As per the research report of Statista, the global retail sale of e-commerce is likely to touch $653 billion this year. When you are a novice in such a humongous market, where big sharks of digital commerce have indomitable domination already, getting noticed is a tough ask. Eventually, in order to create an online store, mere upload of best visuals of products and adding product videos, though effective tactics that might as well elicit interest among your users, nevertheless, that is not enough, writes Deepak Agarwal, Co-Founder of DesiClick.com in Entrepreneur.com. You need to look beyond that to drive people to your e-commerce site and build a community around your business. It helps you gather a following and open various channels of communication with them. Agarwal gives few tips which you can follow to build your business' community.Define Your BusinessAgarwal writes that before embarking on building a community around the business, that the aspiring e-commerce business, one needs to know the nature of the business, what does the business stand for, how is it different from other such businesses in a similar space and most importantly what type of people one wants as part of business' community. After identifying these aspects, one can progress to the next level.Connecting with communityOnce you have identified your audience, you can find the right means to connect with them. You can choose the right platform based on the size of your audience, how they prefer to engage and your budgetary allocation. You can start small and test the various platforms to see how they engage. As the numbers grow, you will be able to choose the best platform that suits your requirements, the author writes.
Focus on Community-specific Products and ContentAgarwal writes that always one needs to create an e-commerce strategy keeping target customers in mind. “To get the best results, you need to understand the culture and traditions of your buyers. Include products, services, and offers that revolve around these traditions. Consider including country-specific content, language, currency and so forth to make the shopping process easier for cross-border consumers”, he continues.Consistent Approach Towards Building AwarenessFocus on creating authentic relationships with your target audience rather than building numbers. Their engagement is what will help you build awareness about your business. For instance, if they find a product interesting, they might like it, share it or comment on it. Also, you should be up-to-date on everything that's happening in your space and what your competitors are up to. If you are aware of what's happening in the market, it will be easier for you to educate your customers and convince them on why your product/service is best-suited for them, he argues.Make Your Online Shopping SocialSocial media channels lend a helping hand in building engagement with prospective and present customers. You can use social media to support social interaction, and user contributions to assist online buying and selling and this way, your users feel connected with the community and can seek their support for not just buying but other needs as well. In fact, many e-commerce platforms offer the option for social interaction and buying on the same portal so that users do not have to get into the hassle of maintaining too many apps, he points out.Happy Customers, Happy BusinessesOne thing you should always keep in mind is that customer satisfaction is what matters the most. If you can create an awesome shopping experience for buyers, they will share their experience with others and this can, in turn, get more people interested in shopping form your site. You can leverage the power of social media to get your users to share their experiences, Agarwal concludes.