Nothing is more discouraging then setting up your new ecommerce website and not seeing results after many months. The worst part is while you’re paying to host your website and pay for a staff (potentially) you just aren’t making any money in return. Below are a few ways you can increase your sales and establish yourself as a leader in your niche. Please note results may vary and the content is intended for dropshipping websites, but can be used for other business models.

1. Selling your products at a lower price than your competition is a very common strategy, but also a battle that may put you out of business unless you can adapt. Now this strategy may work for some products but it may not work for all of them. Price is one of the key factors that a consumer uses to determine where to buy their products, but it will take more than cheap prices to build trust and a steady source of income. Now be aware if you lower your prices to be the "lowest" your competitors can also do the same and this can get you into a pricing war. Pricing wars usually don’t end well for the little guys and if you sell too low you may not make a profit.

2. Add Value this is the biggest take away and the most valuable. Adding value is more important than just getting a sale. If you treat someone with respect and help answer a question maybe they won’t buy but what if they tell their 400+ social media friends about how great you and 5 of them buy from your site? Every person that reaches out to your business should be a priority because you just never know who will find your website. Once you start selling products online, you will be blown away that people will buy from you even if you have a higher price than your competition. Not only are you building trust but, you added value to them that the rest of the completion couldn’t. The easiest ways to add value is with content; write long quality content on your webpages and product pages to describe each product and include the benefits the end user will receive. I also recommend you create a short video for each of your pages or even for each product, people love engaging in content, before making a purchase. Google also favors websites that keep people engaged for longer and images/videos are a great way to do that.

3. Customer service sells, I can’t stress this enough. Being customer focused is a great skill to have and is definitely a competitive advantage. Speaking to a real person or getting a response within 24 hours is one of the easiest ways to build trust which eventually will drive revenue. If you are a small company with one or two employees it may be difficult to have 24 hour customer service, but being responsive and answering every question or concern will help you in the long run grow your business. Being there for your customers really matters.

4. Having quality pictures and videos on your site will definitely help you sell more. Just make sure these are accurate pictures of the product you never want to misguide someone and lie. As a consumer there’s nothing more disappointing than a seller using stock images from another site and then the product you receive looks nothing like the image. When you are making the videos be sure to demonstrate the product and make sure you are speaking clearly/loud enough. You’ll want to differentiate yourself so make sure your images stand out!

5. Upselling is one of the easiest and best ways to make more money. Let’s say you are selling "microfiber car towels". These are nothing more than soft towels used to dry off your car after you wash it. But here is your chance to sell another product that goes hand in hand with it such as car wax, rim cleaner, or even a bucket to hold the water/soap in while you wash your car. This is how you grow your business and increase your revenue year after year by offering products that go hand in hand with each other. Who knows if you were to use this for your microfiber towel website you can become the one stop shop for everyone’s car washing needs. But this takes some time so be patient and enjoy the ride!