SINGAPORE – So you’ve decided to take the right step and embark on your e-Commerce journey, excellent choice! 2020 showed how important taking your business online was, and the e-Commerce industry has shown no signs of slowing down. Moving forward, predictions point to 2021 being another great year for the booming industry, and you’ve definitely picked the right time to start your online business!
While that’s great and all, you might be overwhelmed by all the information and procedures that comes with starting your e-Commerce business. Such as whether to engage a specialist or all-in-one agency, digital marketing trends to look out for in 2021, and even the things to consider when building your e-Commerce website!
Having helped countless clients start their e-Commerce journey, we understand that it can be extremely overwhelming at first. So take a step back and look at the bigger picture, instead of focusing on the nitty gritty details – how do you make your business stand out from your competitors?
Edging out your business competitors is no easy task, especially with the vast amount of information and resources online that are readily available for anyone to take advantage of. However, don’t you worry as in this article we’ll be sharing some tips on how to stand out from the rest and kill the competition!
#1: Create a killer website
Having a website for your business is essential in establishing a digital presence and instilling confidence in your potential customers, imagine how a prospective customer would feel if they tried to search for you on Google but couldn’t find anything!
With that being said, it’s no secret how important digital storefronts are for businesses, and the statistics back that! Clutch, a B2B rating/review platform ran a study and gathered that at the beginning of 2018, nearly two thirds (64%) of small businesses already had a website of their own! Not only that, in the same study, it was shown that 75% of consumers admitted to judging a company’s credibility based on their website design.
Based on these statistics alone, not only is it mandatory that businesses have their own website these days, customers also expect a well designed one to boot! While this may seem absurd, it makes sense considering the many website builders online that offer professional looking websites at extremely competitive prices – sometimes even free.
Which is why your business needs a killer website to stand out from the rest, even though it might seem like a daunting task – we’ve narrowed down some key factors to make you website stand out:
Fast Loading Speeds
In the study we mentioned earlier, results showed that 53% of users abandon a site if it takes longer than three seconds to load. And what’s more, for every one second delay in site load time, conversions fall by 12%. This makes optimizing your website for speed a no brainer, no other factor makes as much impact as this – imagine doubling your reach just by making your site load faster. To do so, you should use page speed checkers frequently for both desktop and mobile versions to ensure your site is still on form.
Well Designed Site Architecture
An unofficial rule in web development – users should be able to find the information they need within a short number of clicks. Not only will this result in an overall positive experience for your users, it even increases the likelihood of them exploring more of your website!
This is why a website’s site architecture is a key ingredient in making a stunning website, nobody likes having to spend more time than necessary to get what they want done. A good website design is not just about good graphics, it needs to also be easy for the user to navigate.
Make Your Site Mobile Friendly!
It has become common practice for programmers to design websites with mobile devices at the forefront ever since Google rolled out a ‘mobile first‘ ranking algorithm to rank sites. This is great for those with heavy use on their mobile devices. In fact, Singapore has a mobile penetration rate of 85%, one of the highest in the world. With the mobile device market share set to grow, it only makes sense to optimize one’s site for the most popular device.
#2: Get the word out with a sure fire marketing campaign
Nothing gets people talking more than an effective & lasting marketing campaign, the kind of campaign that lingers in your head all day until you’re forced to search it up at home. While you might think that you need a viral video to get people interested in your product, the reality is that most businesses see sizeable returns with modest yet effective marketing!
And the good news is that with the rise of influencers, social media and advertising solutions such as Facebook Ads, Google AdWords – it’s never been easier to drive interest for your products! A digital marketing agency with a proven track record will be more than capable of utilising these tools to the best of their capabilities!
#3: Make your products stand out with photos & videos!
At the end of the day, even if you have a stunning website and a highly effective marketing campaign – it’ll all be for nought if your products look subpar at best.
Whether it’s product shots, mood shots, unboxing videos or a review video – make your products look as good as possible and leave a good first impression on your potential customers! There’s only so much marketing you can do to try and convince people to buy into your product, but nothing seals the deal better than a good looking product! Hence, if you do not have product media, you would need to engage photography services, or content creation services if you intend to go for a combined content strategy of using images, video, and sound. With a professional production team and a fully equipped studio right behind you, making your products look good isn’t as unattainable as it seems. From styled shots to 360° product viewing, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
Closing Words
With these useful tips, we hope you now have a better understanding of how to position your business to achieve success in the extremely competitive e-Commerce market. The good news is, even with the widespread adoption of e-Commerce – not many businesses have adopted these techniques. Think about the thousands of companies leveraging on third-party platforms instead of having their own custom built website, and the standard product photographs that hardly stand out. Once you decide to give your brand a facelift, tt may be even easier than you think to stand out from your competitors!
If you’ve decided to take the path to e-Commerce excellence, look no further, as FirstCom Solutions has a proven track record of helping SMEs & MNCs excel in the digital landscape. With over 10 years of experience and thousands of satisfied clients, we offer a whole suite of services such as digital marketing, content creation and website development to help you digitize your business.
Learn more about our e-Commerce services and register for a FREE 30 minute consultation today. Don’t hesitate anymore – start selling online and reap the benefits of this ever-growing industry!
