It’s no secret that eCommerce is an integral part of the global retail industry. As more companies move online, it’s important to move into new markets to help your business grow and find new customers. There are more options than ever, so it’s critical that customers know you exist.
If your existing and established eCommerce business has hit a plateau, you need to take the necessary steps to grow and move your enterprise into the future.
When scaling an eCommerce business, there are many different approaches and directions you can go to grow at a rate that works for your business. Do you know the areas of your business that are ready to expand? Are you certain you’re ready to boost your business and increase your pace to meet the consumer demand?
If you’re ready to take your eCommerce business to the next level and grow to meet customer demands, you’re in the right place! We will help you discover steps you can take and provide you with ideas you can use to scale your business.
Read on for a step-by-step plan you can put in place to keep you on track towards your goals.
What to Consider Before Scaling an Ecommerce Business
While it’s vital in business to have ambition, it’s also crucial that you make the right moves for your business at the right time to avoid failure. When you start expanding your reach, you may encounter new global and environmental concerns.
That said, you should consider these five factors to help you create a scaling plan that will work well for your eCommerce business!
1. Available Resources
Do you have the people, products, and technology required to scale your business effectively? If you’re already stretched thin, identify the right places to shift your budget to ensure you can effectively meet your business shifts.
The three questions to ask about your resources are:
- Should you outsource certain functions like marketing, design, and translations?
- Is it better to continue manufacturing and distributing at your existing locations, or should you move close to your new market?
- Can your technology stack pace with increased transactions and track data across different channels?
2. Laws and Regulations
While most products are legally permitted to be sold across borders, there will be some restrictions as you spread into new markets. How you move and store your goods, and any certifications, fees, and licenses should be checked to keep things legal.
3. Language and Cultural Considerations
Most countries worldwide know English as a second language, but it’s still good practice to translate your marketing campaigns and content into their language. To avoid issues, hire professional services to help you connect with your audience and avoid cultural sensitivities.
4. Pricing Strategies and Existing Competition
Anytime you open your business into a new market, there will likely be an existing business serving that area with specific pricing. Take the time to understand your competitors’ pricing and how you can adjust yours to be competitive for new customers.
Study different companies’ marketing strategies, social media presences, and learn how the community feels about them. Then, identify any gaps in the industry that your business can fill and focus on what makes you unique. Scaling an online business can be easy when you look at your existing competition to see what works!
5. Communication and Marketing
As your brand expands, so will your customer base. You will have new opportunities to market your brand, try out social media campaigns, and find the best way to connect with your new audience. While expansion can lead to issues like language barriers and time zones, you can implement a plan that addresses all your needs.
If you’re stuck in a marketing rut, you may find that expansion is complicated. Still, as digital marketing trends shift and expand with people turning to the internet to grow their businesses, there will always be a new feature you can explore!
How to Scale an eCommerce Business
Learning how to scale a business, eCommerce or otherwise, can be overwhelming. You should consider many factors, and depending on which regions you expand into, your particular struggle may vary!
Once you’re ready to go, these steps can help you stay focused on the details so your business grows at the rate you can easily manage.
Step One: Consolidate Resources and Capital
If you need an Instant Advance to help you grow and meet your immediate needs, start here to ensure you have the resources to scale your business. Whatever your specific hold-ups are, securing capital ahead of time will help you move forward to reach your goals!
Don’t let limited funds hold you back from reaching your goals. Seek out the proper support and funding options to help you effectively manage your business and scale it into the markets that need what you have to offer the most.
Step Two: Platform Updates
Before you start directing more traffic to your site, take some time to upgrade your website’s content and build to ensure it can handle the influx of traffic. Use an enterprise eCommerce platform that will give you the ability to adapt when necessary.
They offer scaling options, built-in traffic and sales tools, and a dedicated team that will help you achieve success.
Your website is often the only first impression new customers will have of your brand. Take the time to keep it updated and make sure it can keep up with the demands of the market and can help you achieve success.
Step Three: Identify New Marketing Channels
Where is your business currently advertising your brand and products to your target audience? What marketing channels work for your newly expanded audience, and how do you manage multiple marketing strategies as you expand your reach? Starting with an overview of what you have in place and where you want to go can help you move forward.
Having a plan in place ahead of your growth can help you make the right moves at the right time. If you fail to start advertising to your new target audience, your brand will likely fade into the background. So take the time to let your new audience know you exist and what you have to offer them.
Step Four: Sell on Marketplaces
Online marketplaces offer similar products from many different sellers in one place. Common options are Amazon’s Online Platform, eBay, Walmart, and Etsy. Depending on your products and pricing, each of these options has different pros and cons you should review before deciding which is right for your business.
Moving into an online marketplace is generally something most established eCommerce businesses can do easily. They offer existing customers and boost your likelihood of conversion. Once you’ve identified which marketplace is the right fit for your business, the marketplace will generally walk you through getting set up as a vendor.
Step Five: Invest in Additional Inventory
Increased conversions will mean that you need to secure extra inventory to meet your customers’ demands. Securing extra merchandise may require you to take steps to boost your inventory management to avoid selling out or failing your growing customer demand.
Making the right moves here can help you grow at a manageable rate and closely monitor your business’s critical functioning pieces as it grows. What products are selling out the most and which product pages receive the most traffic? By closely monitoring these details, you can see trends in the data to help you make the right shifts in your inventory.
Where to Start
Have you looked through the consideration to verify that your business is ready to grow? Have you identified new markets you want to expand towards and new target audiences that need your products? Do you know the best way to reach them, and do you have the resources to meet and surpass their expectations?
Make sure you have the proper resources and cash flow to fund your business goals and access your marketplace payouts. Then, update your site to ensure it can pace with more traffic and an increase in transactions. It’s critical that you always make a positive first impression on your potential customers.
Don’t let a business plateau stop your business growth or hold you back from reaching your ultimate goals. Take the proper steps to ensure you’re prepared to make the change, and then stretch your business’s wings to take you to new heights!
Scaling an eCommerce business starts with taking the steps necessary to expand your business. Then, you need to shape the process to suit your needs and see what else the future of eCommerce can offer your business.
