How to Prepare for the Launch of Your New Online Store in 2021?

Starting an online store may seem like a daunting task, but when you break down the process, it becomes simple and manageable. Certainly, there are many factors to consider, but by taking the time necessary to develop your launch plan, you will gain in efficiency and speed. To successfully launch your e-commerce site, here is the list of actions to take.

Optimize your descriptions of product sheets

In e-commerce, the website is the basis of your brand. And like a house, weak foundations can cause problems later. This is why it is essential to optimize your sales site from the start. This process includes everything from web hosting to branding to search engine optimization for your e-commerce site.

There is a lot to consider. You have to think about the ease with which a potential customer can access your navigation bar, or the key phrases in your files that will help you appear on the first pages of Google results.

With the growing number of mobile consumers, you will also need to ensure the compatibility of your website with smartphones and tablets. A few small changes can improve the shopping experience. Product sheets are often overlooked when launching online stores , while this content should provide all the details of the product, preferably illustrated with an image.

Establish your shipping strategy

As with most e-commerce stores that sell physical products, delivery times are an essential part of your business success. If this concerns you, you must anticipate your delivery process to guarantee top quality service to your customers.

You must establish an efficient supply chain so that all your customers are delivered as soon as possible. To do this, you must answer the following questions:

• Which courier service will you choose to ship your products?
• What prices do you envisage for the selected courier?
• How will you manage the shipping costs?
• Are you going to process international orders?
• Are you going to take out transport insurance?
• What will your strategy for returns and refunds be?

Build your email address list

Email marketing remains one of the best ways to communicate with potential buyers and your loyal customers.

Communication is essential in customer relations. Email allows you to inform consumers about your latest products, your promotions, confirm the registration of their orders and track delivery. Likewise, mobile consumers will use their smartphones to access this information in real time. These online communication channels: emails, SMS, will help you create a close relationship with your customers and strengthen their loyalty.

But before delving into the intricacies of email marketing , such as segmenting and profiling users, your brand needs to start the customer relationship with basic content, the welcome email. This email is the first personalized contact inviting consumers to subscribe to your newsletter. It’s the friendly introduction to your brand.

Develop a promotion strategy

Brand new e-commerce stores face a daunting challenge when it comes to promoting incredible products and their businesses while they are not yet visible on the search engine results.

Promotion begins with knowing your audience. By knowing who your customers are, you can learn where and how they consume information. For example, if you sell puppy accessories, you may find that they read magazines about animals. Then, it will be possible to buy advertising space on the site of these magazines to connect to this particular audience.

Use social media

It’s time to socialize! Social media is one of the most economical ways to develop the visibility of your brand and meet your current or potential audience in its own territory. First you need to identify the platforms that your target markets are most likely to use and appreciate. For many e-commerce merchants, this means Facebook, Twitter…

You should also understand the basics of SEO and SEO in order to properly structure your e-commerce site and pages for Google and other search engines. It is also essential to define key performance indicators in order to monitor, once you have started, the effectiveness of your site and refine your strategy.

Having a good launch plan for your online store is essential to avoid the many problems that often affect businesses today. By implementing an effective strategy, your online business will experience the deserved success. So take the time to read our tips mentioned above and prepare for a memorable launch.

Set up an affiliate program

If you’re having trouble making sales and don’t have the budget to deploy an online sales force , consider setting up an affiliate program on your e-commerce store. Affiliates will be able to promote your products and earn a commission for each sale.

To set up an affiliate program, you will have to, among other things, generate a unique URL for each affiliate promoting your products . Affiliates will be able to share their link on social media, in a blog post featuring one of your products , or even in a YouTube video. With these personalized links, you will be able to track the sales generated by affiliates on your online store and pay them their commissions.

Announce the launch of your online store

There you go, The Big Day has arrived. Your online store is ready!

I remind you that you have a base of people who wish to be informed of the launch of your online store. Send them an email to warn them (it is not uncommon for these databases to “sleep” and that we forget to use them!).

I also remind you that you have worked well on your presence on the networks and that you have succeeded in attracting followers, Facebook fans, etc. Don’t forget to leave messages indicating that your online store has been launched. On the other hand, avoid doing it on forums or in blog comments. Forum members and blog readers may not like it.

Ah, I forgot. So far, other than your time, all these visitors have cost you nothing. Now that your store is online, it’s time to grab the wallet😉

So do not hesitate to launch a Google Adwords campaign in the days following the launch of your online store (the most far-sighted will have already prepared their Adwords campaigns before going online to be able to launch it on D-Day. ).
This will allow you to increase your flow of visitors and verify if your business model is viable .

Referral Marketing

Referral marketing, also known as word of mouth marketing, is one of the oldest forms of marketing in existence.

Referral marketing is all about getting people to talk about your brand and products in a way that generates sales and widens your reach.

Nowadays, it is possible to use the web to increase the effectiveness of word of mouth marketing. This not only helps to reach more people, but also makes it easier for people to share your content; while allowing you to follow its impact.

Conclusion

As you have seen in this article, you don’t have to wait until the day you launch your online store to worry about its promotion. You can (and should) think about it long before it goes live .

I have endeavored to present you techniques that are easy to implement and inexpensive or inexpensive. “Only” your time will have to be used (which is not bad enough, I admit). Don’t see this work as a waste of time, but for what it really is: a way to make your store successful… right from the start!