A successful launch of an eCommerce platform is not enough for your online business to succeed. With the help of useful tactics, eCommerce can gain popularity in an online world. You must come up with ways of driving traffic to your site. Many businesses rely on SEO alone for traffic. While it is true that SEO provides great traffic for free, an eCommerce business has to take advantage and utilize other available channels for efficient multi–channel eCommerce.

Direct Traffic

Direct Traffic is when visitors to your site type into your URL directly. It also includes email marketing as well as affiliate marketing.

Paid Search

Paid search, as the name suggests, is where you pay an advertising fee to have your website search results shown in top placement on search engines results. It is based on ad views or a pay –per- click (PPC) basis.

Comparison Shopping Engines (CSE’s)

There are plenty of Comparison Shopping Engines that you can utilize to drive traffic to your site. Comparison Shopping Engines send your data to thousands of sites worldwide enable your eCommerce store to be seen everywhere. They range from free Google Product search and The Find.com to pay-per-click Comparison Shopping Engines like Shopping.com, Nextag, Shopzilla, among others.

Marketplaces

An online marketplace provides a forum where you can sell your products. The consumer transactions are handled by the marketplace while delivery and fulfillment are the responsibility of the participating retailers. Today, the leading marketplaces are Amazon and eBay.

Mobile

More and more people are using mobile phones to access online stores as compared to computers. It has become the default way of shopping online owing to its ability to use sophisticated web browsers and scanner applications. An online store should tap the huge market inherent in the ever growing channel.

Social Media

Social Media is growing fast and with it comes a ready market for selling online products. Online stores should take advantage of the channel so as to not only drive traffic to their website but also make sales from the platforms. Twitter and facebook are some of the most ranked social media platforms that should not be ignored by eCommerce stores.

After familiarizing you with the leading eCommerce channels, we now provide you with some excellent tips for the effective multi-channel approach:

Data analysis

An online store should analyze data so as to discover the behavior of users. Customer data can help you discover how your business will operate. The data also reveals which channels are bringing the desired traffic and so helps you to come up with a strategy for growth in the new regional market.

You cannot rely entirely on free traffic

While free traffic is great, an online store cannot depend on it entirely. Such a business strategy can slow down the growth of your store. Make use of other available channels so as to become competitive and tap significant traffic to your site for better conversion.

Diversification

In the modern online competitive environment, you cannot afford to rely only on one channel. Relying on only one channel, however big it may be would only mean that you are equally losing out on other opportunities that can precipitate the growth of your store. A good strategy would be one that combines several channels such eBay, Amazon, Google paid search, and SEO. You cannot also afford to do away with the mobile channel.

Portfolio of eCommerce channels

An online store should build a portfolio of eCommerce channels. Every eCommerce platform has its strengths and weaknesses. Some Marketplaces are good for sales while others might be useful for gaining new customers or for maintenance. Understanding the characteristics, strengths, and weaknesses of the channels will help you in deciding how to engage them for maximum benefits. That way, your store can minimize risks and maximize sales.

Put your Products everywhere

If you don’t distribute your products as wide as possible, you will lose the opportunity. Every customer uses an eCommerce channel of his preference to shop online. For instance, if you place your products on eBay, customers who shop on the eBay platform will have access to your products, but you will miss out on potential customers for the same product who prefer shopping on say Amazon. Therefore, it makes business sense to reach out to potential customers from all the available eCommerce channels.

Have an SSL certificate

An SSL Certificate is a must for every eCommerce store that provides checkout services. Customers are afraid of sharing confidential information with a website that is not secured. The SSL certificate provides the necessary encryption of user data and protects the data from hackers and other cyber criminals. Customers look out for the lock icon to identify an SSL secured eCommerce store and a green address bar for extended validation SSL certificate. You can get discounts and offers on SSL Certificate while purchasing.

Decrease overall margins

Reducing overall margins will enable you to price aggressively against your competition. Selling you products at affordable pricing will increase sales volume. If you have the more appealing offer online, it means that you will receive more orders and at the same time attract new customers thus increasing your profit.

Enhance customer experience

Learn from your clients and understand their needs. Providing a stellar customer experience will result to return customers. Having a presence on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook can play a significant role in connecting with your clients and also making your brand visible.

Integration with marketplace

Marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Playtrade, and many others provide an excellent opportunity for you to spread your products. They also allow you to create your store thus enabling you to gain access to millions of customers on their portal. You can also integrate different marketplaces store. Multi-Channel integration will save you time.

Make sure your business can be accessed through multiple channels and you’ll begin to see more customers stop by your site.