How To Start an Online Store with Shopify

If you have just created your Shopify store or if you are looking to give a boost cost to your e-commerce site, you have come to the right place! Before hiring the best Shopify Agency, take your time and go through this post. With our experience, here are our ten practical tips to make your e-commerce site a real success.

STEP 1: CONFIGURE YOUR ONLINE STORE 

There are tons of Shopify Themes that will help you achieve these goals.

WRITE AN EFFECTIVE PRODUCT SHEET

You have certainly opened your online store on Shopify for its ease of use. Although the majority of templates help you build a relevant product sheet, there are a few things you should know for yourself. An effective product sheet must answer all the questions that a buyer can ask himself: the dimensions of the article, the uses that can be made of it, advice and examples of use. Do not be stingy with information! The more details you share, the more you will be able to convince your buyer to take action.

Do not forget to clearly display the price, delivery and return conditions on your product sheets. Your buyer should not have any unpleasant surprises at the time of payment.

ILLUSTRATE YOUR STORE WITH ATTRACTIVE IMAGES

Over 75% of online shoppers say that photos have a big influence on their buying decision. To encourage your visitor to purchase from your Shopify store, you must favor the beautiful visuals with photos of your product in the situation as well as photos of the details. Your customer can neither touch nor try your article, the purpose of the images is, therefore, to allow him to imagine it.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT CALL-TO-ACTION TO CONVERT

The call-to-action (CTA) as its name suggests, is a button that should encourage the visitor to learn more and then to purchase. Your Shopify store must have several that indicate to the visitor the path to follow to finalize a purchase. It is your famous button "Add to cart" but also your promotional banners. It's up to you to find and test what makes your visitors react. Depending on your target and your graphic charter, the color, shape, and text of your CTA will be different. 

STEP 2: CREATE A COMMUNITY THAT FOLLOWS YOU

OPEN A BLOG TO IMPROVE SEO

Adding a blog to your online store will allow you to attract organic and free traffic by sharing your content on your social networks. The more relevant your blog articles are to your target, the more they will be shared, and so you will increase the number of your visitors. But the blog will also allow you to be more visible on search engines. By regularly publishing new articles, you will develop your keywords and go up in Google searches. Be careful, and it is better to have a blog that has a niche audience than articles that cover all subjects. You have to adapt to your market to attract your audience while standing out from the competition.

SHARE YOUR HIGHLIGHTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA 

Social media complements the blog and is a great way to interact with your community. You can open an account on Facebook, Instagram and / or Pinterest to develop your brand image and connect with your audience. For example, you could use Pinterest to share your inspiration boards, Instagram stories to film your office life, and Facebook to share your blog posts and tell more about it in words. It's up to you to see which social networks are used by your customers. 

USE INFLUENCERS TO BUILD YOUR BRAND

To quickly increase your visibility and reach a wider audience, it is important to collaborate with brands that already have a reputation. Look for complementary products to yours and propose joint actions such as the co-creation of an event, a product or simply the loan of a product for shooting, for example. You can also partner with influencers who will promote your brand and products to their communities. This is called influencer marketing. Your online store is gaining visibility but also in traffic (and therefore better referencing).

STEP 3: ADVERTISE TO ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS

DISCOVER THE POWER OF GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK ADS

Your community is essential to increase traffic to your online store organically. The people who follow you regularly are your future buyers and the first to speak about your brand by word of mouth. However, this activity is mostly free but time-consuming. To reach a wider audience, faster, you can get into advertising. There are two types of campaigns to run: to Google to target Internet users who are looking for a product and/or advertising on social networks to make an audience want to buy. To gain SEO, Google Adwords is your first ally. By choosing the right keywords for your product and your target, you will appear in the first results of Google. You can complete these campaigns by promoting your products via Facebook Ads (also visible on Instagram) which will allow you to attract a very well-targeted audience. To give you an idea of the numbers, Google and Facebook represent 78% of the global online advertising market.

LAUNCH A PRESS RELATIONS CAMPAIGN

Although you sell (only) online, the paper and digital media are an excellent communication relay when you launch your e-commerce site. The press has an aura of credibility that you cannot achieve with advertising. 

SEND A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER TO YOUR AUDIENCE

The press and social networks are tools to attract new targets to your online store. But once you catch the eye, how do you turn them into a buyer? This is the objective of email marketing: pushing information regularly to your audience to make them want to come back to your e-commerce site and make a purchase. The monthly newsletter is a great way to inform your audience of the latest news and news from your online store. The important thing is to capture the interest of your reader by sharing the information that will please him. As with social media, the more you know your target, the more impactful your message will be. Do not hesitate to create a newsletter for your prospects which are different from your customers.

STEP 4: INCREASE CONVERSIONS WITH CUSTOMER REVIEWS

85% of internet users consult customer reviews before buying online. Above all, the ratings of your customers are intended to reassure consumers that they are making the right choice when ordering from your online store. Your customers are happy, so why not them? By highlighting positive reviews from your buyers, you can increase your conversion rate by 25%. In addition, your customers will leave comments on your products that you have not thought of, such as talking about a new use or sharing an experience. The ideal is to allow your customers to evaluate each article and to highlight these comments on the product sheets. You can even go further and invite your buyers to share their photos of their purchases in a situation of use. Customer reviews are also a great tool to improve your SEO. Google takes this into account, and they can save you places on local searches.

STEP 5: CREATE A CHECKOUT PAGE PERCUSSIVE

SIMPLIFY YOUR PAYMENT PROCESS

Buying online is a stress for the consumer. He cannot try your product, and if he wants to exchange it, he knows that it will require more effort than a store purchase. To convince your buyer to finalize their purchase, simplify their work. You can, for example, create on your Shopify store, a single payment page with the objective that your customer finalizes his purchase in 3 clicks. Proposing a purchase without creating an account is a great way to increase the conversion, but in this case, you do not give your customers the opportunity to return to your store to follow the progress of their order. Feel free to test different checkout pages to find the process that best fits your audience. 

OFFER THE MOST POPULAR PAYMENT METHODS

This is the most important in your conversion funnel, you must offer several payment methods and above all, adapt to suit your customers. The credit card is, of course, favored by more than 70% of European consumers, but you must adapt to your target. With mobile shopping experiencing exponential growth in recent years, it is important to adapt your store by offering a 100% mobile payment option. If you sell in the United States, don't forget PayPal or Apple Pay. In the Netherlands and Germany, iDEAL is an essential payment method.

STEP 6: SET UP FOOLPROOF CUSTOMER SERVICE

BE AVAILABLE TO YOUR BUYERS

Whether before the purchase or for after-sales service, you have to listen to your buyers. When you start your online store, few people know you, and you often have to make room for yourself in the face of the competition. An essential point to stand out is to offer your customers a fluid and friendly shopping experience from the first steps on your site to deliver by hand. 

WRITE AN EFFECTIVE FAQ

To increase your conversions, you have to convince people that your products meet their needs. For this, nothing beats an efficient, Frequently Asked Questions to answer all the questions of your buyers. To write it, start by collecting the first feedback from your prospects and repeat the questions that are asked. Do not think that questions are a hindrance to buying. On the contrary! By promoting transparent communication, you reassure your internet users and increase conversions.

USE A CHATBOT WHEN YOU ARE AWAY

The consumer is more and more used to receiving an immediate answer to their questions. In addition to your FAQ, if you want to set up more efficient customer service, the chatbot is your best ally. 88% of buyers appreciate extended time slots to contact an online store. The chatbot will allow you to have customer service accessible 24/24 and 7 days a week, thanks to the automation of responses. Based on your customer data, the chatbot will instantly cross-check the available information and provide a tailor-made response to your buyers' requests.

STEP 7: USE DELIVERY AS A MARKETING LEVER 

SUGGEST YOUR CUSTOMERS' PREFERRED DELIVERY METHODS 

Note that 45% of consumers have already abandoned a shopping cart due to unsatisfactory delivery options. Don't fall into this trap! In the US, it has three delivery methods favored by consumers: 1. Home delivery: whether at the office or at home, Internet users first choose this delivery method, especially if it is free.
2. Relay point delivery: for shops that do not offer delivery charges, relay points are an excellent alternative. Cheaper than home delivery, it also gives customers more autonomy to recover their package.

3. Express delivery: this is the preferred delivery method for international customers who wish to receive their package as quickly as a local order.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF PACKAGE TRACKING TO SELL MORE

A loyal customer costs seven times less than the acquisition. Take the necessary steps to stay in contact with your buyer from taking orders to delivery and no longer let your carriers take care of package tracking. Automatic package tracking emails can be a great opportunity to continue communicating with your customers. You can use a tool like Sendcloud to provide your customers with a personalized package tracking page in your brand colors where you can also integrate your Instagram feed or advertising inserts to make your customers want to come back to place an order on your Online Store.

STEP 8: CONVERT YOUR BUYERS INTO LOYAL CUSTOMERS WITH RETURNS

OPTIMIZE YOUR RETURN POLICY

Managing return is a real cost for all online stores. Each return costs an average of € 12.50 to an e-merchant. To combat this scourge, your strategy involves three elements: 1. Propose a simple return policy to increase turnover 2. Reduce the number of returns by helping customers choose the right product 3. Optimizing the return process to reduce overall costs Your e-commerce site must highlight your return policy because 3 out of 4 consumers read and compare the return conditions of different online stores before placing an order. You can also extend the return period to reassure your customers. By allowing its customers to return a product within 365 days, Ikea has seen its return rate drop.

STEP 9: DEFINE YOUR KPIS AND TRACK YOUR GROWTH

DEFINE YOUR PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

KPIs (or performance indicators) should help you understand how to improve the competitiveness of your e-commerce site and the actions to be implemented. When launching your Shopify online store, 3 KPIs are to be preferred: 1. The engagement of your visitors: By following the number of sessions, the source of your traffic and the average duration of a surfer on your e-commerce site, you will then be able to reproduce good practices. 2. Conversion rate: How many visitors order? How many visits does your customer buy? What is his average basket? These questions will allow you to analyze the purchasing behavior of your customers in order to replicate the formula that works best. 3. Customer loyalty: By analyzing repeat orders, the profile of these customers and their frequency of purchase, you can determine what leads your customers to be loyal to your online store.

LEARN HOW TO USE GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Google Analytics is an essential tool to increase the traffic of your online store. The data provided by the Google application will allow you to improve the user experience and boost your sales. That's not all, and Google Analytics can also help you optimize your SEO. By following the positioning of each of your pages on the search engine, you will be able to optimize the less efficient ones in order to go back to the first results of Google.

STEP 10: PLUGINS TO HELP YOU

Launching your Shopify store is a marathon that requires time and adequate tools. To help you a little more, here is a selection of modules that you will find on the Shopify marketplace to boost the performance of your e-commerce site in addition to Shopify Themes: 1. Photo Resize by Pixc to create the most beautiful visuals automatically. 2. Langify to quickly translate your online store. 3. Product Reviews to display reviews and comments from your customers. 4. Shogun Landing Page Builder to easily customize all the pages of your online store. 5. Sticky Add To Cart to clearly display your basket and encourage your visitors to place an order. 6. Back In Stock to inform your buyers of a product back in stock. 7. PushOwl to send personalized notifications to your prospects. 8. Tidio Live Chat to set up a chatbot and improve your customer service. 9. Soundcloud to optimize your delivery and return processes. 10. Smile-io to create a simple and effective loyalty program.