What is eCommerce without sales?
Absolutely nothing!
A business needs to sell products or services to exist. Whether you're just starting an eCommerce business or are a long-time business owner, you can see why making and increasing sales is so important.
Read on to learn more about eCommerce sales, some ways to increase them for your business, and the channels at your disposal.
What Is eCommerce Sales?
eCommerce sales is a sales model where products or services are sold over the internet. It is like the traditional sales model, except nearly every aspect of the transaction takes place on the internet. This can be done using a headless eCommerce system, a B2B online marketplace, or an online marketplace.
Both a direct to consumer and B2B business (see B2B meaning) can make eCommerce sales. As long as the actual transaction and eCommerce payment processing takes place online, it is considered an eCommerce sale. Full eCommerce businesses also list their products, market them, and more all online. They may not even have a physical location at all and utilize third party companies for product storage and fulfillment.
How to Increase eCommerce Sales
Learning how to increase eCommerce sales is the key to growing your eCommerce business. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of work to increase sales.
Here are the ten best ways to increase eCommerce sales:
- Use email marketing. One of the most effective tools for B2B marketing and DTC marketing is email campaigns. Sending cold emails to a list of prospects is an easy, low effort technique that has a higher conversion rate than other efforts. Try to personalize them a bit or use some eye-catching imagery, you want people to be drawn in by them.
- Build your brand. If people don't know about you, they can't buy from you. You need to make sure people know who you are and what you do. Start with a solid eCommerce business plan to define your goals. Then, be consistent with your messaging and target the right customers.
- Work on eCommerce SEO. Where you rank in search results can dramatically affect how many prospective customers your site gets. Focus on improving on page SEO for eCommerce to draw in qualified customers. For food suppliers, BlueCart eCommerce is the top eCommerce platform for small and medium businesses that's optimized for SEO out of the box.
- Use A/B testing. One of the best ways to increase eCommerce sales conversion is by testing various elements on your site. You may inadvertently be damaging your ability to sell by having a confusing or difficult website. Testing will let you provide your customers with the best experience. There's a reason personalization is the future of eCommerce growth.
- Pay attention to eCommerce analytics. Data will always be your friend if you use it correctly. Establish KPIs and determine what metrics you'll use to gauge success. Then track these numbers regularly and make adjustments to hit your goals.
- Emphasize customer satisfaction. An unhappy customer will tell all of their friends and family about their negative experience with your business. This can quickly grow to interfere with your ability to attract customers, so work diligently to keep customers happy. This is important even if you're a wholesaler (see wholesale meaning) as you won't be successful selling wholesale if you can't retain customers.
- Get on social media. More brands than ever are using social media to help drive sales. Try to promote your products without coming across as boring. Younger customers are making purchases through these apps more than ever, so standing out is a must. The best way to sue social media varies by business model, so make sure to understand the differences between B2B vs B2C.
- Take advantage of eCommerce shipping. If customers have issues with your eCommerce fulfillment or eCommerce packaging, they won't become a return customer. This lowers your customer lifetime value and damages relationships.
- Try promotions. A tried-and-true method of driving sales is to offer a discount or other incentive to purchase. Look to things like discounts through product kitting or cross selling as a way to increase sales and attract customers. BlueCart eCommerce has a deal functionality built-in and you can even send promotional emails from the platform.
- Write strong content. Whether you sell to businesses or individuals, writing SEO content for eCommerce is a great way to attract customers. It will attract prospects through Google and other search engines, but also show that you're an expert in the field.
Best eCommerce Sales Channels to Grow eCommerce Sales
The best eCommerce sales channels are the ones that drive the most customers to your site for the lowest cost. This may come in the form of social media, an online marketplace, or via a subscription box service.
Here's what to look at when picking a channel:
- Business model. Do you participate in dropshipping or sell consigned goods? Do you handle fulfillment on your own? Ask yourself these questions and pick the channel that matches your business. Otherwise, you'll find it difficult to get the most out of your efforts.
- eCommerce software. The tools you use for your business will have a major impact on the channels you can use. Being able to integrate your eCommerce accounting and shipment tracking software is vital. If a channel can't sync up with your platforms, you'll need to pick another or invest in other tools.
- Target audience. If your target audience doesn't use the channel you choose, you're just throwing away time and money. Pay attention to their needs and lifestyles and pick the channel that matches them. This will give you the highest return and show your customers that you understand them.
For food suppliers, BlueCart eCommerce is the best channel for increasing DTC and wholesale sales. It's an all-in-one eCommerce solution. We take care of the hard stuff like store design and structure, menus, payment processing, and more, so you can focus on selling.
I'm Selling Away
Sales are the bedrock of any eCommerce business. Increasing these sales is the business owner's biggest mission and will help increase their profit margin.
Use our tips and tricks above to increase sales, attract new prospects, and grow your business to new heights! You can also check out the rest of our eCommerce business guide for more guidance.