Setting up an online store is not easy. In the early days, you feel motivated and inspired. You have a long list of things to do and achieve. You don’t feel like you have a second to breathe while you’re doing everything in your power to get your eCommerce business up and running. However, you then hit a plateau. You are bumbling along, but you’re not really taking any strides forward. Sounds familiar?

You are not alone. A lot of people find themselves in this position after a while. It’s not the end, though. It’s the next chapter!. You’ve completed the module on how to start a business, and now it is time to move onto how to grow your business.

Below, we will take you through some actionable steps that can help you to achieve sustainable business expansion. So, let’s take a look.

How to grow a small business

You’ve got a decent eCommerce business up and running. You’re making sales and you have a fair following. But you want more. How do you power up and reach the next level? Here are some different options to consider to help your small successful business grow:

Try affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing gives you the ability to expand the reach of your business by enabling other people to market your company for you.

Affiliate marketers will use their website or social media presence to market your products and services. In exchange, they will receive a commission on every sale that is made via their affiliate link.

The great thing about affiliate marketing is that anyone can do it, and you will only pay a small percentage of each sale made, ensuring you do not end up spending money you cannot afford.

A lot of the world’s most well-known brands offer affiliate marketing, including eBay, Amazon, HostGator, and GoDaddy. You’re essentially getting others to market your business for you, which can be extremely powerful.

Offer cross-sells and upsells

Upselling is a process that involves getting a customer to purchase a better (and typically more expensive) version of the same item.

You can use a side-by-side comparison table to highlight the benefits of opting for the more expensive product. This makes it very easy for customers to see the difference, which can tempt anyone without a strict budget to upgrade and choose the more expensive item instead.

Cross-selling involves promoting products related to the item being purchased. For example, if you sell trainers on your website, you may want to consider promoting socks or shoe cleaning wipes.

By showing related products, the value of every sale can increase. This is something we see the likes of Amazon do incredibly well. In fact, they have reported that cross-selling actually generates a monumental 35 per cent of its revenue.

Work with influencers

Influencer marketing has taken over in recent years, providing you with a great way of __getting your eCommerce brand out in front of a large and interested audience. __

The key here is to choose an influencer with care. You need to make sure that they have a good following amongst the sort of people that you consider your target consumer. You do not need to choose a celebrity for this to work. The person simply needs a good following in your industry or niche.

Market at every funnel stage

Aside from the advice that we have mentioned so far, another powerful small businees tip that we have when it comes to growing your eCommerce business is to market at all stages of the funnel.

Consumers today do not simply purchase products. They research all items and consider their options very carefully before they purchase anything.

This is why it is imperative to devise an eCommerce content marketing plan so you can attract, convert, and retain consumers. However, you need to target every stage of the eCommerce sales funnel for this to be a success.

The four stages are as follows:

- Awareness - This is when prospects are facing an issue and they are looking for a company that can provide them with the solution.

- Interest - This is when the prospect is aware of your business, yet they are still in the research stage. They are shopping around and gathering more information.

- Purchase - This is when prospects turn into customers for the very first time.

- Repeat - Finally, this is when the customer returns to your product or service to solve the same problem again or to help with a relatable issue.

These are the four stages you need to focus on when putting together an effective content marketing plan.

You should devise different types of content. Examples include buying guides, articles explaining the benefits of a product, and how-to videos. This simply scratches the surface; there are so many different options.

Once you have put together an amazing piece of content, you will need to share it on various platforms, which should include your social media channels and your website.

Focus on repeat business

Did you know that it typically costs businesses seven times more to attain a new customer in comparison to turning a first-time consumer into a repeat buyer?

This statistic alone shows why it makes sense to focus on repeat purchasers at your eCommerce business.

There are various ways that you can go about this as well. Examples include:

• Personalised campaigns
• Promoting products of interest
• Birthday gifts
• Implementing a loyalty program
• Sending a coupon after someone makes a purchase

Repeat customers become brand advocates. They believe in your business. They trust you. They recommend you to their friends. This can be incredibly powerful when it comes to unlocking further business growth and moving your company forward.

Final words: how to help a small business grow

So there you have it: some small business tips to follow to unlock growth and expansion. We hope that these ideas will help you to progress your business so that you can boost your bottom line and take steps forward. If you need more resources to manage your ecommerce, don't hesitate to take a look at our blog and the different resource we have!