Tips for Running Your Ecommerce Toy Store

When it comes to running an ecommerce store successfully, there are many strategies you need to use to get your customers’ attention. And then, even once they’ve bought a product from you once, you need them to come back for more and spread the word to their friends about how great your business is. With the holiday season in full gear now–Christmas is only a few weeks away!–it’s time to start thinking about the marketing strategies you’re using for your ecommerce toy store. Whether you’re a new business like Jizels or have been in business for years, the same rules apply. It’s all about understanding your customers’ needs and being active online as much as possible, reaching them in a variety of ways.

If you’re ready to learn about how you can up your branding and engagement this Christmas season and run a successful ecommerce toy store, here’s how.

Research your customers

When it comes to every aspect of your business, from what you sell to what design you choose for your website, you need to understand your customers thoroughly to know where to start. Creating several buyer personas is the first step you should take, which means understanding the age and location of your clients, where they spend most of their time online, and other details such as profession, income, number of children, and usual spending habits. Once you’ve created a few personas, and started running your business, you can complete the next step, which is additional research.

According to Marketing Partners, Inc., you can research customers by using Google alerts to learn about new customer behaviors, interviewing customers (by using surveys or DMing directly), studying your web analytics on both your website and social media platforms, studying the research and case studies your competitors have published, and using social media to engage with customers and industry connections. And remember that as time goes by, you can update your buyer personas, products, and website with this information.

Considering that retail e-commerce sales are expected to grow to $4.5 trillion by 2021, understanding your customers’ needs is going to make a huge difference in how much money you make.

Create a beautiful, mobile-friendly website

Once you’ve researched your customers, you’ll know something hugely important: what your website should look like. Are most of your customers based in a city, or living in a suburb? What kind of design do they prefer, and do they want a smart, sharp font or a more Disney princess style one if you’re selling toys mostly for girls? Depending on these factors, your website design will vary. If you can’t afford a web designer, use a website like Wix or Weebly so that you can build a beautiful website for free. It’s worth paying for an actual domain, though, because this demonstrates that you’re running a legitimate company.

Additionally, don’t forget to make your website mobile-friendly. Everyone’s on their phones these days, especially younger customers such as millennials and Gen Zers. If pictures of your toys won’t load quickly enough or customers have to pinch in and out to read product descriptions, they’re going to leave your website. If they want to sign up for a newsletter (which should also match your website’s aesthetic, by the way), make the form easy to fill out on a small screen. Going mobile-first is also smart if you want up your SEO.

Think about this: 64 percent of buyers have said they prefer making purchases online versus going into a store. So even if you’re also mainly running a brick-and-mortar store, make your website amazing so that you won’t miss out on online shoppers.

Get engaged on social media

Finally, remember that your social media presence needs to stand out. Sure, you might have the best wooden blocks on the block, but if no one knows about that fact, then you aren’t going to sell that many of them. Use social media for some leverage. Create accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, and especially now that the Christmas season is just around the corner, it’s smart to have a whole new social media campaign for the season. Think of what makes your business stand out this season, and connect with your customers on a whole new level.

If you need additional help, think about using a service like SocialGoneViral, which will get you new followers and engagement on Instagram while you can focus on the actual running of your business and creating content. Considering holiday shoppers in the US are expected to spend $119.99 billion between November 1 and December 31 this year, this is a great way to get some of those big spenders shopping at your store.

These are some of the best ways to get customers interested in your ecommerce toy store. What other strategies work best for you?

Adam Hansen
 

Adam is a part time journalist, entrepreneur, investor and father.