Are you looking for tips on how to manage an e-commerce website? Many investors are now joining the e-commerce industry. This is due to the current state of the e-commerce economy that tends to be favorable to many. For instance, Singapore’s e-commerce income amounted to S$3.74B in 2018 and it is projected to hit a growth rate of 10.1% annually.
If that figure makes you believe that e-commerce has reached its apex, you will be shocked. According to statistics, the cumulative sales recorded from e-commerce are expected to increase up to S$7 billion by 2025. That is a good reason for any entrepreneur to invest in this lucrative venture.
While some entrepreneurs have managed to launch their e-commerce sites successfully, the majority of them have failed terribly. That is a clear sign that success isn’t assured even in the most flourishing industry. Then, what’s the key difference between the flourishing and pugnacious players?
Read through to find out everything you need to know about managing an e-commerce website.
Here are some of the tips to manage a burgeoning e-commerce industry in Singapore. These tips will assist you get high conversions for your online store.
8 Tips for Managing an E-commerce Website
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Plan a Professional Launch
The launch of your site must look sturdy and inspirational. That’s to say that you will only launch your e-commerce site in Singapore once you are certain you have completed all the required groundwork and there is no single loose end to it.
Internet plays a vital role in putting you on the international platform and given the fierce competition in the e-commerce field, you will have a chance to display your best. You can decide to buy a domain name and put up a fancy “COMING SOON” message until you prepare yourself for the huge launch. Additionally, take time to create a social media account and define the content marketing strategy before flirting with ideas about the launch.
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Purchase a Premium Website Hosting Package
Speed is an important aspect when it comes to running a successful e-commerce site. Every web page must load fast and produce high conversions. Recent findings indicates that even a single second delay in a web page load time will result in a 16% decrease in client satisfaction and a conversion loss of 7%. So, make sure you invest in a premium web hosting package.
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Reduced Site Downtimes
When planning to set up an e-commerce site in Singapore, you need to make sure it does not experience any downtime. Every time your site collapses, sales are lost. The impact can be huge such that you will have to lay off your workers during the time of downtime.
The ranking of your e-commerce will also be affected if the user accesses and close the site after they see the downtime mistake. Moreover, this will damage your reputation big time. Therefore, it’s important to handle the downtime issues on time and effectively before they turn to a bother. Make sure you invest in a state-of-the-art backend server to minimize the downtime.
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Innovation is king
Just like we mentioned above, the competition in the e-commerce field is fierce and you can’t get recognized if you create a site that looks like the ones that are already on the internet. To make online buyers ditch their favorite e-commerce site, you must introduce something new. Business grows or collapses depending on the weight of technology used.
Contemplate of incorporating modern technology such as virtual reality, allowing consumers to get a great look and feel of your products. You can also use drones to offer quick delivery just to stand-out in your competition. Bear in mind that innovation doesn’t always translate to state-of-the-art technology as it can be something simple like engaging content, special offers, and customized mobile apps to invite consumers.
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Choose a Unique Niche
While e-commerce allows you to sell anything, that doesn’t imply that you should do it blindly. The fierce competition in this arena can be too challenging to handle. Therefore, it’s advisable to choose a unique niche. This will assist you to create a clear way towards long-lasting success in the field.
For you to get that niche, you will need to do extensive research to understand the preference of your prospective audience. Use surveys and questionnaires to get the answers you seek. In simple terms, having a single target to aim allows you to emphasize and improve your strategies.
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Ensure Your Website is Easy to Navigate
The process from how a consumer looks for a product to how he/she places an order must be short and straightforward. The user-experience has a huge significance just like in any industry. The required number of clicks it should take the consumer to successfully close a purchase should range from 4-6.
You can simplify your site by incorporating tricks like clustering, filters, and visual search. These techniques will make it simpler for the consumer to avoid the clutter and promptly get the product they seek.
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A premium-Looking Site
The e-commerce industry has become extremely saturated and it’s always claimed that every entrepreneur is trying to provide the same product with different branding. Branding is the keyword and the way your website looks will say a lot about your brand. The greatest e-commerce site is well designed and has a user-friendly interface.
That is because they know that consumers will not complete a purchase if the site has a boring and unattractive outlook. Therefore, it’s best to offer your site a premium and user-friendly appearance. With top-notch quality product images, clearly written description and call to action, you will transform your site to a great online shop.
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Trustworthy Logistics Partner
While starting the business, you can partner with a courier company to do the deliveries. With time, you can partner with a logistics company as this will be beneficial to the growth of the business. You will take advantage of the logistic company’s advanced innovation, and an optimized transport management platform.
This means that you will have time to focus on the main operation of the business. Moreover, by gaining the knowledge of your practice model, the logistics company will assist cut down some cost.
Some Steps To Ensure Your Web Store Success
Step one: Select The Right Products To Sell
The first step in setting up an ecommerce store is to choose the right products to sell. You need to consider the customer’s needs and wants, as well as your company’s budget. Also, you need to determine whether you will sell physical products or digital products (such as ebooks, apps, and others).
When it comes to ecommerce stores, most businesses begin by selling the most popular products on the market. However, this can be a mistake, as these products may not be suited for your niche or target audience. You can instead identify a need or a want that isn’t being sufficiently served by the existing market and use that to your advantage.
Step two: Design A Website That Will Convey A Meaningful Message
Once you have determined that you will sell physical products, the next step is to design a website that will convey a meaningful message. You want to ensure that your site is easy to navigate and that the layout is visually pleasing. You also want to create an experience that is memorable and suits your target audience’s needs.
To that end, you need to take into consideration what the customer expects from your site. Will they expect ease of use with little distractions? Will they expect a lot of information at once? How does the site need to look?
Step three: Test, Test, And Then Test Some More
The last step in setting up an ecommerce store is to test, test, and then test some more. This step is crucial, as without it, you cannot be sure that you have not made any mistakes in the earlier steps. You need to test the store’s layout, functionality, and most importantly, the sales pages.
To test the layout, you can either hire a digital assistant or use a tool called a mock-up. As you test the functionality of your store, you will encounter a variety of glitches and errors that you can fix. Once you have verified that the site is working correctly, you can go back and make any necessary changes to the design.
If you are going to sell products that are physical, such as flowers or food, you can use a service like WooCommerce that is incredibly easy to use. If you are going to sell digital products, you can use platforms like Shopify, which offer complete control over the design of your store and its products. With Shopify, you can create a store in a matter of minutes, and you can add products, change products, and track sales in real time.
Running An Ecommerce Store
After you have set up your ecommerce store, you need to understand how to run it effectively. For that, you need to establish a budget and a sales goal for the business. You should also set up a payment processor so that customers can make online payments easily. You should also consider creating a mailing list of customers who have purchased from your site in the past so that you can stay in touch with them and continue to promote your products.
To find the right balance between profitability and growth, you need to consider your product’s margins, your operating costs, and your level of sales. You can use tools like Google Analytics to track customers and analyze traffic to your site. With these tools, you can set up campaigns to track and analyze the success of specific products or offers. For example, you can use the Google Analytics tools to track the performance of a specific product or offering and determine which ones are delivering the most value.
Once you have determined that you will use a platform like Shopify, you can set up automated emails, such as welcome and confirming emails, so that customers always feel like they are staying in touch. You can also use automated emails to send regular promotions and additional information about your products and services. The option to automate email correspondence with customers makes it so easy for businesses to stay in touch and reminds customers that they are valued customers who are important to the business.
How To Manage Ecommerce Store With Shopify
To run an ecommerce store successfully, you need to use a tool called Shopify. With Shopify, you can set up your product listings, customize the design of your store, and add products in a matter of minutes. Below, we will discuss how to use Shopify to manage an ecommerce store.
First, log into your Shopify dashboard and click on the “Products” button in the navigation bar. From here, you can add new products, change product images, and edit product information.
To add a product, click on the “+” symbol to the right of New Product.
Then, enter a description for the product and upload a product image. You can add as many details about the product as you want, including price. Once you have added the product, you can preview how it will appear on your site by clicking on the “Publish” button.
Now, that you have published the product, you can add more products, change the product’s information, and edit the image. Remember, you can always come back and change your mind later.
To edit information about a product, click on the “Edit” button next to the product title. You will then be able to make changes to product details such as price, description, and image.
To change the product’s image, click on the “Image” button next to the product title. Then, choose an image from your computer’s storage device or select an image from the web. You can add descriptions for the image and set the final image resolution.
To add another product to your Shopify store, click on the “+” symbol to the right of New Product.
How To Manage Ecommerce Store With WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a tool that can be used to create an ecommerce store. What sets WooCommerce apart from other platforms, such as Shopify, is that it was specifically designed to create an ecommerce store that customers can easily navigate. To create a successful WooCommerce store, you need to follow closely the guidelines that the platform provides.
Like with Shopify, to add a product to your WooCommerce store, click on the “+” symbol to the right of New Product. Then, enter a description for the product and upload a product image.
To add another product to your WooCommerce store, just like with the previous two tools, click on the “+” symbol to the right of New Product. Then, enter a description for the product and upload a product image.
Unlike the other two tools, however, you cannot edit or customize the design of your WooCommerce store. For that, you need to use the platform’s built-in tools or find a third-party tool.
Final Word
An ecommerce store, like any other type of store, needs to be set up with the proper tools. Below, we discussed three of the most popular tools used to create and run an ecommerce store. However, there are many more platforms like Shopify, that allow for complete control over the design of your store and the products within it. With these tools, it is possible to create an entire store within a few short hours, and the platform’s integration with email marketing makes it easy to stay in touch with customers, even those who have purchased items in the past.
Therefore, these are the primary factors that can define if your e-commerce website will be successful or fail. By wisely implementing these strategies when managing an e-commerce website, you are guaranteed to get a better level of efficiency and output in your online store.
Call us today on +65 6789 9852 for a custom e-commerce website design services in Singapore.
