This article provides you with the best tips and trends around e-commerce and online marketing for the year 2021. Good resolutions for 2021 that every Shopify retailer should write on their to-do list. Because often a few simple changes are enough to generate more traffic and thus higher sales in the shop.
Why You Shouldn’t Rest On Your Glories
“If you don’t go with the times, you go with the times,” is the saying. It is not known who said these words first. Nevertheless, they perfectly sum up the core idea of online trading. The Internet is a world in constant change, its inhabitants, a restless society.
With a clever idea, competition can grow out of the ground almost overnight. Technological developments suddenly make websites that were just trendy look like they did in the last millennium. An assortment that does not continuously adapt to the current trend quickly becomes dusty and outdated.
The regular maintenance of the online shop, an open ear for the wishes of customers, and a feeling for current trends, therefore, have as much a share in the success as negotiating skills and proper bookkeeping. Because once a customer has been lost to the competition, it is difficult to convince them to return. Better not to give him a reason to leave at all.
The Big Three Construction Sites In E-Commerce
What exactly you should put on your list for 2021 to keep your shop successful and attractive can be divided into three categories: Technology, Range, and Customer Loyalty.
Probably not every single point will apply to you - so our tip is: start at the point that you consider to be your greatest weakness. It is best not to make this assessment based on your gut feeling, but to use your analytics reports.
1. The Power of Technology
Technology includes everything that is not specifically related to your offer but generally applies to any online shop. Aspects that you should consider are:
Your Website
If you have the feeling that your site now looks a bit old-fashioned and its design simply no longer appeals to you, then your visitors will probably feel the same way. Your homepage, in particular, must be an eye-catcher; if you don’t score here, a potential customer will immediately turn off again.
Take the time to adapt your shop to current trends and the sense of time. You will find it helpful to redesign your website, especially the themes. You get a modern design with little effort, always with a special focus on best practices in user experience and conversion.
However, do not underestimate the effect of product images and photos. Throw away the shabby snapshots you took quickly on your phone and replace them with professionally created shots. This is how you convey the emotion and character of your website.
User Experience & Usability
Especially when a shop has been around for a long time, a certain layer of menu waste is often piled up. For example, if you add a new product group to your program, it is tempting to simply add another point to the existing menu structure and consider it done.
Such actions often have a less pleasant effect on visitors to your shop. Anyone who has to click through what feels like three dozen sub-items before finding what they are looking for quickly loses their desire to shop. Your motto for the coming year is, therefore: less is more.
Perfecting usability pays off. For starters, however, it is enough if you choose clear names for all categories and make sure that all subpages can be reached quickly. Make sure that the most frequently accessed pages are given a particularly striking position. Don’t be squeamish at the same time. If there are elements of your website that have nothing to do with your core business and that no one visits, the best thing to do is throw them out.
Your Payment Options
As they say? The most unpleasant thing about shopping is always paying. It is therefore important to make this part of the business as easy as possible for your customers. The more choices you present, the better. After all, it would be damned annoying if a sale just doesn't come about because a customer doesn't find the payment option that he would like to have.
According to current surveys, payment service providers such as PayPal are at the forefront. Nothing works online without these middlemen, because fewer and fewer people are willing to share their bank details with strangers. A shop that only relies on the old classic direct debit can pack up.
However, paying on the account is still very popular. Of course, as a seller, you always take a certain risk. However, if the price of your goods is within a manageable range or if you are a recurring buyer, you should offer this option.
If you have a large customer base abroad, it is still advisable to have all major credit cards in your offer. For customers, paying with a good name may still be the exception, while an American, on the other hand, will frown if he can't pull out his plastic card.
One last important tip is that you always offer your customers the opportunity to pay without having to create an account. Because many surfers quickly lose the desire to purchase once they have to type in their email address twice, come up with a password, and click on a confirmation link. Quite apart from the fact that here too it applies that people handle their data more and more carefully.
Therefore, rather the sparrow in hand than the pigeon on the roof. A customer who is not in your database may not come back. But a one-time sale is always better than none.
The Shipping
Once the goods have been bought, they have to find their way to your customers. And here, too, you can score well with visitors to your shop. Your company may not yet be able to compete with Amazon and deliver every item on the same day, but the more diverse the options you provide, the greater the thanks from your buyers.
It would go beyond the scope of this article to list all offers of each parcel delivery company here. Our advice is to take the time to familiarize yourself with your options and to study everything in peace. Pay attention to little things like the possibility of tracking the shipment. After all, many people look forward to their order, want to know where it is and, of course, be at home when it arrives.
You can also optimize the ‘Shipping’ experience in-house. You can achieve great success, for example, by simply taking the bundled order. Because it may sound unusual, even online giants have so far trouble sending all of the goods purchased in a single order in a single package.
Many small packages mean higher costs for everyone involved, more stress for the customer, and an unnecessary burden on the environment. Show the big ones how to do it right and send a purchase in the future in a single package.
2. Order in The Range
This is about everything that is directly related to your product range. Your possible resolutions for the coming year are:
Product Range Optimization
It is one of the more annoying duties of the trade to adapt one's supply to demand. Nevertheless, you should invest the time to put your range through its paces regularly.
Shopkeepers who only clog your warehouse unnecessarily fly out of it. However, it is more difficult to find out what is still missing in your shop. The simplest solution is a competitive analysis. Look at the offer of your direct competitors and compare it with your own. So you can quickly find discrepancies and get new ideas.
Stay Up to Date
Even if your shop has been going well for a long time, this is no guarantee that it will remain so in the future. So keep yourself informed about current trends and developments in your industry. This includes regular visits to trade fairs and events, the evaluation of relevant websites, and reading specialist journals.
Exchange with like-minded people is just as important. In online forums and on popular social media platforms you will quickly find people from all over the world who are as passionate about your industry as you are.
Finally, always have an open ear for the wishes of your customers online channels are also the first point of contact. A relevant Facebook board quickly gives you a feel for current wishes and developments. Be open to new things and experiment a little, because innovation almost always pays off.
Improve Product Experience
Not every visitor to your shop is an expert on your offer. Make it as easy as possible for him to buy - regardless of the products you offer.
If you sell fashion or jewelry, consider, for example, the unsuspecting husband who is looking for a gift for his wife. Give him active help: which metal goes with which hair color? What is the trend color of the season?
If you offer technology, always think to the layperson. Someone who is not very familiar with digital SLR cameras is grateful for tips such as: “Is particularly suitable for taking pictures of nature” or “Can take particularly good pictures of objects in motion”. Technical Chinese sounds demanding, but rarely help the average customer. The professional already knows what he is looking for.
A good way to find out whether your product descriptions do justice to every visitor to your website is the so-called housewife test. Admittedly, that sounds a bit disrespectful but is still called that by large marketing agencies. The idea is very simple: Show your product description to someone who has absolutely no idea about the matter. Nevertheless, if she understands what it is about and what advantages it has from the product, your text has passed the test.
Finally, classic impulse buying via cross-selling is a simple method to improve your customers' product experience. If someone shops for shoes, they also offer shoe polish. If your customer buys flower boxes, remind them not to forget the potting soil and the shovel. In the worst case, your visitor ignores the offer. At best, he is grateful for the tip.
3. Pamper Your Customers
The third big point for good resolutions is strong customer loyalty. So that your visitors like to come back, think of the following:
Make A Good Impression
After the purchase is before the purchase. So don’t just claim your winnings and let the customer go their way, because the customer journey is not yet complete. First, reliably inform him of the status of his order. Where are the goods located? Is she already in the mail? When can delivery be expected?
Be reachable also; definitely by email, even better by phone. Because there will always be questions, concerns, and complaints. If your business is just an anonymous black box, you won't make a good impression.
And if there is an exchange and return, be generous if possible. Of course, in the short term, you will lose the profit, but in the long term, you will benefit. Because the straightforward handling of a negative experience remains in your customers' memories, creates trust and motivates them to return.
Finally, keep in mind that small gifts maintain friendship. So how about a nice voucher for the next order that you enclose with the delivery? Or just a small bag of wine gum? Because very few people tell their friends about it when they get a package again. However, if there was something to snack on, a delivery suddenly becomes a story.
Testimonials & Social Proof
It is always good if others stir your drum for you - preferably free of charge. Most celebrities, however, are well paid for their advocacy and a return on investment is not guaranteed.
However, if you sell an innovative or unique product, stand up for a good cause, or have other important arguments ready, an inquiry can never hurt.There are enough unusual success stories in this area.A nice letter only costs you a little time and at worst is simply ignored.
However, the high profile is not the only way to attract attention. Thanks to the Internet, numerous other factors also have an impact on your customers' purchase decisions.Initially, this includes social media channels.If your shop is recommended in a Facebook group, it is almost like winning the lottery. Small influencers on YouTube, Instagram, and Co. are sometimes enough to get a free sample of your product to report on - and of course, you can and should use these channels yourself.
Finally, purchase decisions are of course guided by the great classic ‘product test’. The striking placement of good ratings by well-known organizations is particularly sales-promoting. Links to expert reports or scientific studies also lead to positive results.
Advertising & Retargeting
You can of course also achieve customer loyalty through targeted advertising. The easiest and cheapest way to do this is by email. A regular newsletter with relevant information is part of high school and requires a lot of work.
You can already achieve a similar effect by sporadic mailing, provided the content of your message interests your reader. So really only write to your customers if you have something to offer them. For example, when the winter sale is just around the corner, you are running a special campaign in your shop or the new collection has arrived. Insignificant messages land on the spam list all too quickly.
Continue to take advantage of your on-site opportunities, even if you are a purely online retailer who sends your goods around the world. A small stand at the local street festival, a pop-up store, a performance at a charitable event, or participation in a charity event attracts attention. With a little luck, you can make it into the press, and otherwise, photos and reports are always suitable for a nice story on your social media channels.
Bring It! - The New Year Can Come
Every shop has a little room for improvement. Because of this year, the big three pillars of any successful Shopify shop can do with a fresh coat of paint. Check-in 2021 whether your technology, your range, and customer loyalty could make a big difference with just a few simple steps. The courage to innovate and a small amount of experimentation are your closest allies.
