FOLLOW THIS CRITICAL FORMULA TO HELP ENSURE YOUR NEW ONLINE STORE IS A HOME RUN.
In 2017, online sales represented 13% of total retail sales in the United States, an astonishing 49% growth since 2011. As consumers continue to turn to the internet to buy products and services, a high-performance and user-friendly e-commerce website becomes even more critical than ever. If you are a business interested in expanding into – or revamping – an e-commerce website, here are the key strategic moves to make before you start building:
- Identify your business goals
- Determine how you will measure success
- Define user personas
- Develop a post-launch marketing strategy
Keep reading to learn more about each of these steps in the e-commerce website development process.
1. IDENTIFY YOUR BUSINESS GOALS
Before you begin designing your e-commerce website, first consider the measurable business goals you want to achieve, and develop your site with those in mind. Determining specific revenue and lead growth you want the new site to generate, for instance, can help ensure it contains the necessary foundational features to live up to your expectations.
2. DETERMINE HOW YOU WILL MEASURE SUCCESS
Setting business goals are one thing but knowing how you’ll measure them is quite another. Before venturing into web development, consider the tangible metrics you will use to track progress after your new e-commerce site is up and running. How will you know if your investment has been a success? Answering this question on the front-end can prevent you from dumping marketing dollars into a project that isn’t clear whether it’s delivering the returns you’re banking on, leading to an ultimate swing and a miss.
3. DEFINE USER PERSONAS
The next step in the process is to develop a user persona. A persona is a characterization of your target customers – who they are, what motivates them, and what they want to accomplish. Developing written fictional personas can help you gain insight into what makes your visitors tick so you can design an e-commerce website that resonates with them, complete with targeted funnels that quickly guide them to relevant information.
Learn more about website funnels – what they are and why they are important– here.
4. DEVELOP A DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
An integrated digital marketing strategy is like a comprehensive roadmap for using your new website to extend your brand and drive the traffic, leads, and sales to meet your goals. Complete with keyword research, conversion-minded website design, a custom mix of marketing tactics, and return forecast, this strategic move is a must before proceeding with any new web development project – e-commerce or not.
Find more reasons to have an integrated marketing strategy here.
Don’t make the mistake of diving head-first into an e-commerce website development project without considering these four strategic decisions beforehand. Commit to assessing the big picture from the get-go, and your efforts will be rewarded!
If you need help planning for your e-commerce website development project or would like to chat with our Madison-area digital marketing professionals about taking your website to the next level, contact us online or by phone at (608) 827-7800 today.
