How To Standout At E-Commerce Marketplaces

When was the last time you bought something online? It’s probably just a few days ago, right?

The convenience and accessibility of online shopping have really made the e-commerce business thrive. More and more people are now relying on online shopping instead of going to physical stores. After all, e-commerce shops have it all – whether you need groceries, medicines, clothing, furniture, or electronics, you can have it in just a few clicks.

However, the success of e-commerce means there are now millions of sellers and products vying for attention. If you’re interested in starting your own e-commerce business now, just how will you stand out from the crowd?

Don’t fret! There are tips and tricks that you can easily incorporate into your marketing strategy to boost your business. In this article, we’ll discuss how to make your e-commerce store shine – from writing your product description to creating your logo design. 

Tips For Making Your E-Commerce Business Stand Out

It may be challenging but it is achievable to stand out in an e-commerce marketplace. You can do so by following these best practices:

Use Great Product Photos

Your product photos carry a lot more weight than you think. 

According to surveys, 75% of shoppers rely on product photos when considering a purchase. High-quality photos were also found to have a 94% higher conversion rate compared to their lower-quality counterparts. 

These data all make sense in context. Since your business is online, your customers can’t see or thoroughly inspect your product as they would in person. They rely on the product photos to get an idea of what the product looks like and how the product will work. By providing clear and high-quality photos, you can entice them into buying your product.

Looking to improve your product photos? First, make sure the quality of the photos is great. This means avoiding blurry or pixelated photos. Invest in a good camera and a tripod to stabilize your shot. 

Second, consider your lighting when shooting. Good lighting can help your customers accurately see the colors and details of your products. Avoid too strong lights or flash as they can cast unflattering shadows on your products.

Using a plain white background can also make your products pop and avoid unnecessary distractions for your customers. 

Lastly, make sure to provide multiple photos. Take photos of your product from multiple angles. Provide zoom-in options or close-up shots so that your customers can get a closer look. Popular e-commerce site Etsy also recommends providing different types of product shots – a studio shot where customers can see the details of the product, a lifestyle shot where they can see the product in action, and a scale shot that conveys how big or small the product is. 

Optimize Your Product Description

Similar to your product photos, your product descriptions are also important. 

They are your way to help your customers make informed decisions, entice them to buy your product, and set yourself apart from competitors. In fact, 87% of customers said that good production description influenced their purchase decisions.

How do you write great product descriptions? First, make sure you provide all the important details about your products. Have you ever looked at an item you wanted to buy, but you can’t even find its basic measurements? It will turn you off from buying, right? Avoid these issues by providing important information. 

Next, separate your text into bullet points. This provides easy readability for your customers and also helps people who tend to scan through text quickly. 

Third, use descriptive words. You can paint a vivid picture using your words to help your customers imagine how the product will feel or look. For example, instead of just saying the product is soft, you can say that it has a cloud-like softness.

Lastly, add personality. Don’t just list out features like a robot. If you have a younger audience, using slang or Gen-Z language will work. If you have a humorous vibe to your brand, you can write a witty and snappy product description. You can see this in how Dollar Shave Club writes theirs:

Leverage User Generated Content (UGC)

UGC is any type of content from your customers. This can be a product review on your e-commerce website, a comment on your social media page, an unboxing video, a picture of them using your product, and so on. 

UGC is a low effort yet high return marketing strategy. It’s low effort since your customers are the one providing the content. Yet it’s a high return since people love hearing about other people’s thoughts and opinions. 

This is what you call social proof. If people love your product, it gives you more credibility. If people hate it, then they won’t buy from you either. Let’s say you are selling a blouse. Do people love the fabric? Is the fit as is, or should they size up? What does it look like when worn? All of this can help aid your customers’ perception of your e-commerce products. 

So how do you leverage these UGCs? The easiest way is to add their reviews, comments, or photos on your website. You can display them at the frontpage or under the product. 

A great example of this is Uniqlo. They feature customer’s photos of them wearing the product. This helps other customers see how it actually looks in real life. 

Some brands feature or share a customer’s comments, messages, or reviews on their social media pages. Wendy’s does this by posting a funny customer’s comment and roasting them on the replies. This works since this is in line with Wendy’s quirky brand persona. While some brands simply feature heartwarming comments and respond to them with thanks. 

Has someone created a post or Instagram Story with your product? Try sharing them on your socials too. 

Offer Sales, Promos, and Discounts

30% off sale, $10 off, buy 1 take 1, free shipping — those are some words that online shoppers just love to see. After all, who doesn’t want to save some money while shopping?

Offering these promos is the best way to incentivize purchases. However, you need to make sure that this won’t result in financial loss for you. 

The key is to make these offers time-sensitive. Adding that time pressure and limited availability will incite FOMO, and will further encourage customers to buy. At the same time, since the promos won’t be running forever, you won’t be losing much money either.

Another tip is to make your offers strategic. 

For example, a bundle deal. You can pair one best-selling item with two of your less popular items. This helps you sell those unpopular items. It’s great whether you just want to clear them from your stocks or hopefully make those items more popular since people will have a chance to try them. 

Have Great Branding

Last, but probably the most important tip of them all, is to have a distinct branding.

Even if you are a small business or just selling homemade goods on Etsy, having strong branding is still crucial. It helps set yourself apart from competitors, makes you easier to remember, and gives you that touch of credibility in your customer’s eye.

Start with your logo. Every business has one. If you don’t have one, you’ll risk looking unprofessional, or worse, a scam business.

Make sure your logo is suitable for your business. For example, if you sell organic and all-natural baked goods, using a green and white logo with plants and flower design will work. If you sell chic accessories, a minimalist logo with a black-and-white color scheme is more fitting. 

Next is your business name. You can choose to go descriptive, where you’ll use words to describe what your business is and what products you offer. Or go for an abstract name, where the name may not be directly related to you but sounds very catchy and memorable. 

Next is your visual elements. This includes your color scheme, typography, art style, or photography style. Consider your brand’s personality to come up with visual elements that best suit you. 

Let’s say you want to be known as a girly and cute brand. A pink color scheme will work for you paired with rounded and bubbly typography. But if you want to have a grunge aesthetic, then using black, browns, and whites along with sharp rugged fonts will work better. 

Build A Standout E-Commerce Business Now!

Standing out in a crowded e-commerce marketplace may sound impossible, but it doesn’t have to be. By being more strategic and optimizing even the little details, you too can make your business boom. 

Don’t underestimate the power of social media, either. Running a few timely Facebook Ads, posting engaging TikTok videos, or creating beautiful Instagram Reels can help bring more customers to your e-commerce business. 

If you need help with those social media materials, feel free to check out all our available customizable templates back at BrandCrowd. You can also read through our guide on how to create compelling content to ensure that your social media posts are engaging and relevant to your target customers.

Good luck, and we hope your e-commerce business will thrive! 

Written by DesignCrowd on Monday, July 1, 2024

DesignCrowd is an online marketplace providing logo, website, print and graphic design services by providing access to freelance graphic designers and design studios around the world.