One of the most lucrative activities today is to run an e-commerce website. It allows you to earn through the sale of products or services as well as through affiliate marketing. Good business is all about bringing the product closer to the market. You can accomplish this for your e-commerce site using an app. Billions of people use smartphones on a daily basis. By creating and launching an application for your e-commerce website, you can bring your products or services closer to the consumer.
Here is how to launch an e-commerce application.
Specify your success
This is the first and most important step to launching your e-commerce application. You need to identify exactly what you hope to achieve with the application. With this objective in mind, you can create a strategy for it. Identify the goals for your application. Some examples of goals are the number of subscribers that you want to get, the number of installations and conversion rate. For you to achieve these goals, it will be necessary to measure the progress using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These are essentially the statistics which you want to characterize your journey to success. In this way, you create a target and focus your attention on it fully.
Inform your target audience that you are making an application
Every e-commerce website needs to have a social media following. It promotes your brand awareness on the Internet by creating a reputation among social Internet users. As such, use your social media to inform the target audience that you’re launching an application. You can also use an e-mail campaign to achieve this goal. Blog posts are also useful for spreading the word about your initiative en masse. You can also send press releases to journalists with the news of your launch. Last but not least, approach the development community and inform them of your impending launch.
Create an email list of testers for the beta version of your application
Every application needs to be tested before it is fully implemented in the field. Beta testers come in handy for this reason. Prior to your launch, provide a form in your e-commerce site that they can use to register. Encourage visitors to opt-in as beta testers. You can even use incentives such as bonuses, discounts for those who download your application and test it on time. This is a sure way to get some volunteers for beta testing.
Perform a stress test on your application
Take your application through a final test. Make sure that it is flawless before you submit it to the App Store or Google Play. It should have a user friendly interface and perform smoothly. Make sure that it does not crash or carry bugs. That’s because these can be deal breakers to the online app stores. With the help of your beta testers, you can ensure that the application works like a charm.
Launch the e-commerce app
The process of launching your e-commerce application is usually quite easy and straightforward. However, there are some important aspects to observe. Submit the app on time to the Google Play Store or App Store much earlier than the launch date. In this way, you will be sure of its pre-approval so as to make a successful launch. The store might send the application back requesting changes or adjustments. Consider this factor as you submit it.
As soon as your application is approved and can be downloaded from the store, spread the word as fast as you can. Provide your subscribers with a link that they can use to download it. Proceed to share the news in your social media pages and include an active banner in your website. Anticipate questions and comments about your app. Use this article from Shopify to receive queries and provide customer service for your application. Strive to answer all questions within 24 hours so as to keep your client base satisfied.
An application allows people to interact with your e-commerce website much more easily. Seeing as millions of people prefer using their smartphones for online shopping, an app for your online store is a great idea. The guidelines on how to launch it are indicated above. By following them, you can perform a successful application launch!