E-Commerce Store Alternatives Business Owners Can Try for Free

One of the major goal of every business is to grow both nationally and globally in order to attract a large customer base and make sales; but honestly, making sales is one of the most important thing; for me of course, and I am sure you agree.

Push aside the question of how you can grow your small business into a large business and focus more on strategies to grow your business, and how to expand your small business in order to get more customers.

Although, one of the questions we forget to ask ourselves is if our business can actually succeed in the international market. The international market is quite competitive, but easy to break into. Thinking your business will survive globally does not necessarily mean it will. That is why you need a new strategy.

If you truly want to expand your customer base globally, then you need to focus on your business strategy and the growth of your business such that it attracts more customers. Click here to find out you can start the process of taking your business globally.

Before you launch a new strategy, take a minute to ask yourself: “Will this attract customers who will pay for my products?” “Will this take my business globally?” “Will I use this strategy in the long run?” and most importantly, “How will this affect my business?”.

If you have positive answers to these questions then go ahead but if there are loopholes, then worry not because I have some effective ways with you can grow your business and get more customers.

1. Do You Know Your Customer Base?

You just cannot grow if you do not know your customer base.

An entrepreneur who sells kids clothing cannot market to teenagers because they are not the ideal customer base but, an entrepreneur who sells video games and markets to teenage boys is bound to make sales. And with the right tactics, can retain them as customers.

In a business, new/existing customers breathe life into a business. Imagine a business without customers; it certainly cannot grow because they keep your company running as your business is “for them”.

As such, you should know who your consumers are. Know who you are targeting, think about their pain point and find out how your products can make their lives better.

You should also avoid targeting everyone in the market and instead, narrow down your ideal customer. For example, imagine someone who sells iPhone cases targeting every phone user in the market when there are Samsung users, Techno users and so on. What if there are very few iPhone users in his locale? That means little or no business for him.

Few products interests a vast majority of people, and targeting everyone in the market will prevent you from making sales or even developing targeted strategies to attract customer. If you do not know your customer base then your business cannot grow because you will keep going after the wrong people.

2. Are You Making Use of Social Media?

Social media is such a powerful tool as it connects everyone around the world; making it the best place to reach a more global audience and market your products.

There are so many social networks to choose from. From Twitter to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Youtube, Reddit, Tumblr, etc, you can practically market your products on different channels and expand your bsiness.

Bellafricana personally makes use of different social networks like Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Twitter, with us also making use of IGtv on Instagram. If you have ever wondered how Bellafricana is always in everyone’s face, then you know now; because we use the power of social media.

In order to reap all the benefits of social media, make sure you are on all of the major platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat), and are constantly updating all your social media accounts on a daily basis so it reaches a wider audience.

You also need to find out which social media works best for your business so you can promote more there while still using the other accounts. For example, a lot of people have more followers and make most of their sales on Instagram; but it does not stop them from using other social networks.

The best part of social media is that it is easier to engage with prospective customers thus building trust between you and your customers. It also makes it very easy for people to talk about and share your products and services thus putting it in the eye of a wider audience.

You can as well consider social media ad which is another great way to reach a wider audience because you can target a specific audience of your choice and have your products seen by thousands or even millions of people around the world. The effect of social media on your brand cannot be over emphasized!

3. Do You Use Testimonials?

You cannot build trust if there are no testimonials from people either on your social media account or your website. For the purpose of advertising and promotion, quality testimonials showing past customers review of your products or services attracts customers who may just scroll past your page.

If customers do not come to you with their experiences, go to them, ask for their experiences and use it. For example, if you teach digital marketing, you want to gather all the reviews from your past students on your website so your business looks as credible as possible. Did your student make 3 million Naira from an ad in less than two weeks? Use it!

I own a skincare business on the side and whenever I get a review from a customer, one that is really good and credible, you better believe I will use that testimonial on my business page  to capture the attention of new customers and show people that my products are good.

Without testimonials your business is not likely to grow very fast so do not be humble about your accomplishments, post those testimonials and show the world what people have benefited/earned from doing business with you.

However, in the case where you own a website, where should you put testimonials? Well, you want to put it where people can easily see it. So it is best to put it on the product page or next to the product it mentions, and on your most popular page where everyone will see it.

4. Have You Created a Website?

Small businesses also need a website too. You are not likely to break into the global market if you are still operating your business on social media.

For the purpose of professionalism, owning a website/online store is just the way to go. Although, many people wonder how to grow their business online or what strategies they can use to grow their business. Click here to find out how you can grow your business online.

Thankfully now, almost everyone in the world owns a phone/laptop and can operate it. It has become much easier to search Google for what you need, which is where owning a website becomes useful as Google is likely to show websites in the search results than social media accounts.

For example, if you search for Natural Organic Products, Google is likely to bring out www.beautifullynappy.com/ where you can shop for any organic product you want. Skincare entrepreneurs who still operate on social media are not likely to have their social media pages come up in the search results when online stores/websites are taking over.

Most people now trust online stores compared to social media stores because it seems more credible. So if you want to expand your business globally, you should consider having an online store/website. Or you can consider selling on other international market places like Amazon, eBay, etc.

Your online store/website is like your personal billboard where you can advertise your products in order to ensure your products are in the public eye. And with the right SEO techniques, you can ensure your website and products rank well on search engines.