How to Promote Your Online Store in 2019 and Beyond

We have certainly come a long way from the days when going to shopping malls in order to buy products was a norm. The latest trend, of course, is online shopping. Naturally so as it provides all the benefits of window shopping but at one’s own leisure, with a wide variety of products to choose from and let’s not forget, the convenience of having it delivered right at the doorstep. Retailers, in order to capitalize on this shift in lifestyle, have taken it upon themselves to set new norms by creating online stores across the globe.

With constantly evolving technology, the world of online shopping is going to get more and more competitive. Websites will be a lot smarter, shipping much quicker and expectations sky high. And to keep up with the market, e-commerce retailers will have no choice but to gravitate towards the new emerging trends. But what are these new trends, and how these retailers will promote online stores in the upcoming years? Let’s have a look.

Clearly set your business goals well in advance

I know this isn’t really a bummer. You probably must have heard it many times before but there must be some truth to this age-old saying if it has been sticking around for ages. The fact is, having a set of clearly defined goals, ones that are strategically planned for growth and acts as a roadmap are crucial for the success of any business.

Wondering how you will set your goals to promote or even create an online store effectively? You can start by making your objectives as quantifiable as possible. You can achieve this by asking yourself and trying to find the answers to these questions such as

1. How many customers you want to win and in what timeframe?
   
2. What is going to be my end goal?
   
3. How is what I am doing now going to take me there?
   

Optimize and re-evaluate your progress at regular intervals to make sure you stay on the right track and don’t hesitate to reconsider your growth strategy if things aren’t working out as planned.

Focus more on personalization

Don’t you feel happy when all your window shopping needs are customized to your taste? Well, I do. But promoting an online store to offer a similar experience is a bit different since there are no physical sales associates involved to make you feel at home. Here, technology must replace human help if it wishes to achieve this sense of personalization. A few ways include-

• Engage anonymous visitors to enter their email address. By this way, you can get interested users to sign up for a newsletter. Also, you can offer a discount incentive to excite subscribers and increase their number.
• Providing a live chat option where customers can ask questions and get answers instantly. They can assist with suggestions, helping with check out and some even with building outfits.
• Another effective strategy is differentiating users not only on what they want to buy but also what they are willing to pay. Because of which, companies in the future will focus more on granular details which, in turn, will help more people shop online at a more accurate price point based on their past decisions.
• While creating an online store, automated checkout is another thing you can consider to personalize the whole user experience.

Promote social media shopping (if you haven’t already)

Social media is another powerful tool that can help you connect to your customers. And greatly so, since social sites such as Facebook and Instagram have opened their doors for the e-commerce industry, bringing its users the best of both worlds; socializing and shopping. For instance, if you are selling a wide range of physical products, Instagram might be your best bet. And for selling a service? You got it right, Facebook and Twitter.

Just remember this while promoting your online store, though adding popular social media platforms to your e-commerce site might allow greater interaction with your customers but, in the end, it's the content that will truly engage your audience. Time to work on your content marketing strategy in order for it to communicate value.

Not sure where to begin? Start a blog or a webinar series in order to spread information about your products and services. Just make sure to share your blogs on social media platforms to increase brand awareness among customers and prospective clients.

Get creative with your e-commerce strategy

Following are a few tips to get creative with your e-commerce strategy.

• The importance of courier services should never be undermined when planning to create an online store. Research well and always choose the one with the best delivery record.
  
• Time and again we hear online sellers shying to buy stock in. if this is your story too, why not consider dropshipping? It won’t just reduce the upfront cost of experimenting with different products but also let you identify best sellers with less dead stock and minimum outlay. A win-win situation.
  
• Always, and I repeat always look for ways to interact with your customers while promoting your online store in order to keep them coming back. After all, they are the reason you are in business in the first place.
  
• Never be afraid of the dead stock. Often times, simply ignoring it seems like a better option but there are ways to sell it too. Use sales events or coupon codes to encourage new customers, even bringing back older ones you haven’t heard from in a while.
  
• If possible, dedicate some time every day to keep yourself up to date with all the changes happening in the online marketplace and selling platforms. Both of these are evolving at a rapid rate. It only seems reasonable to catch on before your competition does.

Create an online store that resonates with your vision for the future. To help you out, we have provided a few actionable ways through this article to help prepare your online store for 2019. Whether you have just begun working on this list or are already out exploring them, HippoInnovations team of designers, developers and strategists are here to help.

Conclusion

StoreHippo is a full-fledged e-commerce platform with a rich experience delivering digital solutions to help our clients innovate faster. We have an extensive range of features that can not only help you create and promote your online store but also execute an awe-inspiring e-commerce strategy to achieve your business goals in 2019 and beyond. So book a demo session now!