To get noticed, encourage purchases and, more importantly, build customer loyalty, it's worth thinking beyond the basics, such as a practical and attractive design, a user-friendly interface, or a fast and easy way to find the products you want. It is just as important to take advantage of the solutions offered by new technologies as it is to look for original ideas that will help you grow your business sales organically.
Bad in a different way
Let your business talk! One of the most common reasons people Google is when they need to find out how something works, or how to do certain tasks, jobs, or solve household problems. From a broken vacuum cleaner to a well-scrambled egg, when we need knowledge, we turn to search engines for help. This is where you can have a great opportunity to bring visitors to your e-shop: create a blog section and start your posts with explanatory/demonstration videos to help them understand how the product you are selling can actually solve certain problems for people.
Another way to stay relevant and be discovered through your blog is to share news and insights from your industry, giving visiting readers the opportunity to react to new information.
And of course, use the blog to promote your products: you can do this more extensively in blog posts than in a shop's product description, and in a more creative way - by demonstrating its appeal, benefits and value to the customer.
Let customers create content
Encourage your customers to share your hashtags, tag your business account on social networks - and share the content they create on your own channels, thus building a community and becoming interactive. In addition, encourage customers to leave feedback after they have purchased a service or product - it can be non-public if you are afraid of unwarranted attacks, but only visible to you. Then it's up to you to decide which ones - the most valuable and informative - you can and want to share with other visitors to your e-shop. A skilled programmer can help you solve this feature of your e-shop.
Let the DI answer the most frequently asked questions
In the experience of most e-shop administrators, the questions asked by visitors are usually very clichéd and predictable, and the answers are the same. Therefore, an automated answering system can certainly use artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots to generate answers based on the task.
They have the advantage of allowing businesses to respond to queries instantly, 24/7. But don't forget that the need for fully human customer service will not be eliminated by these robots, and there will always be questions that need to be answered by a member of your staff.
Create an original product categorisation in your e-shop
In your online shop, make it possible for visitors to browse and buy products not only by the usual categories, but also, for example, by different themes. For example, the category "Italian Food Tour" could include Italian food products, books on Italian cuisine, kitchen tools, etc.
Alternatively, you can divide your beauty products into sections for those in a hurry and for those who like slow beauty rituals. Fantasy doesn't limit you - and it gives your customers the joy of discovery and the pleasure of choice.
Subscriptions - not just for services
E-commerce subscriptions are becoming increasingly popular around the world - subscription. And not just for services, like access to a Netflix channel or a gym membership, but also for products.
Come up with subscriptions for your products and offer them to consumers. For example, receive new products regularly from a category that is relevant to them. For example, a fashion subscription could offer a monthly launch of new clothing or accessory collections based on the user's style and size. Cosmetics, household goods, food e-shops and especially niche, more original product developers offer subscriptions to their customers.
Think about what your customers could subscribe to from your e-shop range?
E-shop as a community platform
Think about technical solutions that allow your e-shop visitors not only to buy products but also to share their experiences, recommendations and maybe even photos with other community members - a solution that is ideal for e-shops selling, for example, gardening, plants and design products.
In this way, you will create a unifying feeling that when they buy a product, they are also joining a community.
Interactive purchasing process
Another original way to involve customers in the buying process is to make it interactive. For example, visitors can virtually try out products using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Or in an online furniture store, consumers could simply use their phone to see how a new purchase would look in their home. IKEA has a similar service, and the latest technology to try on clothes in a virtual changing room is being developed by Vytautas Magnus University research team in Kaunas!
Integrate original loyalty programmes
No, not just the ones that are greeted with a pop-up window that says "subscribe to our newsletter and get 5% off your first purchase" - these offers are more likely to annoy than entice customers.
But loyalty programmes can be creative and original, and the benefits they bring - returning consumers who become brand ambassadors - are enormous.
Use an attractive rewards system to create play techniques and a very clear path on how loyalty will translate into points or rewards.
By the way, when offering benefits, gifts and promotions to your loyalty programme members, make sure that they are of real value to your customer, so that they want to be part of the programme and invite others to join it.