3 ways to grow your ecommerce business
There is no "silver bullet" or unique recipe for success in an e-commerce business but there are a number of best practices. We have worked with many successful customers, and here are three tips we hope will inspire and spark new ideas and perspectives:
1. Expand your product offering
Is your product offering too narrow?
Are your products appealing to the segments you want to target?
Have you considered cross-selling and up-selling?
Are there any other products that might be interesting to your target segments?
One of the key advantages of adding new products to your store is to appeal to a larger audience. Also, you might be able to target multiple segments with different products or up-/cross-sell to your existing customer base, and thus increase your average order value (AOV).
Some examples of both strategies that we've seen work well are:
Offer frames to your posters
Offer the same design on multiple products with different price ranges, e.g. on a poster only (basic segment), on a canvas (premium segment), on an acrylic/metallic print (luxury segment)
Gelato offers an extensive catalog of products printed locally on demand thanks to our network of print partners. Adding a new product to your store takes minutes and you can easily test the market response and adapt your offering, pricing and commercial strategy in seconds.
Useful resources
How to add your products to your Shopify store
How to add your products to your Etsy store
How to add posters with and without frames in Shopify
2. Expand your geographical reach
Another way to increase your market is to expand your geographical reach. This means selling in more countries, thus reaching a higher number of potential customers.
For many merchants, the fact that they are not local makes delivery expensive and time-consuming - if it arrives.
Many times we've heard phrases like: "How do I adapt my supply chain to support global scale?" or "How do I deal with suppliers in a different time zone and who speak a different language?"
We take care of that for you. Over the course of more than 10 years, Gelato has built an extensive network of print and logistics partners that allows our customers to print locally in 30 countries and to deliver to 200+ countries and territories worldwide.
For example, are you only selling locally in the United States and would like to expand globally? No problem! We support thousands of sellers daily with just that. Your products arrive safely to 5 billion potential customers, and in most cases within 72 hours.
Useful resources
Where does Gelato print locally?
Which countries does Gelato deliver to?
How quickly does Gelato deliver?
How much does shipping cost?
3. Optimize your marketing strategy
According to Shopify, one of the key elements to make drop shipping a success is to focus on marketing and SEO, which becomes particularly important right after you launch your e-commerce business and can easily take most of your time and money.
There is no one-size-fits-all marketing strategy but based upon our experience working with e-commerce owners from all over the world, here are a few strategies that you can deploy:
Craft a genuine and personal story
Get clear about what you offer to your customers, why you do it better than anyone else, and how you will communicate this to potential customers.
Storytelling in social media
Identify which channels your target customers use, and share content that is valuable to your customers and that they find engaging. Place your products in a context that brings value by e.g. showcasing “five ways to decorate your home office” rather than simply promoting your products.
Advertising in social media
Sponsoring the content you craft in social media channels such as Facebook and Linkedin can be a cost-efficient way to expose your brand to a specific, segmented audience. Choose between anything from the industry your customers work in, their hobbies and interests or where they are located. Installing pixels can help you track and measure the effectiveness of your ads.
Content marketing
Google rewards quality content, so consider starting a blog or writing articles that can help bring traffic to your website. Depending on your business, what topics can you position yourself within? If you are e.g. selling framed cycling maps, what can you share about your passion for cycling trends, tips and training? Use relevant keywords and metadata to boost SEO.
The power of newsletters
Existing customers are your most important audience. They already engage with your products and brand - your mission is to stay relevant and give them good reasons to buy more. However, the same rules apply here - show you value, don’t tell. Craft content that is relevant and that triggers your customers’ interest.
Ready to start your growth journey? Sign up with Gelato today.