The Corona Virus Disease 2019 or COVID-2019 pandemic has shaken the worldwide peace, culture, lifestyle, and most importantly, the economy. The impact of the corona wave is so dreadful that the World Health Organization has reached on the verge of calling it as an endemic. However, the world has not stopped functioning yet. Almost all states, as well as countries, are changing the lifestyle of work by offering the facility to Work From Home (WFH). In this article, we will be discussing how the WFH is treating the ecommerce market and how can one succeed in the ecommerce business while working from home.
Many countries are following stringent rules to control the spread of the deadly virus. Social Distancing being the vaccine so far, businesses have witnessed a major downfall due to the shutdown of non-essential goods and services. Owing to the pandemic, many industries have been hit harder such as retail, travel, logistics, manufacturers, and so on. If you are an ecommerce business owner, you might rightly know the importance of continuing your business even during these harder times. To aid you in that, let us learn some essential ways to succeed in your ecommerce business while staying safe from the pandemic.
Ways to succeed in ecommerce business even by working from home
With the spread of COVID-19 like a wildfire, businesses look forward to keeping their game on. Even when working remotely, ecommerce businesses are already trying their best to satisfy their customers’ demand. After all, customers’ do not want to know where you work from; all they need is the service for which they pay. Here are a few expert-suggested ways by which you can succeed in an ecommerce business while working remotely:
Plan and reframe your business
Although the uncertain times may not let you predict the future, as an ecommerce owner, you can surely plan and be prepared for the changing circumstances. Review as well as improvise your business process based on the impact of the situation on your business. You can consider re-evaluating your business plan. Studies state that having the right business plan can take you a step ahead to succeed in your ecommerce business. Your business plan must outline what you sell, how you will ship products, how you plan to deliver the products, how you’ll market your products, how you’ll price the products to earn a profit, as well as how you sell it.
Think out of the box and keep your business rolling
This pandemic is a challenge for you as well as your business similar to all other challenges you faced to reach the position you are at. It is time for you to think out of the box in order to keep your business rolling with ease. Majority of the people are stuck due to technical hurdles. With ecommerce platforms such as Builderfly, it is resolved. You can site right at your home and earn your profits with an online store. Keep your business rolling and surpass the hurdles to achieve the success of your ecommerce store.
Leverage the power of automation
Automation was already becoming the key to business success and now it has doubled its power. Although you are not able to run your business in full force just as you imagined, you can leverage the power of automation! Automate all your business process and take a break from the thought of shutting down your business. With the evolution of the Internet, selling and purchasing online becomes easier, every day. Use the power of automation to send free reports, knowledge-banks, and newsletters, and so on to collect user demographics. Target your market and let your business succeed effortlessly.
Support your employees
In these hard times, employees are meant to turn towards the authorities for assurance. As a business owner, you may be facing the risk of discontinuation of your business; while your employees may fear for the loss of their job. Assure your employees for the safety of their jobs and move towards the success of your ecommerce business as a team. You can build your employees trust by offering them more opportunities to outstanding their performance in work, encouraging them to take all the safety measures, keep them engaged with interesting works, and most importantly, communicate with them. Additionally, as an entrepreneur, you should make sure that your employees are having a balanced work-life, just as they had while working from your company.
Go Online
By going online, we are not asking you to go online on your social networking platforms. By going online, we mean to take your business online. Many ecommerce platforms such as Builderfly let you create an online store as well as mobile apps to help you keep your business running smoothly. Create your online store, publish quality-rich content, use high definition images, make use of SEO tactics, and utilize the right set of keywords. Investing your time in keyword research can help you ease the process of SEO. You can consider using keyword finding tools to find the right keywords. SEO is meant to show the most relevant search results to the audience. If you invest your time in it, chances are you are getting ranked in the top lists. However, if you are not taking it seriously or are lazing around with the wrong SEO tactics, your page may simply get blacklisted from Google.
Be Transparent
Be transparent with your online customers. By transparency, you should be displaying what products are available in your stock and what is not. You must include if the products are serviceable to their pin codes, the approximate delivery date of the products, the notice including the reason for the delay of the deliveries (if any), and the live status of the order including the tracking link. If a customer is going through your website, chooses a product to purchase, but find it later that it is out of stock, you are surely getting an abandoned cart. You must also be upfront with your product pricing; never should you include hidden prices in your ecommerce store. Additionally, the prices of your products must be chosen competitively. If your ecommerce store is pricing a product extremely high, your visitors may find a better priced similar product from your competitor. Moreover, in case of any queries, your audience must find it easy to contact you; your contact details must be provided on your website.
Keep your Visitors Engaged
Adding products and categories to your online website/ store would not just be enough to drag in your targeted customers. You need to engage them with the right resources to convert them into your loyal customers. You can consider conducting live webinars to impart useful information, your visitors must know. For instance, Builderfly Ecommerce Platform is conducting live webinars to specifically clarify all the queries that may arise while creating an online store. You can also use online activities, quizzes, and competitions that can keep your viewers engaged. However, you might need to give away interesting offers, deals, gifts, or sales to the visitors that win during a particular contest. By doing so, not only you engage your viewers, but you also keep them interested to come back to your website/ store soon and often.
Give Real-Time Updates
As mentioned above, being transparent with your customers is extremely important. In the microwave generation, people are impatient to get their products delivered early, but also get real-time updates for the same. Delivering your products real fast can often earn you some brownie points. Notify your customers with the live update of their orders, simplify the process of them contacting you through calls, messages, or emails, respond to their queries quickly, and most importantly, let them know where their product is in short time intervals. Ensure that you notify your customers in case of delayed delivery and make sure not annoy them (pro tip: give away some free goodies or wave off their delivery charge as a payback).
Create a Sales Funnel
Building a sales funnel is known to be one of the best ways to succeed in an ecommerce business even while working from home. Your sales funnel must be inclusive of a One-Time-Offer (OTO) or built-in Order Bump. The most important factors to consider in an ecommerce sales funnel is the Average Cart Value (ACV) and the Cost to Acquire a Customer (CAC). You must focus on creating a sales funnel where your CAC is equal to lesser than the ACV. The sooner you achieve this; you’ll be getting customers for free! The basic thought behind creating a sales funnel is that you get customers for low costs or better, free. You can do so by providing offers such as free products with shipping, to make your customers interested in your products or services.
As a great writer said, “This too shall pass”, you must know that these hurdles shall also pass. By following some measures as mentioned above, you can surely succeed in your ecommerce business even when working from the comforts of your home!
