can Lead Your Ecommerce Store to the Spam Folder
Daily Number of Spam Emails Sent Worldwide as of 2021 by country
If your audience doesn’t feel valued, they might send the email to the spam folder. They would not want to hear from you if you discourage two-way communication.
At times, your audience might not even have the chance to read your email before marking them as spam. Some email providers directly send no-reply emails to the spam folder. What’s terrifying about it is that you might not even realize it, as the emails will still show as delivered.
Besides, no-reply emails are harder to add to the safelist as well. Email service providers add your emails to the safelist, once your audience replies to them. Thus, no-reply emails have a far lesser chance of ending up on the safelist.
Also, getting marked as spam by many users can make you blacklisted which in turn is extremely harmful to your eCommerce store’s reputation.
No-Reply Emails Might Be Illegal
If the above-mentioned reasons are not enough for you, you should know that using a no-reply email is kind of illegal. Using a no-reply email prevents your audience from communicating with you. This indirectly violates GDPR. Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a set of European Union laws that sets the rules for how the companies gather and use their customers’ data.
You might be violating GDPR as one of its rules state that the customers have the right to request information regarding the data collected about them. So, if you do not give your audience the chance to communicate with you, it can get you and your eCommerce store in trouble.
If you are ever charged with this violation, you will not only suffer financially but will also lose customers’ trust in your store as well.
Conclusion
The above-mentioned reasons must be enough to conclude that no-reply emails are an absolute no-no for your business if you want to provide good customer service or maintain your brand’s reputation. Customers are one of the greatest assets of a business and you must not risk it for anything. You might be saving some time and effort now but losing your brand reputation and your customers five years down the lane, wouldn’t be worth it.
FAQs
What is a no-reply email?
No-reply email is an email address that is not set up to receive incoming messages. Many companies use it to send emails without having to receive any replies in order to prevent cluttering of their inboxes.
What is the format of a no-reply email?
A no-reply email has a typical format that looks like, “noreply@yourwebsite.com or donotreply@domain.com.”
Why one should never use a no-reply email address?
One should never use a no-reply email address because:
If you’ve ever done online shopping, you must have evaluated the product by seeing the available product images. But what if you were presented with a poor-quality, blurry, static product image on the online store? Would you still buy the same product? The answer is a big NO. Unlike a visit to the traditional brick-and-mortar store, you don’t get the option to pick a product and assess its quality during online shopping.
You instead try to judge the product and its quality by seeing the product image. It would be an understatement to say that many online conversions result from uploading top-notch product images. If you own a relatively new or old eCommerce store and are struggling to generate sales, making changes in the product image quality can bring a huge difference.
While eCommerce store owners understand the importance of uploading top-quality images to their online store, many don’t know the best practices of doing it. It inadvertently hurts the bottom line. To help you improve your store’s user experience and boost online sales, we’ve curated this epic product image guide for eCommerce store owners. So let’s quickly go through the below-shared practical tips or settings that can get you visible results.
Tips for Improving Product Images for Your eCommerce Store
Upload a Product Image in all Available Colors
Instead of telling visitors that you offer a product in three more colors, show them the different available options with the help of images. Visualization helps people make better decisions than mere statements.
For example, if you sell luggage in different color variants, click an excellent product picture in all the available color ranges. The viewer should be able to see the product in the desired color he clicked on. This one change can bring a massive difference to your online sales.
Maintain a Balance Between Website Performance & Image File Size
Have you ever visited any online store whose catalog and product images took an extended time to load? If yes, you’re not alone. Various eCommerce stores are yet to optimize their product’s image size and website performance.
If image loading time and page loading time are not aligned, visitors can immediately leave the store for other better-performing sites. You should ask your SEO manager and website developer to work together with the product photographer to fix this problem. Together they can ensure the product image size and resolution are pitch-perfect.
When uploading the desired image file type, always store and upload product images in JPG format. This format is supported by many online store platforms, including WooCommerce, Shopify, etc.
Allow the Shopper to Zoom in & Zoom Out Without any Hassle
Irrespective of the product you’re selling online, it is crucial to allow the prospective customers to easily zoom in and zoom out by clicking on any part of the picture. This feature lets customers get a closer and relatively clear look of the product. If you’re into the clothing business, you can leverage this feature to your advantage.
Customers can get to zoom in and display any intricate design or detail that sets your product apart from others in the market, ultimately leading to increased sales. You can either check whether the platform you’re using to run the eCommerce store is offering this functionality or contact a web developer to do the needful.
Maintain Brand Consistency Throughout the Product Images
Branding is a crucial component that can make any brand appear more reliable than others. As a store owner, you wouldn’t want your website images to look like random picture pieces picked up from the internet. When it comes to product images, store owners can subtly include their brand style to exert the much-needed influence.
To maintain branding and consistency across all uploaded pictures, pay special attention to the lighting, product placement, background, modeling, etc., while clicking the picture. Inconsistency in product images can be distracting and can prevent store visitors from making a purchase. To impart a professional and more reliable feel to all the product images, always ask the concerned professional to abide by the brand guidelines.
Upload Pictures from All Viewing Angles
It might sound like a piece of cliché advice, but you’d be surprised to know that not many eCommerce stores have incorporated this into their website. When shopping online, people don’t get the benefit of picking a product in their hand and analyzing it from different angles. But you can fill in this gap by offering advanced, and high-resolution product images clicked from various angles.
When the same product is viewed from different angles, it highlights details that a static image or a specific angle fails to cover. It is why when you visit eCommerce giants like Amazon, Flipkart, eBay, etc., you get the option to view a product from different angles. It lets you know how big or small the product really is. It also enables you to gauge the product better.
If the product you’re selling has some unique details, don’t forget to highlight it by clicking pictures from relevant angles.
Customers Survey on improvement of the Product Images in E-Commerce Grocery
While product descriptions are essential for online shoppers, quality product images are equally important. According to a survey, approximately 75% of respondents said that product images are very influential and help them make a purchase decision. The same poll also disclosed how around 22% of respondents returned the purchased product because it looked very different from what it looked online in the product image.
Online shoppers want to see product images because it gives them proof of texture, color, shape, design, and more. Well-taken pictures instill a spark among potential buyers, inclining them towards a particular product. It also gives shoppers a clear idea of what they will get for the offered price. If you can provide this one thing that customers yearn for, you can definitely boost your online sales.
Your sales revenue gets boosted by bettering the Product Image Quality.
The necessity of having high-resolution and quality product images on an online store cannot be emphasized enough. In today’s age, a lot depends on how products look and feel. With eCommerce players doubling down on product imagery and visual content, you cannot take the risk of being left behind. If you have uploaded multiple good-quality pictures of every product to woo your visitors but still aren’t getting impressive results, try adopting the tips shared in the guide.
After analyzing various eCommerce stores across different niches, it has been found that stores offering the best product imagery content perform better than the rest. This guide suggests some of the best and most practical tips that have the potential to skyrocket your online sales, so give them a try for visible results.
FAQs
Which image format is best for eCommerce websites?
JPEG and PNG image format is the best for eCommerce websites.
What size should WooCommerce product images be?
The recommended size of WooCommerce product images is 800×800 pixels.
What size should Shopify product images be?
Shopify recommended product image size is 2048 x 2048 pixels.
What is the best image size for online?
The optimal file size for images on an eCommerce website should be less than 200 KB.
World eCommerce business emerged in the year 1982 by a company named Boston Computer Exchange where the primary motive was to sell computers online. These days, the eCommerce business is thriving as people are looking for new ways to become bosses of their businesses. The eCommerce trend is even going higher since the world has hit the pandemic. It has given ample opportunities to various business executives and entrepreneurs for selling their products and setting up their online stores.
However, setting up an online store is not enough. In this time of increasing competition, it is essential for you to indulge in great marketing strategies to attract more customers.
One of the best ways to market your store is to run ads for the store on different platforms. This way, you will be visible to a large audience and thus, more chances of attracting potential customers. So, before starting an eCommerce business, certain things must be taken into consideration to effectively generate revenue from the online purchases made by the customers.
Now that you have prepared your mind to be your boss, you should be thinking about the initial steps towards a successful eCommerce platform. Here are a few important keys that you should consider:
Design a superb website.
Use high definitional quality for your product display.
Make a distinctive selling presentation.
Ensure an outstanding customer network & support.
Create a marketing budget.
Apart from all these, fetching traffic to the online store to reach a more targeted audience is also a prerequisite. Therefore, before you offer customer support to your clients, you have to make sales of your products first, through an exceptional voice.
Thus, you have to keep in mind all of the above-mentioned key points are necessary and should work hand in hand for you to run your eCommerce business successfully.
Many entrepreneurs often open online stores and focus on any one of the key elements and run into a loss. So, to prevent your business from losses, make sure to have a proper plan in hand.
Factors for Selecting Ecommerce Platform
Now that you already have a business plan for launching your eCommerce store, there are a few key points that you should consider before investing in the online store. These are as follows:
Costing
Different eCommerce comes with several packages, you should always go for the one that looks cost-efficient to you. Often it is seen that lump sum payments have resulted in a bad investment. Therefore, prepare a budget in your mind and stick to that. You can select web hosting after comparing the prices with different providers to get the best deal.
Web Designing
The website should look user-friendly for the customers. From the capture page to the sign-out page your customers should get an excellent experience so that they keep coming back to shop from your online store.
Various eCommerce platforms make their websites theme-based. You can get these themes free of cost or even pay prices ranging for the premium themes.
Function & Programming
You can also customize the functionality of our eCommerce business with the help of coding and programming methods in the background. This can benefit you if you are trying to set up your online business effectively and competitively as compared to others.
Security
Customer data protection should be on the top priority list for an eCommerce business owner. There will be a lot of payment transactions happening on your online store page. Therefore, you should select the platform where the data of these customers are secured properly. Hence, your company will not lose any loyal customers.
Maintenance
To run a successful eCommerce online site, you cannot pay the fee once and get done with it. You will have to check if it is working smoothly and effectively to reach your targeted audience or not.
If the eCommerce site has no subscription price then you have to pay for an SSL certificate which is a yearly cost.
Per Month Hosting
You can independently host your eCommerce business which has no subscription cost as a hosting charge. For instance, Woo-commerce is such a platform that will help you to get the hosting management depending on the traffic of the web.
Business Software Integration:
It is indeed frustrating to begin from the scratch and shift to a new platform when your eCommerce has a business software aligned. Therefore, you need a platform that can smoothly combine with the existing system and provide solutions without any extra price.
Advertisement & Sales
A comparison amongst the best eCommerce platform for running ads for enhancing the digital platform is necessary. When you go through the evaluation process, you should keep in mind that every platform has its unique advantages and disadvantages regarding advertisements. On the other hand, you have a specific budget. Therefore, choose a platform that can suit your requirements.
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Top Platforms to Run Ads for Your Ecommerce Store
Cost-per-click of ads on social media platforms worldwide (2021)
The eCommerce market is highly competitive. Hence, every entrepreneur is searching for new ways to promote their goods and services. Often marketing the products becomes a complicated task and sometimes even after putting in the effort, it does even reach the targeted audience.
Again for a single user or entrepreneur, it becomes a tedious job to do all the tasks like handling social media, tracking products, checking emails, testing, analysis, etc at one time.
So, to ease up the things a bit and take the most advantage of your marketing strategies, the following are some of the best platforms where you can run ads for your eCommerce store:
Google Ads
Google Ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
No one can beat the efficiency and effectiveness of the strategies led by Google in the digital marketing industry. Google’s marketing platform is running the digital business for a long time. All the analysts and marketers have appreciated the advanced tools present in Google ads.
A user can use the Google Ad services via paid promotion on SERPs. For advertising purposes, the users can use the Google Display Network facility from where the ads will be produced on relevant websites. To get new clients or even boost up your brand, Google ads can be the best platform.
It was previously known as Double click where there was a combination of establishing tool buildings and an interface for huge data. There are few platforms like Shopify or Magento which can smoothly connect to Google ads via API.
There is no doubt in the fact that Google is known to everyone all over the world. Also, a great benefit of using this platform is its excellent display network. So, in case you want your brand name to reach a huge audience of shoppers, then it can be very helpful.
You can manage analytics, surveys, optimizations, tagging, or even display ads, etc from this platform.
Pros
It is ideal for small businesses.
It is an affordable platform to run ads.
Provides a huge networking display giving accessibility to over 2.3-3.0 billion audience searches.
It boosts brands easily.
You can integrate it into any other software for marketing.
Cons
Rates can rise up to $100,000-$150,000 each year for larger business units.
Customer service is limited.
Marketers can often get confused and face difficulty in handling the software.
Microsoft Bing – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
After Google, Bing has also reached popularity over the years in networking and ad promotions. According to Microsoft, around 14.5% of approximately global market share is ruled by Bing.
As an entrepreneur, if your target audience consists of shoppers, then you should go for Bing ad services. Also, a feature in Bing is launched called Bing shopping which is the same as Google Shopping Ads. This makes it a great and efficient platform for running ads for your eCommerce store.
Pros
The competition between Bing and Google is less. It has been observed that the cost per click on the ads here is around 70-72% less in regards to that of Google ads.
If you want a different set of audience bases, then a Bing ad is apt for you. The best part of advertising on Bing is to get the ad promotion on AOL, Yahoo, etc. add campaigns.
Cons
The features of the tool are not as advanced as compared to the other ad platforms.
The target audience reach is less in comparison to Google ads.
Facebook Ads Manager
Facebook ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
In 2022, no one can think of advertisements without social media ad campaigns. Here, the first name that comes to mind is Facebook Ad manager. This is a popular choice for all business units to promote their brands across a large audience. Starting from whirly ads to extensive stories, there are numerous features in these social media platforms for promoting any brand.
To fetch relevant customers based on their interest, behavior, demography, etc. these social media ad campaigns are the best idea for your eCommerce store.
According to the studies of 2020 data, it is seen more than 2.7 billion people are on Facebook. Therefore to reach potential clients and users making use of this platform is important. Facebook ads definitely play a vital role in advertising your brand, selling the products, and retaining loyal customers.
Pros
It is easy to reach a large audience.
Different and unique formatting for ads.
Cost-effective & budget-friendly.
Reaching the targeted clients becomes easier according to their age, gender, demographics, and interests with the help of this platform.
Cons
Small brands may face challenges to get specific ads.
The conversion data is not reliable due to the latest Apple IOS 14.5 update.
Instagram Ads
Instagram ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
In this context, you should know two vital things about Instagram;
81% of Instagram users utilize the platform for enquiring about the products and brands.
Around 130 million users tap or click on the shopping-related posts per month.
The promoters can either create reel videos or image-based ads for branding the products or services entitled to them. It becomes easy for reaching the targeted audience here. Moreover, you can link the ads directly to your shopping websites or product pages which again results in a significant amount of customer engagement.
Pros
Reaching the target audience in less time.
The effective sale is guaranteed through the unique ad formats for instance stories, IGTV videos, reels, etc.
Any client can purchase the product without even logging out from Instagram as the ads displayed are aligned with the landing page of the products or websites.
Cons
It can be an issue for aged clients to purchase products or services via Instagram as many are not very well-equipped with the platform yet.
The contents posted on the Instagram platform require top-notch visual strength. This will make your brand different from others and people will be bound to choose your service. So, all this can be pretty expensive at times.
YouTube Ads
YouTube ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
To enhance brand promotion and awareness, YouTube is doing fantastic business all over the world. The best part about these ads on YouTube is that they are helpful to drive enough traffic to your store. Therefore, if you are planning to set up your online store, YouTube ads can be a considerable option that can successfully give you revenue leads.
Pros
Youtube is a part of Google’s promotion. Hence, there is already a strong data presence and tremendous capability to reach the audience.
It can reach different and diverse clients all over the world in less time.
You can expect inbuilt engagement of customers, viewers, or audience. For instance, if anyone is researching educational videos, the YouTube ads in between can take them to your store landing page through video ads.
Cons
It is a bit expensive as compared to other platforms.
Often users skip the videos because of the format of the ads displayed.
Twitter Ads
Twitter ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Twitter started in 2006 as a popular social media platform. This is probably not the first platform that comes to people’s minds when they think of running ads. It is mainly created for opinions and news from people all over the world. So, this makes it a meaningful platform with a huge user base that should be taken into consideration for running ads.
Pros
The high engagement rate with the Twitter ads is possible as Twitter has a re-tweet option with which it becomes easy to reach more people and get more views.
Cons
Twitter ads are expensive as compared to Facebook ads.
Pinterest Ads
Pinterest ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Pinterest plays a significant role in marketing via visual illustrating ads similar to Instagram. It also helps in boosting the audience’s reach like any other social media platform. In core search results, there is promoted ad facility provided by Pinterest which are shown as pinned posts. This is a great way to get your store the visibility it needs.
As of January 2021, it is seen the number of female audiences is 78% as compared to the male audience on Pinterest. The platform helps over 444 million users every month and 91% of weekly pinners in their shopping decisions.
Pros
The conversion rate is pretty high here.
Pinterest is less annoying or disturbing for the users who are using Pinterest as the ads are less interruptive.
Cons
The platform is not user-friendly in terms of sales in comparison to Google Ads.
Amazon ads – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Amazon mainly focuses on reaching customers who love shopping. This helps to portray the products in the key results or search results. Therefore, it becomes an easier task for the shoppers to get a view of the wide range of products available on the site which is offered by your eCommerce store.
The easy way to set up the interface and ad portrayal help to make the advertisement process smooth. Moreover, the customers can see them and select their products in a quick time.
Cons
As an entrepreneur, you have to pay an extra referral fee apart from the advertisement rate. The amount may go up to 10-15% approximately depending on the variation of the products.
Amazon has few strict rules for the sellers. For instance, at times, there are shipping rates, order cancellation charges, etc.
Taboola
Taboola – Best Platform to run ads for eCommerce store
Taboola is significantly known for its advertising base, especially for the newbie business owners looking for marketing platforms through advertisements. Exceptionally creative promotional ads have campaigned through this platform. They either use informational content or advertorials which they produce on the sites.
Taboola ads do not resemble anything like regular advertisements hence, it becomes a hassle-free task to engage customers’ interest. Again the presence of domestic tools for advertisements helps in tracking, publishing, and producing the regional promotional campaigns. It serves best for brand promotion, brilliant audience visibility, and other contexts in various marketing channels.
Pros
Awesome customer response.
User friendly.
Smooth campaign report projections.
Uncomplicated calculation of performance metric possible.
Cons
Approval of the contents from Taboola is a very time-consuming process.
Points to Consider
Pay per click policy is more on Google shopping ads.
Bing Ads till now, is not as great as compared to Google Ads as it faces challenges in reaching more audiences.
Fashion, DIY, Beauty, Jewellery, Shopping, and Food – Ads regarding all these fields on Instagram reach targeted clients in an uncomplicated way. The best way to showcase the product or service is to use HD images or Reel videos.
Similar to Instagram, Facebook Ads work hand in hand.
To make successful revenue from clients on Youtube, the creators should focus on explanatory videos or review videos. These videos should be high end and there should be accurate clarity. The exact visual presentation of the products or services and comparison between other services or products can help clients understand it in a better way. It enhances more chances of an effective sale.
Twitter can be a platform for boosting service or job-related brands. The audience present on Twitter is mainly school, college-goers, or even freshers or working employees looking for a job change or part-time jobs. Again, any teaching or education-related brands or websites can also fetch customers from there.
The female audience is mostly found on Pinterest. Thus, this platform has a beautiful opportunity for brands dealing with crafts, DIY, and gardening products.
Brands that have a high-profit outcome and already have a stable customer base should opt for Amazon ads.
Ad Platforms & Conversion Rates
There are several contents available on the internet every day. Now when you are planning to set up your brand you have to understand that the conversion rate should be high to get a successful sale of your products and services.
What is the Conversion Rate?
The digital retail market is growing every day and is becoming highly competitive. Setting up an online store is not an easy task if you are not getting any sales.
Imagine you have already a promising website with an amazing product display. The reach of the product is also high. Hence, there is a decent amount of traffic.
You have to make shoppers buy the products from the website and not only view them. Here comes the concept of conversion in the eCommerce business. In simple terms, conversion rate refers to the number of conversions divided by the total number of visitors to a website.
It can be dependent on a few things like the cost of the product, the niche of our industry, and of course your audience. Therefore, all conversion rates in every eCommerce industry are not the same.
Advertising Channels and Their Conversion Rates
Average conversion rate by advertising channels
According to Heap, Google ads stand number one in turning the high conversion rates of 8.2%. Next up are Bing ads with a conversion rate of 7.6% on an average. Facebook has a conversion rate of around 4.7%, Instagram 3.1%, and Pinterest 2.9%. Other ad platforms which turn to fewer conversion rates but are effective are Twitter (0.9%), Snapchat (0.6%), and YouTube (0.5%) respectively.
Conclusion
The primary aim of social and digital ads is to manage traffic and bring about more revenue. With the evolution of digital media and content marketing, an entrepreneur needs to select a faithful platform to showcase their products and bring more sales. Therefore, before choosing any of the ad platforms, you should check the limitation and advantages of your own business and brand. It should match the appropriateness of the platform to reach more audiences and engage them successfully.
FAQs
Which platforms are the best for online advertising?
The following are the best platforms for online advertising:
Google Ads
Facebook Ads
Instagram Ads
Bing Ads
Twitter Ads
Amazon Ads
Can I advertise online for free?
You can advertise online for free by registering with Google My Business. It is a free tool that enables you to create a listing for your business so that it can be easily located on Google searches.
Which is the number 1 eCommerce site?
Amazon is the number 1 eCommerce site, not only in America but also in most other countries.
Which social media platform is the best for my business?
The following are the best social media platforms for your business:
Heena Singh
