Article by: Cherie Mclaughlin

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Ecommerce, which was once a luxury, quickly became a necessity during the pandemic. The ability to make products and services available online was a saving grace for small businesses that were forced to close to walk-in traffic. At the same time, the priority given to ecommerce upgrades enabled customers to access an incredible variety of goods and services from the safety of home.

The ecommerce trend is only going to grow in the years to come, and small businesses that shifted online during the pandemic are in a great position to thrive in the new era of online shopping. Now is the time to invest in upgrades that will set you apart from your competition and help you get ahead! Digital marketing and branding companies like My CreativePixel have a lot to offer small business owners still getting their bearings in the world of ecommerce. Let’s explore some effective ways to optimize your online presence today!

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Modernize Your Business Back End

The back end of your business — the side that’s hidden from your clients — is easy to neglect. It’s not always obvious when outdated administrative processes are holding you back, and it can be hard to invest money in improvements that don’t directly benefit your customers. But upgrading your business back end can have a very positive impact on your bottom line.

Streamlining time-consuming processes like accounting, HR, payroll, and inventory tracking can free up several hours every week — hours better spent elsewhere! Small business owners have access to countless tools to optimize nearly every daily administrative task.

For example, ditching your spreadsheets and investing in an online payroll system will boost profits, cut costs, simplify team management, and help you avoid errors in manual calculations. Look for an all-in-one payroll system that includes integrated time-tracking software, employee scheduling, and real-time reporting to make your life as easy as possible.

Move Your Product Online

If you haven’t already, now is the time to make your product or service available online. You will need a couple of basic ecommerce tools to get started. The first is an ecommerce platform on which to build your online store. This platform should be able to handle online transactions, track inventory, and serve as your customer-facing online storefront. Some popular ecommerce platforms include Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Squarespace. Each platform has its pros and cons, so you’ll have to do some research to find the best solution for your business.

Once you have an ecommerce website up and running, you will need to gather a few other ecommerce tools to round out your digital arsenal.For example, customer relationship management (CRM) software offers a centralized location for all of your customer-related information. CRM tools enable business owners to interact with customers as they move through the sales funnel to optimize conversions and encourage high retention rates.

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Pay Attention to SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is all about increasing your brand’s visibility online and generating organic search traffic to your website. While SEO is an incredibly important marketing tactic, TheManifest reports that only 49% of small businesses invest in SEO to improve the online visibility of their websites. Thankfully, making SEO improvements isn’t as complicated as it may sound. You can find plenty of in-depth guides that will walk you through the process of optimizing your website for search engines to ensure that your target audience can find your business online.

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Monitor Your Analytics

Analytics is another important element of ecommerce that small business owners often overlook. Once you start getting visitors to your website, you will have access to an incredible amount of data that you can use to drive marketing decisions and optimize your website. But it’s not quite so simple in practice. If you’ve ever opened your Google Analytics account and felt completely overwhelmed, you’re not alone. There’s a lot of information there! Take some time to learn how to sift through all those reports to gain valuable insights from your data. Again, you’ll find many helpful articles and how-to videos online!

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Get Active on Social Media

Engaging with consumers on social media is one of the best ways to connect with your online audience and boost your brand reputation. SocialMediaToday explains that social media will continue to play an important role in marketing as we enter the post-coronavirus era. The COVID-19 crisis did a great job of illuminating the adaptability and engagement offered by social platforms like Instagram and Facebook. To make the most of these marketing avenues, post only authentic content that offers real value to your audience. Use your social channels to reveal the human personality behind your brand and connect with your customers on a more intimate level.

It’s safe to say that no business was prepared for the pandemic and disruption it caused. Fortunately, business owners that were quick to shift online were able to stay afloat and continue serving customers despite the lockdowns. As things finally approach some level of normality, try to use what you learned during the pandemic to help your business thrive in the digital age ahead!

Are you looking for help with digital services like online marketing, branding, logo design, or web design? Contact My Creative Pixel today!

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