5 tips you need to grow your Shopify store

From my experience working with e-commerce startups, I've seen that many business owners follow conventional wisdom when launching their Shopify stores.

However, in the world of e-commerce, blindly following the crowd can lead to mediocrity.

In this post, we'll explore five ways you can grow your Shopify brand and not become just another anonymous store in the vast e-comm ocean.

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Table of Contents:

1. Embrace Imperfection: Launch Your Ugly Duckling
2. Sell Less to Sell More: The Power of Curated Collections
3. Turn Your About Me Page into a Sales Magnet
4. Harness the "Anti-Social" Media Strategy
5. Make Refunds Your Secret Weapon

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1. Embrace Imperfection: Launch Your Ugly Duckling

In the world of e-commerce, you've likely encountered the adage: "You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

However, our analysis at Get May suggests that this conventional wisdom may not hold true today.

Seth Godin, a renowned marketing expert, proposes a different approach: "Ship it." This means getting your product to market, even if it's not perfect. In fact, especially if it's not perfect.

Your initial version doesn't need to be the pinnacle of e-commerce design; it can be a work in progress.

Speed trumps perfection

• While you're refining your store to perfection, your competitors are already in the market, gathering invaluable data from real customers.

Customers are the best designers

• Launching quickly allows your early customers to provide feedback on what they like (and what they don't). It's like having a focus group, but with higher validity and lower cost.

Iteration is the key to success

• Each "imperfect" version brings you closer to what your customers actually want, not what you think they want.

So, what do you need to do?

1. Establish a firm launch date - and stick to it.
2. Identify your minimum number of features and concentrate solely on those.
3. Create a feedback loop with early customers - set up communication channels for them to share their experiences.

Know that even e-commerce giants started small. Amazon, for instance, began as a basic online bookstore. Your store doesn't need to have all the advanced features on day one. It just needs to effectively address a problem for your target market.

Key Takeaway: Launch expeditiously, learn rapidly. An imperfect store that's live today is more valuable than a perfect store that never sees the light of day.

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2. Sell Less to Sell More: The Power of Curated Collections

Conventional wisdom suggests that offering a wide variety of choices is the way to go. The assumption is that by stocking everything, customers will inevitably find what they're looking for. However, our experience reveals a different story.

Enter the paradox of choice, a psychological phenomenon first described by Barry Schwartz. It indicates that too many options can actually paralyze customers, leading to decision fatigue and, counterintuitively, fewer sales.

Here's how you can leverage curation to drive more sales:

Create scarcity

• Counterintuitively, limiting your product range, and even availability, can increase sales. Revisit your assortment and keep only what's really necessary.

Implement a rotation

• Introduce time-limited, themed collections. For instance, consider offering seasonal or limited editions of your top selling products.

Craft a narrative

• Each collection should tell a story. Ask yourself: Why these specific products? Why now?

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Let's look Kylie Cosmetics. When Kylie Jenner launches a new lip kit, she doesn't overwhelm customers with 50 shades. Instead, she offers a carefully curated selection, often tied to a specific theme or season. The result? Products frequently sell out within minutes.

To implement this:

1. Conduct a thorough analysis of your sales data. Identify your top-performing products.
2. Create a "desert island" collection. If customers could only purchase 5 of your products, which should they be?
3. Develop a rotation calendar. Plan limited-time collections around events, seasons, or themes.

Key Takeaway: In e-commerce, less can indeed be more. Curate aggressively, rotate strategically, and watch your sales metrics improve.

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3. Turn Your About Me Page into a Sales Magnet

Here's one thing about your "About Me" page you may not realize: it's not really about you. Our analysis shows that customers aren't particularly interested in your company history. What they care about is how you can get them what they want.

So, let's transform that About page into a covert sales tool.

Start with your customer

• Open with a story that your target customers can relate to. What do they care about? Make them the protagonist of the story.

Introduce your brand

• Present your product or service as the "magical aid" in their journey, borrowing from classic storytelling structures.

Include a clear call-to-action

• Don't conclude with a mere mission statement. Guide your potential customers on what to do next.

Let's take a look at Bombas as an example. Their About page doesn't begin with "We were founded in 2013." Instead, it talks about how every purchase helps someone in need. This immediately connects their product with a higher purpose (philanthropy).

To revamp your About page effectively:

1. Think about, or better yet, talk with your best customers to identify what values they care about.
2. Craft a narrative that places the customer at the center, not your company.
3. Include a clear, compelling call-to-action. Reduce friction by making it easy for them to take the next step.

Key Takeaway: Your About page isn't about your company, it's about your customer. Make them the hero of the story, and they'll reward you with increased conversions.

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4. Harness the "Anti-Social" Media Strategy

Most e-commerce businesses focus on creating perfectly polished posts and curated feeds. However, Gary Vaynerchuk, a leading figure in social media marketing, advocates for authenticity over perfection.

Here's how it works

Document, don't create

• Instead of investing hours in crafting the perfect post, simply document your journey. The behind-the-scenes content, imperfections and all, often outperforms highly polished material.

Engage, don't broadcast

• Respond to every comment. Participate in discussions. Be a person, not just a brand

Quantity of quality

• Some content will underperform, some will exceed expectations, but you'll gain valuable insights from all of it.

Let's take Glossier as a case study this time. Their social media isn't filled with meticulously staged product shots. Instead, it features real customers, user-generated content, and even memes. It feels authentic, and often this approach resonates strongly with audiences.

Implementing the anti-social strategy:

1. Establish a simple system to capture daily content. This could be as straightforward as setting a reminder to take a photo or video each day.
2. Allocate dedicated time for engagement. Treat responding to comments as equally important as creating posts.
3. Experiment with diverse content types. Live videos, stories, text posts - try various formats and analyze what resonates with your audience.

Key Takeaway: In the social media game, authenticity trumps perfection. Be genuine, be prolific, and be engaged.

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5. Make Refunds Your Secret Weapon

Many e-commerce entrepreneurs view refunds as a necessary evil. However, a generous refund policy isn't a liability - it's a powerful sales tool.

Here's what it can do:

Build trust

• A generous refund policy demonstrates confidence in your product.

Reduce friction

• Customers are more likely to make a purchase if they know they can return items easily.

Increase Customer Lifetime Value

• A positive refund experience can transform a dissatisfied customer into a loyal one.

Take Zappos. They're renowned for their 365-day return policy. Excessive? Perhaps. Effective? Absolutely. It's a core component of their brand promise and is a significant driver of their customer loyalty.

How to leverage your refund policy:

1. Make your refund policy prominent. Don't bury it in the fine print.
2. Simplify the process. The more difficult it is to return an item, the less likely customers are to make the initial purchase.
3. Train your team to handle refunds graciously. A positive refund experience can lead to valuable word-of-mouth marketing.

Key Takeaway: A strong refund policy isn't an expense - it's an investment in customer trust and long-term revenue growth.

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Conclusion

In a saturated market, the unusual stands out. Don't be afraid to experiment, to do something different.

Your e-commerce journey is unique, and your path to success will be too. These strategies are just the beginning. The real magic happens when you start implementing, testing, and refining based on your specific customer base and product offerings.

Ready to dive deeper? Want to truly understand what's driving success in your store? That's where we come in. At Get May, our dashboard is specifically designed for Shopify stores like yours to get a complete view of your business. We'll help you cut through the noise and focus on the metrics that truly matter for your growth.

Because ultimately, the most counterintuitive tip of all might be this: sometimes, the best way to stand out is to truly understand your data.

Are you ready to unlock your Shopify success story?

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