Introduction According to the articles, starting an e-commerce business firm in the Philippines is a rapidly expanding industry. Additiona...
Introduction
According to the articles, starting an e-commerce business firm in the Philippines is a rapidly expanding industry. Additionally, it alters consumer purchasing patterns and offers conveniences that conventional stores are unable to provide. This was made clear at the beginning of the COVID-19 epidemic when customers decided to shop online in order to keep safe and reduce the likelihood of the virus spreading. Having likely made an online purchase yourself, you are now keen to participate in this burgeoning business after seeing all it has to offer.
Here are 7 steps that’ll help you get started on a successful e-commerce website in the Philippines:
1. Create a functional e-commerce website
2. Provide a variety of payment options
3. Choose reliable and affordable shipping partners
4. Utilize SEO and Google Ads to get traffic
5. Market your site on social media
6. Analyze data and optimize
7. Apply customer retention strategies
1. Create a functional e-commerce website
Which store—a gorgeous one or a run-down one—would you like to shop at? Consider your e-commerce website in the same manner. Although appearances alone won't get consumers to buy from you, the design of your website can go a long way. Your website's user experience, or UX, has a significant role in determining how much you'll sell. You risk losing consumers if your website is challenging to use or doesn't have a clear path for concluding a purchase. These customers may leave your website in frustration or disbelief.
In addition, you need to make sure that your website works properly across a variety of web browsers. Safari, for example, is already installed on Apple devices. If your website only works well on Google Chrome, you can be losing out on iPhone users as buyers.
Make sure your website is compatible with a range of digital devices. The majority of people access the internet on their mobile devices, according to studies on e-commerce in the Philippines, and according to data from Hootsuite and We Are Social, 89% of Filipinos use mobile phones compared to only 38% who use laptops or desktops computers. Therefore, being mobile-friendly is crucial given the market you are in.
2. Provide a variety of payment options
Due to the Philippines' anxiety about credit card debt, data from the World Bank indicates that only 2% of Filipinos own credit cards. Therefore, in addition to the more popular credit card or PayPal alternatives, e-commerce in the Philippines needs a variety of payment options. The following are some of the choices you ought to think about for your clients:
- Cash-on-delivery (COD)
- Online bank transfer
- ATM payments
- Over-the-counter bank transfer
- Digital wallets like G-Cash or PayMaya
- Payment Centers
- Payment Gateways like Dragonpay
3. Choose reliable and affordable shipping partners
Shipping is an important issue and at times a hassle for many Filipinos who use online shopping. Who wants to spend an extra $100, after all? People sometimes overlook the fact that the cost of delivery is less costly than the gas they would have used to travel to a brick-and-mortar store. Think about not charging for shipping. In the Philippines, it is customary for e-commerce companies to provide free shipping to clients who spend a particular amount on their purchases.
When choosing shipping partners, you should consider other factors besides price. The handling of the packages has an impact on whether a customer uses your e-commerce site again. Your customers aren’t going to risk purchasing from you again if their new gadget arrives cracked.
While most shipping providers can take a few days, you can also take into account options like Grab Delivery, which offers same-day deliveries. Since people will need to wait for their product to be delivered unlike when purchasing from a physical store, speed is another factor to take into consideration when choosing your shipping options. Without that instant gratification, your customers will become impatient or frustrated if it takes a while for their product to arrive.
4. Utilize SEO and Google Ads to get traffic
No matter how aesthetically pleasing or user-friendly your website is, if no one can find it, you won't get any sales. Using search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing to attract clients is among the simplest marketing strategies. Users of search engines do have noble intentions, after all. In other words, when someone searches for a keyword associated with a good or service, they already plan to buy something.
You must make sure that search engine optimization (SEO) best practices are used on your website as soon as you begin working on it. A website with effective SEO has a higher chance of showing up first in search engine results. Search engine users are more likely to click on the first results, so ranking at the top of the first page is essential for a healthy website traffic.
The complicated process of SEO begins even before your website is created. After all, your website's design, text, and structure all contribute significantly to its ability to rank on the first page of search engine results.
Google Ads are a further means of increasing website traffic. Google offers a number of ad forms, such as banner advertisements on websites or text ads on search engine results pages.
If the more technical facets of SEO and search engine marketing are overwhelming you, think about hiring a digital marketing agency in the Philippines. A comprehensive digital marketing agency can assist you at every stage of the process, from developing SEO blogs to enhancing your search engine rankings.
5. Market your site on social media
Utilizing social media to increase exposure, attention, and sales is another requirement for Philippine e-commerce. According to a 2019 survey by Hootsuite and We Are Social, 76 million Filipinos use social media on a daily average for 4 hours and 21 minutes. To spread the word about your online store, you must be active on the top social media networks.
Remember that there are numerous social media networks with various features and user bases. For instance, Instagram can perform better for your trendy clothes store than LinkedIn. The first step in choosing which social media platform to have a presence on and developing your social media strategy for a Philippine audience is knowing your target audience.
Social media platforms provide a range of strategies and tools to engage users and direct them to your website. Knowing which platform to use and its features will help you make your social media page drive sales. These options range from a variety of ad styles with various aims to the capacity to combine your online store with your Facebook and Instagram profiles.
The majority of businesses, from titans of industry to grassroots entrepreneurs, are already active on social media, so you must be able to develop a strategy that not only works but also is tailored to your company.
6. Analyze data and optimize
Everything is measurable, which is the beauty of internet marketing. You can get all this information directly on your social media or e-commerce platform, as well as through data-analysis tools like Google Analytics, whether it's the quantity required to receive a Like on a Tweet or the number of individuals that arrived at your website via Google.
Many conversion-related statistics are available via Google Analytics, but data collection won't begin until your website is configured for it. You can measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns and website performance as soon as you set up a Google Analytics account. To determine whether your efforts on social media are having an impact on the success of your e-commerce business, you may even place a Facebook Pixel on your website.
The quantity of information at your disposal will be another difficulty you must overcome. There is a lot of information to sort through, and it may be challenging to figure out where to look, how to obtain, and how to use it. You might be able to comprehend and evaluate the data from these platforms by working with a digital marketing company in the Philippines. After all, understanding the crucial digital marketing metrics is not enough; you also need to understand how to use this information to enhance your marketing campaigns.
7. Apply customer retention strategies
You need to think about customer retention now that your website is live and generating sales. Shopify asserts that returning customers generate more revenue for e-commerce companies than do new ones. Getting individuals to buy from you repeatedly is cheaper and easier than getting a new customer to make a single purchase.
Increasing the number of repeat customers and the profitability of current customers are two goals of customer retention tactics. Give existing consumers more reasons to return by using techniques like email marketing campaigns or exploiting people's fear of missing out on limited-time deals.
Need more assistance beginning an e-commerce venture in the Philippines? Call TeamAsia right away! We help clients grow their e-commerce operations in the Philippines, from website development to cross-platform digital marketing campaigns that keep customers coming back.
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