How to Build an eCommerce Website that Drives Sales and Boosts Profits
The challenges facing e-commerce for life sciences, pharma and biotech.
In the rapidly evolving life sciences sector, e-commerce presents unique challenges beyond the typical hurdles of online retail. The complexity of products, regulatory requirements, and the critical need for accurate, detailed product information create a landscape where more than simply having an online presence is required.
Life sciences companies must ensure that their e-commerce platforms are compliant with industry standards and capable of providing comprehensive product data and support, necessitating advanced functionalities for documentation management, secure transactions, and customer education through detailed product pages and resources.
Integrating these elements into an e-commerce strategy is vital for building trust and facilitating informed purchasing decisions among professional and institutional buyers.
Moreover, the global nature of the life sciences sector adds another layer of complexity to e-commerce endeavours.
Companies must navigate international regulations, shipping logistics, and the challenge of providing localized content and support– this requires a robust infrastructure that can handle multi-language support, region-specific regulatory compliance, and a logistics network capable of efficient global distribution.
The ability to offer personalized experiences through intelligent recommendations and tailored content based on user behaviour and preferences can further enhance the effectiveness of an e-commerce platform in the life sciences field.
Life sciences companies that aim to leverage e-commerce as a robust growth and customer engagement tool must address these challenges head-on with innovative solutions and strategic planning.
Thinking of creating an e-commerce store?
Imagine if you could combine the shopping opportunities offered by Bond Street in London, Fifth Avenue in New York, Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and Ginza in Tokyo.
Picture the possibilities.
The crowds of potential customers.
The buzz as a new product comes to market.
The fervour as the seasonal sales begin.
Queues around the block.
There are people camping out through the night, waiting for the moment when the security guards appear and open the doors to your shop.
Imagine all that.
At the touch of a button.
Welcome to the world of eCommerce.
With no restriction on opening hours. No barrier to sales. The world is your online oyster.
Or is it?
The wonderful world of e-commerce
It’s a frustrating fact, but the world of e-commerce today can be as fraught with challenges as that of the traditional bricks-and-mortar shop. Did you know that roughly 90% of all new eCommerce stores never sell a single product? Yes, zero products. You need to understand this and create an effective plan.
- How will your customers find you?
- How can you build a name and a good reputation?
- How are you going to grow your online customer base?
- How will you manage all the moving parts involved with selling online?
- Shipping - this is particularly complex for life sciences - how do you plan your shipping structure?
E-commerce - what to consider
1. Your online platform - Your “shop.”
Your site design - Your “shop front.”
Just like a shopfront on a High Street, the design you choose for your eCommerce site is key to attracting your online audience.
Think about these points:
- Are you going to have a bold banner across the header of your site?
- Will you have a brand logo on display?
- What about the colours you choose to represent your business? Do they truly reflect what you offer?
- Are your chosen colours easy to recognise?
- Do they work for you to build your brand?
2. Your sitemap - Your “floorplan.”
What about the white space on the site? Are you giving your products space to ‘breathe’ and your customers enough space to choose? We all know the frustration of being unable to move around in a shop that’s jam-packed with products but no space to look at what you’re buying.
3. Your brand – Your shop “signage.”
Your brand can go a long way to making your customer’s experience on your site simple and easy. Your logo says a lot about who you are as a business, are you reliable and trustworthy?
Think about your tagline and your call to action. Can you use persuasive language to change your customers’ behaviour?
Can you convert them from passers-by who glance in at your shop window then move on to customers who walk through the door, choose what they want and pay for it at the till?
A serif font can be hard to read quickly, and your online customer wants to be able to buy without trying to decipher what the product description says.
4. Your imagery and photography - Your “shop displays” and “sale rail.”
Bricks-and-mortar stores will use in-store displays to show off their merchandise and attract customers.
Think about the carefully styled mannequins used by clothes shops, the hanging ceiling displays in supermarkets, and the wicker baskets lined with red gingham and straw decorating the counters of delicatessens to give produce that rustic, homegrown feel.
Displays add texture and dimension to products on sale, bringing them to the shopper’s attention. So, how can you replicate this effect online?
The simplest way is with engaging original photography and videos.
If you can, avoid using photo stock imagery – it doesn’t help you stand out from the competition, especially if you conduct some basic competitor analysis and find out that your main rival uses the same images as you.
Consider the size of the images you use – pixelated pictures can look cheap, while a file size that is too large risks slowing the loading time of your site.
5. Your customer service – Your “check out.”
We’ve all been there. Standing waiting at the till while the checkout staff discusses last night’s events. Or what they had for lunch.
Perhaps you’ve spent half an hour shopping, only to discover that the store doesn’t take debit cards. Or that the size item you want is out of stock.
The online equivalent to this real-life frustration is a complicated website and an unclear checkout page. A page where there isn’t an obvious flow of actions to take, to be able to buy what you want and then leave the site.
The best way to prevent frustration and risk of shoppers leaving your site is to:
- Give a warm welcome – the words you choose to write on your site have a ‘tone of voice’. This can be warm and friendly, or it can be staid and off-putting.
- Take care to use words that welcome people to your store.
- Use clear and simple language – say ‘buy’ not ‘purchase’, ‘send’ not ‘dispatch.’
- Be helpful – have a Frequently Asked Questions page, sizing guides and clear returns policies.
- Make sure your site is easy to navigate – like a department store where the lifts, the entrances and exits and cash tills are clearly marked, think about what elements fit best where.
- Make it easy to pay and remove barriers – there are lots of ways in which people can pay for goods online. Tools like PayPal instil confidence, but shonky credit card forms don’t.
- Make contact – Email follow-ups, requests for feedback, newsletters, useful blog posts and autoresponders are all excellent marketing tools to keep customers in your sales pipeline and are simple to set up.
Build it and they will come...
...will they? - It's all about digital marketing- lots of it!
For life sciences e-commerce, leveraging the right digital marketing channels is crucial to reach the target audience effectively, engage with them meaningfully, and drive conversions. Here are some of the best digital marketing channels suited for this sector:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO, including life sciences, is fundamental for any e-commerce business. By optimizing your website and content for search engines, you can improve your visibility for relevant queries. This involves using keywords related to life sciences products, research, and applications, ensuring your site appears to researchers, professionals, and institutions actively searching for your offerings.
- Content Marketing: Given the complex nature of life sciences products and services, content marketing is a powerful tool. High-quality, informative content such as whitepapers, case studies, blog posts, and videos can help demonstrate your expertise, explain your products' value, and address specific industry challenges. This approach helps build trust and establish your brand as a thought leader in the life sciences sector.
- Email Marketing: Email marketing allows for direct communication with your audience, offering opportunities for personalization and segmentation. You can use email campaigns to nurture leads, announce new products or research findings, share informative content, and keep your audience engaged with industry news and updates.
- Social Media Marketing: Platforms like LinkedIn are particularly effective for B2B marketing in the life sciences sector. They provide a space for networking, sharing industry news, and promoting your content and products. Twitter and Facebook can also be useful for broader engagement, while Instagram can showcase products and behind-the-scenes content in a visually appealing way.
- Paid Advertising: Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on search engines and social media platforms can effectively reach a targeted audience quickly. Google Ads can target specific keywords related to life sciences, while LinkedIn Ads can target professionals based on their industry, job function, or seniority level.
- Webinars and Online Events: Hosting webinars and online events on topics relevant to the life sciences community can attract a highly engaged audience. These platforms offer an opportunity to showcase your expertise, discuss industry trends, and introduce new products or technologies.
- Influencer Marketing: Collaborating with influencers and thought leaders in the life sciences field can help amplify your message. This could include partnering with researchers, academics, or industry professionals who have a strong following and can endorse your products or services.
- Affiliate Marketing: Establishing partnerships with academic institutions, research labs, and industry organizations can help reach a wider audience. Affiliates can promote your products on their platforms, providing credibility and network access.
Each channel offers unique advantages and can be combined to create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy tailored to the life sciences e-commerce sector. The key is understanding your audience deeply, including where they spend their time online and what type of content resonates with them, to engage and convert them into customers effectively.
The Takeaway.
At Arttia Creative we provide you with a complete e-commerce service. From strategy, audience profiling, and SEO strategy to design, code, development, and digital marketing after launch.
Belinda White | Creative Director