How to Develop the Right Online Growth Strategy for Your E-Commerce Brand

Online retail has become an overwhelming global phenomenon, but one that has both empowered brick-and-mortar stores and put many out of business. With the current market forecasts, it is expected that e-commerce will take up 23% of all global retail by 2023, which means that your own business will have a chance to take a slice of a multi-trillion dollar pie. The sheer numbers are enough to inspire an entrepreneur to join this ever-growing market, but that also means facing fierce competition in the process.

To avoid making various branding mistakes and thus setting yourself up for failure, you need a growth strategy for your e-commerce business. Preparing your business plan, marketing essentials, all the way to setting up your digital presence properly will make or break your potential to stand out in the e-commerce crowd. Here are a few essential tips you should integrate into your own growth strategy and enable your brand to outgrow your competition and become an industry leader that will inspire both loyalty and awe.

Decide on the right niche

E-commerce is a vast field that offers all kinds of opportunities. You can sell fashion items, pet care products, your own exclusive beauty line, food, all the way to books and arts and crafts. You don’t have to be an Amazon-level retailer to succeed, but you need Amazon-level branding, no matter the size or selection of your store.

Narrow down your e-commerce expertise, and you’ll have a far better chance to stand out in the crowd and build a brand that will attract the attention of your particular target demographic.

Build your brand identity

Now that you’ve chosen a niche where you want to grow your business, you should design and define your store’s brand. If you’re a solopreneur selling your own unique products and collections, you can build a personal e-commerce brand and enable your customers to connect to your persona as much as your store. 

Make sure that your brand identity is in line with your values – sustainability, transparency, humor, quirkiness, education, you name it, but you need to find and imbue your brand with your core values as a business.

Align your brand and online outlets

With a well-defined brand, you need to ensure brand consistency across all channels, so that your brand can branch out and reach the appropriate audiences across all platforms. For starters, build a stellar web store with a memorable address and domain name that will evoke trust. Choosing a personalized option can help you build a trustworthy online presence that will instantly help people connect your brand to you personally. 

Use the same principle for your social media channels and make sure that your brand tone of voice conveys the same message across all these platforms. If your website reflects your personal brand and values, so should your social media profiles and pages. 

Security to boost SEO 

As brilliant as your business might be, you also need to impress search engines to rank high enough in order to boost your brand visibility. One particular aspect of your online store that deserves your attention is your site’s security, which can be enhanced by utilizing the SSL/HTTPS protocol to provide a more secure experience for your visitors. 

Security protocols such as these are high on Google’s list of most relevant ranking factors, so providing a secure browsing and shopping store for your users should be your top priority, as well. SEO, of course, spans beyond security, and you need to implement other time-tested SEO strategies to make sure your store ranks high in your industry and in front of the right users.

Don’t neglect UX 

You exist to provide a set of products that will make your customers’ lives easier. However, the customer journey itself until they get the product you sell also needs to be spot-on. The entire user experience in your online store, in addition to the product itself, needs to be optimized according to your customers’ needs and preferences. 

Quick checkout, transparent shipping prices, few clicks from start to finish, easy navigation through your product categories, and ready customer support are essential. Don’t forget mobile optimization as well, and a sleek look and feel to avoid distractions on your site.

Collaborate with influencers 

In addition to customer reviews, which are essential for your reputation, your e-commerce brand also needs to work with influencers to accelerate your marketing strategy. Your customers are much more likely to trust your brand and your products when an influencer they respect and follow supports your business. 

Influencer collaborations are so much more than a passing trend. They’ve become a necessity for your e-commerce store to truly become authentic and recognizable in a sea of similar retailers available online. 

Get creative with your content output

Since there are so many e-commerce companies joining the playing field, the need to differentiate yourself will only grow. You will also need to work harder to establish and retain your authority in your industry. Such long-term goals cannot be achieved with short-term efforts, so you need a long-term approach to ensure your own growth potential. Your content strategy becomes essential when building your brand image and creating opportunities to engage with your customers.

• Creating informative and helpful articles and blogs will allow you to provide value-driven content to customers regularly.
• Infographics and how-tos are a great way to drive engagement through short-form content with visuals.
• Video tutorials, sneak-peeks, live streams, and other visual content is brilliant for humanizing your business and helping your customers relate to your brand.
• A regular posting schedule and cross-sharing and publishing will help create a continuous rapport with your audience and allow you to adapt your content output based on audience preferences.
• Empower user-generated content such as reviews and testimonials to support your brand and give you credibility.

Your content is your lifeline for engagement, brand-building, and growing your brand reputation for your target demographic. 

E-commerce will certainly grow, but whether your business will grow with it only depends on your ability to tailor a strategy to enable your progress. Relying on tried and tested industry ideas can help you move forward despite the setbacks created by the pandemic. These are some of the most fundamental, yet commonly neglected strategy essentials every online retailer needs to ensure growth. Make these tips the core of your strategy, and your brand will have the necessary basis to outlast your competitors and become a memorable entity in the lives of your audience.