The eCommerce Playbook

I frequently run a power hour for start-up founders, project managers, and executives looking to supercharge their results. In meeting with these individuals, I recognized the need for the development of an ecommerce playbook that maximizes your opportunities with the users and customers that you already have.

In following the five basic plays from my eCommerce playbook you can take your e-commerce buisness to the next level.

5 Basic Plays from mr Joe Ecommerce Playbook

1. Increase conversion rate
2. Increase average order value
3. Increase frequency of sales
4. Spend money on customer acquisition
5. Engage in partnerships to boost your reach

The 5 ecommerce Plays

1. Increase your conversion rate to at least 14%: This is the most simple play in the playbook. If you have 1 conversion out of 100 customers, let’s be honest, you need to work a bit harder! 15 to 20 conversions out of 100 customers is a much healthier figure, putting you over the ideal 14% conversion rate. To boost conversion; focus on usability, research conversion rate optimization tools, and strive towards that hallowed 14% conversion rate.
2. Add in a Twix to increase your average order value: I like to call this strategy ‘The Twix Effect‘. It goes without saying really; If customers buy more products from you with each transaction, you’ll begin maximizing the customers you already have. For example, if your average order value is $10 and you’re able to increase that by $5, your bottom line will benefit greatly. And this is where ‘The Twix Effect’ comes in. Similar to the experience of a checkout impulse buy, the Twix Effect plays on the power of suggestion. Whatever you’re selling, there will almost certainly be an accompanying product that can complement it; harness the power of suggestion — it’s a mighty tool!
3. Increase your frequency of sales from 1.1 to 1.2 per customer every six months: If you’re selling a product to one customer, that’s great; however, your goal should be for those same customers to return and purchase something else from you at least twice a year. This can be accomplished by sending a follow-up email to customers after a purchase, offering free postage on their second order, and providing customer support. After mastering this step in the playbook, you’ll have more customers, customers who are buying, and customers who are purchasing more expensive products. You’re making the most of the customers you have and you’re not spending much in the process. If you’re using an agency or you have a team working on this, these are the three metrics that you should be sending them.
4. Spend money on undervalued, underpriced customer acquisition: This is the most difficult play in the playbook because it involves researching and discovering the best place to spend your money. Look out for undervalued, underpriced attention. A great example of this is Instagram because influencers on Instagram are underpriced at this point. In terms of PPC and search marketing, prices range from fair to high; however, you are not going to make a huge amount of return on that. Instead, go foraging for that juicy underpriced attention!
5. Seek mutually beneficial partnerships to boost your reach: Partnering with media companies or magazines who complement what you do is ideal because these platforms have followers and readers who are most definitely interested in your products. These businesses desire the brand cache of working with you. Partnerships are abundant and easily built because they are mutually beneficial; in light of this, many times, the exchange of cash isn’t necessary. Moreover, it’s a great way to start boosting your customers quickly and easily; for example, if you’re in a partnership where each party agrees to post on social media about the other company, your conversion rate will likely enjoy a healthy boost.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and found it useful, please feel free to drop any questions in the comments below. Alternatively, If you’d like to schedule a power hour with me to talk about these concepts. I’d be more than happy to help you figure out your next steps, give you some solid advice and even sanity check what you’re already thinking.

Tags: ecommerce