WHAT ARE THE CURRENT ECOMMERCE WEBSITE DESIGN TRENDS?

Cliqued Media, website design agency, Ireland, have been at the forefront of ecommerce website design for many years. As Ireland’s leading web design wizards, we’ve seen ecommerce website design trends come and go, driven by changing consumer needs and online behaviour. 

As consumers become more sophisticated in their online usage and expectations, so to do the design trends. And it is particularly in the area of ecommerce that websites are having to quickly adapt and improve. 

Massive online competition is now the order of the day for almost every organisation. And there is no room for complacency when it comes to ensuring that your ecommerce platform delivers on expectations. 

When it comes to designing innovative and industry leading websites, artificial intelligence (AI) is the great enabler, giving designers the ability to deliver a seamless, rewarding, and enjoyable on-site experience for users. 

Finding website design agencies that fully embrace the new design technologies and are competent in them, has become a pre-requisite. That’s if you want your company to get noticed online and to compete on an even keel, in the world of ecommerce. 

What we do know, is that the ever-changing trends and the competition for consumer’s attention online, is driving website designers to new heights, enabling them to develop websites that are both remarkable in their design and performance, and effective in delivering the quality experiences demanded by users. 

WHAT ARE SOME SALIENT CONSUMER TRENDS?

To understand website design trends, one must first understand the trends that relate to online customers. As previously noted, trends are driven by changing user behaviour and demands. Consider the following few salient pointers:

SALIENT CONSUMER TRENDS

Online Buyers are Becoming Better Informed

Today’s consumers are better informed. Information is freely available to them from a myriad of sources. Anything can be Googled. They also have free access to the opinions of their friends and peers on social media and forums. In fact, in many cases a prospective customer may be even more knowledgeable about a product than the marketer or sales people that promote it. 

Users are Becoming More Security Aware

While trust has always been a major issue, people are becoming more accustomed to purchasing online and more trusting of credible e commerce sites. We highlight the word ‘credible’. However, a significant number of visitors to ecommerce websites are newbys. That is, they may be buying online for the first time and naturally suspicious of releasing personal information.  

Online Users Now Desire Instant Gratification

Why wait for something when you can get instant gratification? This is the mindset of the modern online customer. When people visit an ecommerce site, chances are they have done their research and want to take some action in a simple and seamless manner. And they want to be able to do this from anywhere, 24/7.

Website Visitors Demand a Positive Experience

The stakes are high for an ecommerce site. Online customers are fickle. From speed of loading, to ease of navigation, quality of content and a hassle-free purchase, they demand it all. And if their on-site experience is disappointing, then they will be away at the click of a mouse. Off to competitor sites. 

Ecommerce Customers Need More Recognition

By recognition we mean that modern customers demand to be recognised, respected, and appreciated for their interest and loyalty. It comes at a price. The price involves having the ability to interact with customers on-site and to be able to personalise their experience wherever possible. 

WHAT ARE SOME CURRENT WEBSITE DESIGN TRENDS?

Many of the current website design trends relate to the more technical aspect of website design and are too complicated for the average mortal to understand. However, the following is a shortlist of some of the more salient design trends that relate to the abovementioned consumer aspects.

CURRENT WEBSITE DESIGN TRENDS

Highly Responsive Web Design

Responsive web design is basically, an approach to the creation of web page design. The result is flexible page layouts and images that react to the different screen sizes. So, whether a user visits a website on a smart phone, laptop, or tablet (no matter the brand), the page image will automatically adapt. This helps to provide users with the good quality on-site experience that they demand.

More Mobile Friendly Design

About 68% of visits to ecommerce websites globally are now conducted on smart phones. If your ecommerce website is not designed to be mobile friendly, then you are on the road to nowhere. Being mobile friendly, means that you can cater to consumer demand for instant accessibility, and the ability to make a purchase 24/7. A no-brainer if ever there was one.   

Faster Loading Speeds

The latest web designs cater for high-speed loading. Lightning speed that is. Research has shown that anything more than three seconds, will send your impatient potential customer scurrying off to another website.

Remember that the more bells and whistles your site has, the slower it will load. And consider the vital fact that search engines now regard loading speed as a very important factor, that directly influences your websites search results.

AI Enhanced Design

Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping to greatly enhance the design of websites and the features that can be offered on-site. It is AI that has allowed designers to greatly improve the user experience and ability to personalise it.  

Some of these include voice-activated interfaces, that allow users to interact with a website using their voice, chatbots, that are becoming more sophisticated by the day, 24/7 interaction and the ability to personalise individual search. 

Vertically Aligned Menus

Along with responsive websites, has come the development of vertical aligned menus. Unlike traditional horizontal menus, these adapt well for use on narrow cell phone screens. This makes for a more efficient guide for cell phone users. It gives designers a more practical way of providing a seamless and enjoyable on-site navigation experience.  

Innovative Layout

Part of providing users with an interesting and enjoyable experience is being able to include an element of surprise. And using unconventional layouts has become a way of differentiating websites from the traditional. When combined with high quality content, special imagery and animated effects, an unconventional interface layout can help to increase the number of visitors, encourage more interaction, and improve the time spent on-site.

Synergy Between Digital and Physical

As business models change, companies are finding ways to create more synergy between their ecommerce sites and physical entities. All of this to try and streamline the customer experience. 

Ecommerce sites and apps are now commonly used to make the customer’s journey more seamless and convenient. For example, customers can now search and view information on a company’s products or services, book appointments and even pay via the website or app. They can then visit the physical store to secure the product, or to enjoy the service provided. Finally, after-sales service and advice can also be provided via the website or app.  

ECommerce Going Green

As consumer demand for environmentally friendly products and services grows, so does the role that ecommerce website design plays in this phenomenon. Changing a distribution model from physical to online, allows businesses the opportunity to align with consumers and commit towards societal welfare and the environment. 

Shopping online has no boundaries. It can be done from anywhere. In many cases, it alleviates the need for travel and lowers the environmental impact. Ecommerce environmental benefits can be found in distribution efficiencies, lower staff requirements and packaging to name a few. 

More and more ecommerce websites are incorporating green-related content and promoting green products and services as a constructive promotional strategy. 

Evolution of Design

Design principles and aesthetics plays a major role in how an ecommerce website interface is perceived by users. The general layout, colours and fonts have a direct effect on overall image perceptions. 

Website design is moving on from complex layouts and strong overpowering colours. The developing trend is towards that of simple and uncluttered design, even down to the level of monochromatic web design. This stands to reason, as companies seek to showcase their products in online catalogues and the like.   

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

As highlighted, the above are only a few of the many new website design trends evolving in the ecommerce environment. Having a new website designed and deciding on what features to include, can be rather daunting for the average person, and even for the budding website designer.

We suggest that you first consider what the main objectives of the website will be, and the role that it will play in your overall marketing strategy. From there you could set about determining an appropriate budget and simply work from there.

Of crucial importance is the website design agency Galway that you choose to take you forward into the ever-evolving world that is ecommerce website design. Using professional designers like Cliqued Media, Ireland will ensure that the latest trends are reflected in your design, as well as cutting edge design technology. It will also serve to enhance your corporate image as well as sales growth and the bottom line.

Why is E-Commerce Web Design So Psychologically Appealing?

E-Commerce Web Design So Psychologically Appealing

E-Commerce Web Design with psychology is a valuable tool. Companies are increasingly analyzing how their clients think and act to customize their offerings.

With enormous power, however, comes great responsibility. You must grasp the impacts of the psychological strategies you utilize in your designs; otherwise, you risk irritating people and sending them to the competitors.

It’s a broad topic, particularly in the context of e-commerce. To help you start, we spoke with ten professionals from various fields, including website design Ireland, content design, online performance, email marketing, and more.

  • Don’t get caught up in features; focus on ‘benefits’

The psychology of selling demonstrates that users and consumers are primarily self-centered. Users aren’t visiting your site to hear you talk about all your product’s great features; they’re there to find out what you can accomplish for them. Provide them with compelling promotional copy.

  • Reduce anxiety in users by making it all about them

It’s challenging to get and be the first to shake it. Web designers can get around this by appealing to the crowd’s impulse. People don’t want to be outliers when spending their money. Give testimonials a prominent place on your eCommerce site to let customers know they’re not alone. Testimonials personalize the product and help potential customers feel like they are part of a well-established movement. 

  • Bring the user’s anxiety to the fore now

Per user experience guidelines, you should avoid making consumers nervous at all costs. But what if customers are compelled to purchase your stuff straight away? ‘Positive urgency’ is thus critical in instilling “a sense of urgency.” The perception of scarcity, or the perception of scarcity, drives sales. For example, an email with “offer valid only for today!” will entice shoppers.

  • Focus the user’s attention on real people

Users have been proven to focus on human faces on a website and identify the emotional state of the face instantaneously. UI Designers may capitalize on this trend by placing faces near crucial action buttons. They can also bring the user’s attention to your action button. Oh, there’s an action button! What a stroke of luck.

  • Refine your offer and simplify the user journey

Your E-Commerce Web Design site most likely has many fantastic deals and several navigation channels. However, interfaces with confusing user flows can turn off even the most ardent consumer. Apply the Law of Simplicity instead of complicated interfaces with various navigation pathways. The general web design rule states that customers “prefer basic, clear, and organized objects.” These things feel safer to me. They require less time to comprehend and provide fewer potentially harmful shocks.”

To conclude,

Shopping has always been a physical experience. Angles, edges, weight, fit, and feel are all important! Familiarity via web design Galway and display size is critical in the absence of presence. An eCommerce website should provide a friendly paradigm consisting of large displays, simple navigation, and more lifelike pictures. And regardless of how consumer behavior evolves, companies should prioritize building closer relationships with their online consumers. Businesses can optimize sales only via trust and the search for facts concealed behind small print and disclaimers.

Count on the skilled designers at CLIQUED media, a company specializing in Galway web design!

Please contact us at hello@cliqued.media for more information about our Ireland website design agency, or you can call us at 091 455 295 for further assistance.

How to Create a Simple eCommerce Website ??

eCommerce Website

eCommerce Website – Cliqued Media are one specialist ecommerce website design company who know that consumers are quickly migrating online to buy all manner of things. In fact, it is estimated that by the year 2040, 95% of all purchases will be through ecommerce websites (Source – Nasdaq).

Currently, there are an estimated 12 – 24 million ecommerce sites on the internet, with more proliferating on a daily basis. Most of these are pop-up sites, started by entrepreneurs and small businesses and like websites, many are inactive. But, the point is, that there is a lot of competition out there.

For anyone wanting to launch a new ecommerce website there are limitless opportunities. Even if you are based in Galway, Ireland, a well-designed ecommerce site can help you to compete on a global basis. Consider that globally, 57% of online shoppers buy from retailers who are overseas. For Europe the figure stands at 63,4% (Source – Nielsen).

So, it is clear that anyone with a good product, or innovative service, has a more than even chance of successfully marketing their product through an ecommerce site. So how do you go about it?

Here are the steps that you need to take.

STEPS FOR CREATING YOUR OWN eCOMMERCE WEBSITE

Step 1: Plan & set objectives

Any successful business venture begins with rigorous planning. And this applies to an ecommerce site as well. As part of a marketing strategy, your site will be the main platform for interaction with customers. The quality of user experience on the site will determine your success or failure as a business.

With this in mind, it makes sense that you carefully analyse upfront 1) whether there is a demand for the product or service online 2) what will be the overall goal for the site 3) who will be your target market and 4) how the site will address their needs.

Having done that, you’ll need to set specific objectives for the site, which will be used as benchmarks, against which to measure performance. Without having objectives your site will lack focus and is unlikely to be successful.

Step 2: Decide on a name and purchase a URL

Now you’ll need to decide on a domain name, or URL for the site. Quite simply, this is the web address that someone will type in when searching online.

If you’re starting out for the first time, then it’s important to choose a domain name that will make it easier for people to find you, when searching your product category online.

If carefully chosen, your URL can become a valuable marketing tool. Ideally it should reflect the type of business that you are in eg: mylosfurniture.com. Not only does this let people know what product you sell, but it helps to make the site more attractive to search engines like Google.

Once you have a name then it’s a simple process to register it on one of the many domain registrar services, for example Google Domains, Domain.com and Dream host. Simply search for these online, make a decision and sign up.

Step 3: Choose an ecommerce platform

Your next step will be to choose an ideal ecommerce platform on which to host your site. This is a big decision, because making a mistake can affect the future growth and success of your site.

There are many platforms to choose from, depending on your business model and future growth plans. Some are free and others charge monthly fees, depending on the services provided.

Here are a few examples of the different types of platforms to consider:

WordPress Ecommerce Plugins

We all know WordPress and many people host and build their websites on this platform. So it’s good to know that WordPress can also be a low-cost ecommerce alternative, off the base of an existing website.

You can add online store functionality to a website, using one of the e commerce plugins that are offered. Examples of these are Shopify, Woo Commerce, Big Commerce for WordPress and others, each offering various features and functionality.

Free eCommerce Website Platforms

Free ecommerce website platforms are available if your product catalogue is not too big or complex. They’ll normally allow you to list a limited selection of products for free, but usually offer fewer features than some of the other platform options.

You’ll find a long list of platforms if you search, which include the likes of Shopify, Big Cartel, WooCommerce, Big cartel and the like.

Dedicated ECommerce Platforms

If you’re wanting to start off big, with a fully-fledged and comprehensive ecommerce site, then this is the way to go. While not free, these platforms offer more comprehensive features and support, including important functions such as secure payment options, emarketing facilities and multichannel sales support.

A cursory search will reveal many options, including Prestashop, Shopify, Magento and others.

The stakes are high in ecommerce and its reassuring to know that most of these platforms offer a free trial period, giving you the time to decide on the best option or change when necessary.

Website Builders With Ecommerce Features

If you’re intending to grow your ecommerce site substantially over time, then a dedicated ecommerce platform is the way to go. Website builder platforms however, are the answer, if you’re looking to a simpler DIY option.

Options like Squarespace, Zyro, Wix and Web.com all offer the option of moving to an ecommerce plan if your existing website is hosted with them.

Step 4: Create your new e commerce site

Once you’ve found a name and a home for your new ecommerce site, it’s time to get down to business. Creating your site on all of the above platform options is relatively simple, if you have the basic knowhow. Each platform has a selection of flexible design options to take advantage of.

Keep in mind that the most important underlying factor in the success of your site, will be to provide visitors with a seamless, high-quality experience. Users must feel that they are in a credible, trustworthy and secure online environment.

Branding and Aesthetics – an uncluttered and well-designed site, that clearly reflects the brand image and identity, will help to create trust and make users feel more comfortable.

Navigation – ease of navigation is the key. Make use of menu bars where the facility is allowed and provide a clear path to information that is logical, helpful and relevant.

Quality and depth of information – providing in-depth product information, high-quality visual content, and well-written product descriptions, is the key to achieving sales conversion.

Calls to Action & Payment – using clear calls to action and well-designed action buttons will help to stimulate users to take action.

Make use of blog posts – research has shown that the majority of online purchases is driven by blogsite content. Influence your prospective customers, by providing up-to-date, interesting and informative information via blogposts on your site.

Quality blog posts, with backlinks to credible sites, are an important criteria for search engines and hence, an important part of ensuring that your ecommerce site is search engine optimized.

Step 5: Set up payment, distribution and marketing tools

Having a well-designed and attractive ecommerce site may well interest and excite users into wanting to make a purchase. But the final hurdle is to convince them to make payment, and to trust that delivery will take place as and when promised. Trust is the major issue here.

The type of platform that you decide to use, will determine how you tackle these issues and you need to pay close attention to this aspect when deciding on which route to follow.
Payment Gateways

The platforms that offer a more comprehensive service, usually include payment processing facilities and even aspects like tax calculation and shipping-label printing. Some also include marketing tools. Others require that you integrate these services from outside suppliers like Paypal, Stripe or ApplePay for instance.

For smaller businesses it is probably cheaper and simpler to make use of platforms that include a built-in payment gateway system.
Streamlining Shipping
Fulfilling orders timeously and efficiently is a major challenge, but means a lot to customers. You need to have this issue nailed from the start.

By integrating shipping software into your ecommerce platform, you can streamline the whole process. This allows for the synchronisation of orders, shipping and customer communication, leading to a seamless process.

Built-in shipping comes automatically with some of the dedicated platforms, while others allow for the addition of third-party platforms.
Marketing Tools
Some of the all-in-one solutions also offer various marketing tools in addition to their other services. For instance, you’ll be able to create e mail lists to send out to your customer base, or even connect with them on your social media accounts. This allows for product promotions and other tactics, aimed at stimulating awareness, interest and demand.

Step 6: Test & launch the new site

With consumers you only get one chance, and the last thing that you want is negative reviews. So before launch, you’ll want to run at least a few test orders and transactions.

All of the platforms offer some limited testing before a site goes live. This allows for test orders going through to the payment processor, without actually deducting any amount off a credit card. Once these orders have been tried and tested and any bugs fixed, then you’re ready to rock n roll.

Step 7: Promote, monitor, analyse & improve

Creating awareness of your new site and encouraging visitors, will be the main challenge in the months after the launch. This will be the function of your digital marketing strategy. At this stage it is important to ensure that all advertising and social media activity, is aimed at driving people to the website, with a clear and consistent message.

Furthermore, ensure that you maintain a focused and disciplined approach to growing and improving your new site. There are various tools available to monitor and analyze activity and behavior on the site. Be sure to make appropriate changes as and when required, and keep all content fresh and appealing along the way.

MAKING THE RIGHT CHOICES

Making the right choice of platforms is critical to the future success of your ecommerce site and is a fairly complex decision, depending on how big you plan to become. But that is just the starting point in the process.

Creating and managing a successful ecommerce site takes commitment and dedication. Also the skills of specialists, as the site grows and becomes more complex.

Specialist web design agencies like Cliqued Media are there to help individuals and companies of all sizes develop successful ecommerce sites. Cliqued Media are certified web wizards, who work closely with their clients to develop successful ecommerce sites, aimed at achieving business growth and excellent ROI.

How to Storyboard Your Web Site

Storyboard

How to Storyboard Your Web Site

When someone wants to learn how to storyboard a website, he or she can find a lot of information about it on the internet, there are lot of videos available on YouTube that can teach you how to properly storyboard a website.

What is Website Storyboarding 

It’s the blueprint of a website. It is a straightforward and simple tool that can be utilized to showcase the elements of the website on one single page i.e. images, banners, navigation, graphics, and the website contents. It is the best approach for showcasing project details to the website design team and to the clients in a visual way.

By using it, the presentation of the information becomes fairly simple, especially when you consider how much less text is needed for it. As new technologies always are being adopted by site developers for easing the web designing process, old techniques are becoming obsolete.

Nowadays, it’s becoming very popular among web developers. Is an amazing application that web designers are using for visualizing their website design concepts.

The Purpose of the Storyboard can be Split up into Three Main Steps

1) To draw an outline of the website in a visual way that you can show it to your customers
2) Identifying the elements that you should place on every page of the website.
3) It shows the navigational structure of the website, it shows the information flow of the website and it also shows how the user will interact with the website

Generate the layout with few Clicks

With this amazing tool, you can actually visualize the entire web site and your web pages, you do not need a professional graphic designer for your website to layout its visual representation you can easily do it with few mouse clicks, there are amazing software tools and application available on the internet that can help you design your web sites visual layout very easily, this will help you visualize your website look and feel.

You can easily visualize the navigation structure of your website, which is an important factor in Search Engine Optimization and it can help your site better rank in SERP.

Storyboarding Website

How to storyboard a Web page is really quite easy to grasp once you have some training. The actual drawing of the website is the next step and this is where most people’s problems tend to occur. It is often the case that the site designer has little or no experience with the job and he or she winds up making a mistake while drawing the website.

An easy way to ensure that it all flows smoothly and is easy to navigate is to graphical represent the Web site.

How to Storyboard Your Web Site

Storyboarding Website Design Benefits

There are many benefits of visually presenting your website as part of the web design process. One benefit is that the visual elements of the website will be in place before the user has even clicked on the mouse.

It helps prevent changes due to user error from getting pushed back into the production process. It also helps minimize the possibility of having to redraw something that looks off in the final project. In the long run, you can actually see the images, site navigation, menu structure, content pages, and the overall layout plan of your website design.

Storyboarding Web Design

Website graphical representation helps your design team to visually view your website design concept and it also helps to design your website with your site visitors in mind, as you are designing the website for your site visitors to read and like your contents, if you ignore your site visitors needs than your website design can be a total failure.

You always have to keep your site visitors’ needs first in your mind, you can easily share your website concept visually with your team members. Visualizing sharing concepts with your team members can make things crystal clear.

What it means to Storyboard a Website and the Best Practices

It is a visual representation of the website, it shows which information goes to which page of the site, it also shows you the proper site navigation, website storyboard shows a clear navigation structure of your site, let’s say you are on some inner page of the site, storyboard website should clearly show you how you will move to the homepage of your website or some other inner page of your site.

Below are a few of the best practices that are mainly required for web site storyboarding

1) First step is the collection of all the information that will be required for your website, it includes text, images, videos, and all the helping material.
2) Converting the collected information into categories, You should start these categories from broad categories and then narrow them down into sub-categories.
3) Make a clear plan for website contents, page titles, heading, and subheadings.
4) It’s time to structure your information, there are many storyboard software and apps available online both free and paid that can help in making storyboard sketches based on your collected information.
5) Make the menu structure that is easy to navigate and easy to understand. There are many professional storyboard template available online from which you can take help, or you can hire a professional storyboard creator for your project as it’s the foundation that will hold your website building.
7) Testing the Layout. Ask someone to test the layout by imagining that he is navigating the real site, if he cannot easily navigate then revise the layout
At “cliqued media we always storyboard websites” so that our clients get exactly what they need.

Storyboarding Web

The layout that is created using this tool will often times be much easier to implement than an HTML layout and storyboarder can help you draw the perfect visualizing of your website concept by storyboarding web.

This is because most of the visual elements will already be in place when the layout is created. All that is left is adding the images that will go with it and ensuring that the layout flows as smoothly as possible.

In the case of the website design process, it can also help the designers and customers focus on the final product instead of being distracted by the layout, as the website layout plays a vital role in the success of any website, visual layout helps in designing the user-friendly website design, which is easy to navigate and easy to grasp content pages by the site’s visitors.

If you use HTML, you may need to learn some tricks to create the right menu structure for implementing the mock-ups. The problem with it is that the wrong code may get embedded in the final product and will not be readable for the viewer.

In the case of mockup layouts, they are easy to make and grasp. Another issue is that many people think that there are not many tools available for the non-techies, however, there are many tools that are easy to use and are easily available on the net.

Some of the non-technical people may not know how to create mockups and therefore, need to outsource it to a professional who can deal with it. There are many freelance designers who can do custom storyboards at a nominal price so that site owners can visualize the final product that will fit their needs.

The way that they do it is by using a special software program. This is a simple software program that allows them to just drag and drop the items in the scene and they can see it in 3D.

A basic layout just takes a few minutes to build by website builders, but it can save you tons of time, if you need a professional designer, we at Cliqued Media Ireland website design agency can help you design a professional graphical representation or your site, that is easy to grasp by your customers and easy to reach at the end of the funnel. Get in Touch with us for professional storyboarding, website designing, digital marketing, and SEO, we have a dedicated team of professionals who can fulfill all your website design and marketing needs under one roof.

Visualizing your Final Product

If you are looking to hire a professional for your web design process, then story board help is important to you. You want to be able to visualize your final product and you want to look at the finished work instead of just seeing the basic layout.

Using story board layout will help you visualize what your website will look like and will make everything else easier as well. You should consider hiring a designer or a freelancer to help you out because it is an important part of the entire design process.

You can learn how to story board apps for your website by taking a class or you can read articles about it on the internet. There are many benefits to knowing how to draw your site and they include things like your audience seeing your entire design process from start to finish.

Conclusion

If you can visualize your site, then you can come up with exciting ideas and you can also have better quality in your imagination. Learning how to draw storyboard can help you achieve the designs that you want and it is something that is very important when it comes to planning out your pre-production process.

The Importance Of Having A Good E Commerce Strategy

E Commerce Strategy

Global online sales increased to nearly $4.29 trillion in 2020. This was a 21.4% increase over the previous year (according to Digital Commerce 360 estimates). This was partially driven by the pandemic, but also by the fact that more and more consumers worldwide are becoming comfortable with the concept of shopping online.

If you are perhaps dithering with the decision of whether or not to enter the e commerce market, well dither no more, it’s an absolute no-brainer in the new business environment. And specialist agencies like Cliqued Media website design Ireland, are there to support you in re-positioning your business model to address e commerce requirements.

There are three main fields of e commerce, being B2B, B2C and C2C. Depending on your product category, or type of business, you’ll need to quickly get into the e commerce space. That is, if you are not involved already.

Just consider the following thought-provoking benefits of moving some or all of your business online:

Building a Global Presence

When you enter the realm of e commerce, your business potentially becomes a global one, accessible by anyone from Galway to New York. All you have to do is to ensure that you have the distribution capabilities and off your go. Just think what it would cost in traditional marketing terms to gain global exposure and access.

Increased Brand Awareness

Creating and maintaining brand awareness has always been a major objective of any marketing strategy. Well, without over simplifying, if you do a good job with your brand narrative online, your awareness will grow exponentially. Although you may be focusing particularly on ecommerce, your brand will naturally benefit from exposure on the various channels that you use, to drive consumers to your online store.  Click here to learn some of the effective e commerce web design.

Reducing Cost of Sales

Marketing and selling online has the potential to save millions in overheads and marketing budgets. Take for instance the cost of distribution. For many companies, the need to maintain a physical presence in the form of retail outlets has disappeared, as consumers move online.

Sure, this does not apply to all product categories, because some products require a physical interaction. In these cases, both a physical and online presence is desirable. But if you’re lucky enough, a good online presence alone, will do the trick. Add to that the cost-effective nature of online, compared to traditional marketing, and the fact that you no longer need a salesforce, and there you have it!

E Commerce Strategy

24 Hour Sales Opportunities

Imagine running your business 24/7, without having to pay exorbitant overtime costs, or worrying about security issues at night. Well, e commerce makes this possible, without most of the expenses incurred with a physical outlet.

Developments in AI, mean that your system can handle orders seamlessly and reliably, without the need for expensive staff. At the very least, and depending on your business commitment, you may need to maintain order desk staff or people to assist with online queries and complaints.    

Greater Customer Satisfaction

As far as customer satisfaction is concerned, e commerce is streets ahead. You’re building brand loyalty by making customer’s lives easier. You’re providing people with convenience and taking a major risk factor out of their lives, by enabling them to buy online.

Trading hours become limitless, and customers can browse online and shop at their leisure, anytime the need arises. It means that customers can act immediately on a whim if so required – talk about increasing impulse purchase opportunities and growing potential sales volumes.

Better Customer Relations

Any comprehensive e commerce strategy entails using a selection of internet channels, that should all serve to drive people to your online store. There you can attempt to convert and sell to them. The clever use of social media, blog posts and forums in particular, sets up a platform for live interaction and discussion with potential customers. Here you can begin to create relationships and loyalty.

Finally, when a buyer is interacting on your online store, you are able to monitor their behaviour on site and also, whether the purchase is completed. Failing completion, you’ll also be able to follow up with personal reminder messages, emails and other relevant communication aimed, at stimulating further purchases.

Broader Distribution and Product Offering

Expanding your sales territories and width of distribution will no longer be a huge and expensive undertaking. Why, because you’ll essentially be working out of one location. Just a single virtual online store is all that is required and from there, the world becomes your oyster. And because shelf-space is no longer a restriction, you’ll be able to offer a broader product range as well. Even diversify if desirable.

Communicate effectively on the right channels. Aim your message at the right people. Offer a good quality product or service. Guarantee fast and reliable delivery and returns. Finally, support this with secure payment options and your business is sure to flourish.  

More Marketing Opportunities

One of the great things about internet marketing and e commerce, is the number and selection of channels to choose from, all of them clearly targeted at distinct markets, and each appealing to millions of like-minded consumers.

Some of these different opportunities and marketing ‘tools’, include the likes of social media platforms, e mail marketing, search engine marketing, SEO, content-marketing, blogsites, Google Display advertising, Pay-Per-Click and the like.

A far cry from the old radio, TV and print scenario. It must be emphasised however, that this does not mean ignoring traditional advertising strategies. Traditional and online marketing should work in synergy to achieve the same goals and objectives of attracting loyal customers.     

Using the Professionals

Developing a new e commerce strategy and setting up for this, is usually a relatively low-cost exercise, when compared to traditional business models. That is until you don’t do it properly or decide to do it on the cheap. The result of taking short cuts, can be a bunch of highly disillusioned customers, and the destruction of much of the loyalty and goodwill built up for your brand. 

Doing e commerce effectively, requires a great deal of strategic thought, and the advice of experts. It’s really important that you take a strategic approach and make use of the e commerce professionals. Any upfront investment will be paid back handsomely if the homework is done correctly.

Luckily there are experts who specialise in e commerce strategy and set-up. Experts like Cliqued Media, who will work closely with your team to analyse your e commerce needs and to develop the appropriate strategy. Cliqued Media will help you to develop a comprehensive strategy that drives traffic to your online store and builds customer sales and loyalty.