E-commerce offers a rapidly expanding opportunity for small businesses and entrepreneurs online.
Why?
Spending on E-commerce keeps breaking records.
A record-breaking $43 billion was transacted online during the final quarter of last year in the US, new figures released by comScore have revealed.
The global analytics company revealed that this meant that e-commerce spending in the country was up by 11 per cent compared to the same period of 2009 and was the fifth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.
Among the best-performing products were computer software, consumer electronics, books and magazines computers/peripherals/PDAs and toys and hobbies, the firm revealed.
comScore chairman Gian Fulgoni explained that the impressive growth in e-commerce sales was a result of improving sentiment among consumers and strong discounting and promotional activity on the part of retailers.
“The 2010 holiday season saw the first billion-dollar day on record and several more surpassing $900 million to help propel Q4 to record spending levels,” he added.
“We anticipate that the progress we’ve seen in the past year as we climbed out of the recession will continue with sustained double-digit growth rates in 2011.”
by Rachel Wheeler
http://www.qas.com/company/data-quality-news/us_sees_strong_q4_2010_e_commerce_spending_6899.htm
Which means?
The market remains strong and growing even through this unstable economy which proves that if other segments of the economy continue to suffer, e-commerce won’t.
Perhaps the most daunting part of running an e-commerce business is getting online in the first place. You know what products you plan to sell, but the Website, the payment setup the tools etc.? These are the things that stop some would-be entrepreneurs in their tracks.
Fortunately, you don’t have this problem, [nwp] Fraternity Members are here at your disposal.
What else?
Blogs
It’s very cost effective (depends on your value of time vs money) form of marketing. If that’s not a reason enough here are 5 more reasons why blogging is important
- Search engine optimization to get found
- Lifestyle content that hooks readers
- Education to get the sale
- Humanizing the company for stronger relationships
- Get valuable feedback for better sales
Design
Not only is social media, SEO and blogging important to marketing the design and representation of your product is equally as important. A few pointers:
- Call to action has to be clear - The user has to easily understand what actions they must take in order to continue to the ultimate goal, a purchase. Visual manipulation is key.
- Provide helpful product description in bullet points. Sizzle products to persuade users into purchases. Listed bullet points to highlighted features of your product
- Use good quality product images. Makes sense
- Use a simple layout. Having product images on the left and description on the right.
- No lengthy pages. Users will hardly ever read everything you provide on a page. Similar to readers of this post are skimming through. Products at the bottom of the page that need to be scrolled down to view more than likely won’t be viewed.
Social media
HubSpot presented 4 ways Amazon’s New Facebook Integration Impacts eCommerce. I’ve pasted them here.
- More Purchases Due to Mid-Transaction Influences – The physical presence of your friends and family when you’re deciding whether or not to go through with a purchase can have a huge influence on the ultimate decision. “Just get it”, “you should buy this” and “I want one” are common phrases when shopping with friends. Now products on Amazon will include your Facebook friends who are also interested in that item, giving you that little push to proceed to checkout
- Exposure to New Products – New products are being released every day and it’s hard to keep up with. By digging into your profile Amazon can recommend products to you every time you shop in their store. Undoubtedly many of these suggestions will involve products you haven’t heard about or that you had previously never considered purchasing until then.
- Increases Purchases During Holidays and Birthdays – At one point or another we’ve struggled with finding the perfect gift for a loved one or friend during those special times of the year. Amazon’s ability to suggest gifts for friends and family will help take the pressure off consumers by providing viable answers to the burning question of what to get them.
- Social Incentives to Purchase - Wanting new and better things others already have is a powerful factor in purchasing behavior. Many of us want the latest and greatest and this desire increases when the people we know have it. The ability to see your Facebook connection’s Amazon Wish Lists will push consumers purchases to not only get the desired product but also “keep up with the Jones’”.
Are you ready to begin an eCommerce adventure? Contact us.
