What is an e-commerce strategy? How to create one? Why is it important for every e-business?
Do you have an online store, a website, or perhaps you're active on social media or selling on marketplace platforms, but you're still not achieving the desired results? Your e-commerce strategy . Every entrepreneur starting or wanting to expand their online business should have one.
From the article below you will learn:
Not realizing how important an online store strategy is to your online store's success can be truly damaging. A lack of organization, a lack of goals, a lack of plans, and especially a lack of an e-commerce strategy negatively impact your business. Not to mention that an integral part of your new e-commerce strategy is a pre-prepared e-commerce audit , or so-called e-commerce analysis , which will tell you where you stand with your e-commerce today and, among other things, what your e-commerce strengths and weaknesses the opportunities and threats in your business environment. You can also—before you decide to spend money on a full and professional e-commerce audit —take advantage of the digital world's offerings and order a free e-commerce pre-audit . This is a simpler and much less comprehensive option, but it will already provide some answers about what's going wrong with your e-commerce, what needs to be done (preliminarily), and… that you probably need a full audit and a new e-commerce strategy .
What is an e-commerce strategy (online store strategy)?
An e-commerce strategy is nothing more than a comprehensive, coherent, and time-bound action plan that an organization creates to effectively and cost-effectively achieve its e-commerce goals. Typically, this goal is to achieve a certain level of online sales, but it can also involve acquiring new customers or increasing brand loyalty (which, in turn, translates into sales, and therefore, profits). An e-commerce strategy encompasses many aspects of online business. In short, a properly prepared e-commerce strategy lays the foundation for success in the online market .
If you own an online store but it's not delivering the desired results, or you're just considering starting a new e-commerce business, contact us and we'll definitely clear up all your doubts about e-business and help you achieve your goals .
How to create an e-commerce strategy?
To create a complete and effective e-commerce strategy, several steps must be taken. The first and most important step is to analyze the current situation — where we are now , where your e-commerce stands . Objectively, you need to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your online business, and it's worth considering the opportunities and threats to your e-commerce. The best solution here is a professional e-commerce audit , which will tell you where your e-commerce stands today .
The next, equally crucial element is market analysis: understanding your competitors' activities ( competitive analysis ), customer in the online channel , analyzing existing online sales channels , traffic sources, and the entire online business environment will help you determine the direction your business should take. It's a lot of work, isn't it?
The digital world understands this perfectly, but not everyone is up to date with the latest trends or has the necessary experience in the challenge of e-commerce strategy. And this is precisely the purpose of our existence and work – we help companies just starting their e-business journey, as well as those that have stalled or found the wrong advisors, "thanks" to whom they spent a lot of money and time, yet saw no results.
Write to us – it costs nothing, we will talk without obligation and we will also present a simple, yet interesting e-commerce pre-audit .
The next step is to define the target group, i.e. potential customers of your online store, and then we will focus on the more technical aspects of the strategy: selecting the right sales channels , selecting and implementing the necessary technologies , helping with logistics , and other key topics.
Let's not forget that the market is changing rapidly, and the e-commerce market is changing at a dizzying pace. Therefore, it's important to stay abreast of the latest e-commerce trends . And in the e-commerce industry, trends emerge and change frequently and quickly (just think of Google's search algorithm). Besides, you've surely heard of content marketing , SEO , and positioning . These are fundamental tools for increasing the visibility of your e-commerce and generating organic traffic to your store.
By working with us, you can be sure that we will regularly inform you about the results and effects of strategy implementation , thanks to which we will be able to identify errors and find solutions.
Why is an e-commerce strategy essential for an online store?
An e-commerce strategy is important and essential, as with any endeavor. It ensures you have a plan , tools , and a timeline for achieving your goals, and especially ensures you can allocate your (always limited) resources appropriately. In addition to being essential for effective operation in today's competitive e-business world, an e-commerce strategy will also provide you with:
- lower costs with better results,
- better customer service;
- increasing online visibility;
- developing your brand and awareness of your brand online;
- data analysis (online business generates huge amounts of data);
- increasing loyalty among your customers;
- security of your and your customers' data;
- the ability to reach international markets more easily (if, of course, it makes strategic sense).
What is the importance of segmentation, sales channel diversification and traffic source diversification for e-commerce?
When creating an e-commerce strategy, let's not forget about market segmentation , which will help you focus on specific customer groups, allowing you to better understand them and tailor your offerings, marketing activities, and communications. Segmentation also helps personalize and hyper-personalize the shopping experience, optimize strategies, and manage resources . This will save you both time and money.
Furthermore, identifying and implementing various traffic sources . They are a key element of e-commerce strategy, as they increase the visibility of your online store and attract potential customers . It's quite simple math: more traffic sources—also safer, higher sales, and a wider selection of the most profitable traffic. Effective use of diverse traffic sources will translate into greater brand awareness, increased website traffic, and conversions. As an e-commerce consultant, we will also monitor and optimize them to effectively build your online presence and grow your e-commerce business .
Why is sales channel diversification important? Firstly, it can be assumed that diversification should always be present in any business or e-business strategy, from the perspective of business security . Because, rhetorically speaking, isn't a table with four legs more stable than a table with three? Of course, the challenge is reconciling our limited resources with excessive diversification. Secondly, e-commerce, due to the nature of this business model, is always about scaling :
- there are no limits to the offer,
- there are no limits on the number of clients,
- there are no restrictions on sales,
- there are no geographical restrictions etc.
- there are practically no limits at all
- only our resources are limited.
thirdly, when it comes to the diversification of sales channels, multichannel , which have repeatedly proven their effectiveness (safer, more; larger scale = higher sales).
On the other hand, we have omnichannel , meaning that our potential customer enters today via phone, tomorrow via laptop, and the day after that, they might visit our brick-and-mortar store to ultimately purchase our product. We want to maintain their experience at a similarly high level, and we also want to know that this is the specific customer. It's worth being aware of this and incorporating it into your strategy.
E-commerce strategy for an online store – Summary
An e-commerce strategy is a key element of success in the world of online commerce . It's a comprehensive action plan that includes market, competitive, and customer analysis, aimed at achieving your goals. An e-commerce strategy not only ensures operational efficiency, improved customer service, and brand development, but also allows you to focus on specific customer groups through market segmentation. Furthermore, identifying diverse traffic sources, such as search engines, paid advertising, and social media, is crucial for generating visibility, attracting customers, and increasing conversions. By working with professionals like Digital World, you can effectively develop and implement an e-commerce strategy, which translates into success, customer loyalty, and company growth in the competitive e-commerce market.
Marcin Stadnik
e-commerce advisor
The author is a manager with extensive experience in e-commerce, sales strategy, and content marketing. He is a digital practitioner and consultant with over 15 years of experience in e-commerce projects, sales strategy, and online business development, as well as 25 years of experience in broadly defined distribution (offline and online). He specializes in creating and implementing effective solutions for online stores, supporting companies in developing their digital presence. He co-creates appropriate strategies for e-businesses, conducts audits, and oversees marketing activities—always combining analytical knowledge with market practice. He is the author and co-author of content published on the swiatcyfrowy.pl website—based on his many years of consulting, analytical, and operational experience. The materials created are intended to provide reliable, valuable knowledge that truly supports the development of online businesses. The content here is designed to address the real challenges and needs of companies operating in the e-commerce environment (the digital world).
