Top 10 Things to Focus on in Your Ecommerce Business

priorityAre you spending more time pondering than executing your ecommerce plans? We all know that time is money and we have to spend it wisely. Of course, planning is critical in growing an online store, but you are doing it wrong if:

  • You’ve already spent a … lifetime … thinking of whether of not you should acquire a new commercial property.
  • You want to solve every problem on your own instead of delegating them to your team, thus, spreading yourself too thin.
  • You always want to dive into a new business opportunity without a clear direction on where or how to start.
  • You aren’t finished with the projects that you’ve already started, and you want to start on a new one.

It’s very easy to get lost in a dream and think about your next big step. However, without tangible goals and concrete actions, everything would be pointless and a complete waste of time.

So for the year 2014, consider to pay a laser-sharp focus on the following areas of your ecommerce business:

  1. Comprehensive Plan – Spending too much time on planning can be a stumbling block, but not making a plan is also dangerous. The key is to set a specific amount of time so you don’t get stuck in it. Write down your goals for each quarter of the year. Create metrics and actionable steps to materialize your plans.
  2. Social Media – Customers (regardless of gender, age, and economic status) are always online. Give more of your time to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram. Regular updates and fresh content like videos of your products/services are a great way to attract more customers.
  3. Dive into Amazon, Etsy, etc. – Trustworthy marketplaces offer a great platform for distributing your products. Consumers trust these websites. This is an opportunity for online retailers like you to generate additional sales.
  4. Streamline Product Offering – If the average page view is let’s say 5-10, then having 60,000 SKUs isn’t that helpful because the user is not going to look at all those pages. Having a smaller selection but a highly edited one forces the retailer to really understand what their customers want and are looking for.
  5. SEO and Conversion – It may be harder to rank these days and even harder to get links, but having good content is still very important. This will never change and will always remain a top priority to have useful information that helps your customers to buy from you.
  6. Network with Like Minded People – Get connected with entrepreneurs who share similar interests and goals. Attend a seminar or a business conference where you can learn new methods or opportunities to grow your ecommerce store.
  7. Hire Employees – You shouldn’t focus on menial tasks. Your time is best spent on areas that will help you make more money. Hire or outsource someone to take care of responsibilities that you can no longer handle. If necessary, implement a sales department to build more sales and manage inventory.
  8. Launch a New Product Line – Don’t hesitate to gear towards releasing a new product/service because customers always want to try something new. Having your own proprietary products can give you a competitive edge against your competitors.
  9. Order Processing Automation – If your ecommerce business is still using a traditional fulfillment processing, it’s high time to remove all manual touch points. Look for a system that will meet customers’ demands and will also help augment your sales.
  10. Finish Projects You’ve Already Started – I know you have 20 projects going and you still have plenty of business ideas in mind. However, it is imperative to decide which one is your top priority. It is really cool if you can handle several business ventures at the same time, but it’s also very easy to get stuck on one and lose time and energy for what must be prioritized.

2014 is definitely going to be an exciting year for ecommerce entrepreneurs as the industry is continuously growing and becoming more profitable than ever. My advice is to find better solutions to accommodate mobile customers and to exert more efforts in marketing. Finally, stay focused and committed to your business goals.

Written by: Shirley Tan

FREE TRAINING

Start Getting More Repeat Business Today!
START NOW

Sign up for notification of our special offers and training schedules.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Does Your Marketing Plan Suck?

A Little? OR A LOT?

And how much better would it be if we fixed it?

Learn More