Shopify is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms today due to its easy-to-use nature and relatively simple approach to design.
It allows for for ecommerce website owners to spend minimum fuss on building their site and allows them to get up and running fast and focus more on managing the business than their site.
That doesn’t mean that using Shopify guarantees you an easy path to success; it still requires hard work and effort to maintain your business!
Here are 5 things you can do to maximize your success on Shopify.
1.) Make Yourself Findable
One of the first and possibly most crucial steps in the world of ecommerce is making your presence known.
The internet is a massive place brimming with competition. That competition is an especially big facet of the world of ecommerce.
There are so many people out there all vying to sell the same goods and services to the public, so it’s incredibly important that you as a business make your voice heard.
You need to stand out as unique among your competitors in the crazy world that is ecommerce.
While a high percentage of consumers search Amazon first, the highest percentage actually turn to Google for their needs, making SEO critically important for the success of your business.
While SEO can seem intimidating, there are some really easy practical steps you can take to boost your SEO, even as early on as building your Shopify store!
You can check out our post on Shopify SEO for more details.
2.) Set Up A Referral Program
Customers keep your store alive, so any opportunity you get to build and expand your customer base would be wise to take.
One of the chief ways you can do this is by setting up a referral program.
Once a customer is satisfied in their dealings with you, they’ll be more likely to recommend you to their friends and family, and referral program makes for a great way to keep the satisfied customer coming back for more, as well as the people they recommend you to.
When setting up a referral program, one of the key things to keep in mind is the reward you offer.
You’d do good to set a generous reward, because if you really think about it, a referral program acts as a really good bonus for your business in that it provides advertising, customer acquisition and remarketing in one package.
Shopify offers tons of apps to choose from in this regard, so there’s plenty of options for you to choose from.
3.) Use Social Media & Hashtags To Your Advantage
In living in an age where everyone has a supercomputer sitting in their pocket that can instantly connect them with anyone in the world, taking advantage of the exposure that social media grants is another vital component to truly successful ecommerce.
Taking a look at the influence brands like Coke have had on the social media world, it becomes easier to see how important this is.
The hashtag #ShareACoke started in 2013 and is still going strong.
While the mark you make won’t be as monumental as Coke, promoting your own hashtag or brand on social media can really get you some exposure and bring awareness to you and build some good presence.
And since Shopify offers some easy integration with major social media outlets, using social media to your advantage can be even easier.
4.) Reviews!
Both positive and negative reviews go a long way to building your reputation in the world of ecommerce.
Positive reviews are the most obvious reputation builder, because they show your customers how good of a business you are and build you solid reputation.
But negative reviews have their benefits too! For one thing, they humanize your business. No-one’s perfect. In fact, a business with only 5 star ratings could be viewed as generally untrustworthy, because then it becomes hard to tell whether the reviews are genuine or bots employed simply to jack up your reputation.
Negative reviews also give you a second chance with your customers. As we stated before, no-one’s perfect. Everybody makes mistakes.
It’s how we handle those mistakes that can make or break us. Those negative reviews give you a chance to respond to and fix any mistakes you make.
This goes a long way with your customers and really boosts your reputation.
5.) Keep Your Customers Looking Your Way
There’s a million-and-one things vying for our attention each and every day.
As a business, you want to make sure your customer’s attention stays on you. Otherwise, people will leave their goods sitting in their cart and never come back.
One good way to make sure you hold your customers attention is to send them a notification or email of some sort to remind them of the goods they’ve left in their cart.
You can easily automate this with an app inside of Shopify. This can work to encourage customers to follow through on their orders.
If you’d like to try to draw back some long-absent customers, you can take a similar approach to win them back by offering some sort of deal or bonus to them for shopping with you again.
Conclusion
While using Shopify doesn’t guarantee you success in the world of ecommerce, it can make things easier.
With the right plan and approach, you can maximize your effectiveness in reaching your customers and keeping them satisfied.
If you’re looking to get yourself established and think Shopify may be the best choice for you, then check out our Shopify Setup Guide!
