eCommerce sales have been trending up for years, and now they are skyrocketing as the world practices social distancing. If your business is selling goods or services, there has never been a better time to adopt and eCommerce platform and online sales strategy. Here’s 7 steps to get started with eCommerce:

1. Choose a platform

There are numerous eCommerce platforms that require little coding knowledge to setup, plug-in your products, and begin earning online sales. Here’s the top platforms that we use at Scout Digital:

• WooCommerce – WooCommerce is a customizable, open-source eCommerce platform built on WordPress.
• Shopify – One platform with all the eCommerce and point of sale features you need to start, run, and grow your business.
• Magento – eCommerce rich out-of-the-box features, customization and seamless third-party integrations.
• Amazon – Sell directly through Amazon’s eCommerce platform and take advantage of the built-in fulfillment services.

2. Communicate your offering

Sell successfully online with a clear, attractive, and engaging user experience. Inform and delight your visitors, then guide them seamlessly to the products most relevant to their needs or interests. Here’s a few points to consider:

• Start with great, concise messaging tat clarifies the who, what and why of your business
• Categorize your products by type, theme, size, color and/or benefit
• Connect similar products for cross-sell opportunities
• Include fan testimonials and a human story around your leadership and team members

3. Set up product pages

Create a product display page (PDP) for each of your products. This page is intended to show off 1 product at a time in its full glory, and encourage a purchase. A PDP often includes the following elements:

• Multiple product photos
• Detailed product description
• Ratings and reviews from real customers
• Links to additional products of interest (up-sell)
• Check out button and call to action (CTA)

4. Offer a valuable incentive

Who doesn’t love a deal? Increase your sales by offering free shipping above a certain threshold, or a 10% off coupon.

5. Choose your method of payment

The easiest approach is to link your eCommerce to Paypal, however there are numerous payment gateways to consider based on your platform of choice, and personal preferences. At Scout Digital we like Paypal because the transaction fees are industry standard and you can accept both credit and debit cards. Your customers can also link straight to their Paypal accounts to fulfill a purchase through your eCommerce store.

6. Connect to a fulfillment center

Get your physical goods into the hands of your customers by linking your inventory to a fulfillment center that will ship your product when you receive a purchase. Fulfillment is typically integrated into the eCommerce platform of your choice. For WooCommerce, your store can integrate with top-of-the-line services like ShipStation, ShippingEasy, Fulfillment By Amazon and more.

7. Sell, test, and optimize

Once your eCommerce store is setup and ready for business, study the data every week. What’s selling and what isn’t? Look at the trends and adjust your sales messaging, descriptions, photos, and even pricing to improve harmony with your customers. Test new incentives, and solicit reviews from your best fans.

About Scout Digital

At Scout Digital we build beautiful online experiences and powerful marketing programs to help our clients solve challenges and realize opportunities. We believe that the most engaging brands are storytellers, and we develop narratives to help you foster meaningful connections with your customers.