If there is one thing that the pandemic clearly proved, it’s that every business should have the ability to take online orders. Customers are shopping online more now than ever before, and there is no sign that the trend will slow down even as the pandemic does.
Whether you are selling exclusively to local customers, or you’re ready to expand your reach to customers around the globe, now is the time to grow your online sales. Here are 12 strategies to get it done.
Write Optimized Product Descriptions
Take another look at your product descriptions, even if you are already confident in them. You want to make sure that they clearly convey why customers need your products.
If you are savvy, you may also want to include some important keywords in the descriptions, as this will make your items easier to find.
Take Great Product Photos
While you evaluate your product descriptions, look at the photos as well. You want clear photos that make it easy to see your product and any details that customers may want to know.
Your images should feature your actual product and have thumbnails. For even better results, include both photos and videos.
Make Landing Pages
You want to start incorporating SEO strategies into your website to help boost your rankings on search engines. A convenient and useful way to do this is via landing pages.
You can make landing pages for categories of products, subscriptions, or any other goal you have. Just be sure that your landing page is consistent with the keywords and search intent behind them.
Set Up Safe, Encrypted Payments
If your chosen e-commerce platform doesn’t already offer this feature, take the time to set up an encrypted payment system. This will protect your customers’ information, giving them peace of mind. At the same time, it shows your customers that you care about their data security, which implies you care about them overall.
Streamline the Checkout
Take a look at the process for checking out once someone decides to buy from you. If it is long and overly complicated, reevaluate the process and see what changes you can make.
People want a good shopping experience in addition to good products and services. If you can reduce the number of pages they have to click through, this improves the experience.
At the very least, consider adding a progress bar to the top of the page so customers know how long they have left in the checkout process.
Don’t Make Shipping Costs a Surprise
One important part of the checkout process that deserves its own advice is the shipping cost. While you cannot always control your shipping costs, you can make sure that they don’t surprise your customers.
Customers do not want to have to go through the entire checkout process just to see how much shipping is. They will think this is a waste of time. Additionally, if your shipping is expensive, they will feel misled.
If your shipping is affordable, you should be advertising that to attract customers.
Avoid issues by making your shipping costs clear from the start. At the very least, make them easy to find on your website.
Consider Upselling
If you can do it well, upselling will deliver a boost to your sales per customer. On average, it drives about 4% more sales just within the customer base you already have. It is easy to incorporate into the checkout process and can come in various forms.
You can suggest related products, suggest a bundle that includes the product and something else, or offer a warranty.
Make Your E-commerce Website Easy to Navigate
As you evaluate your website, make sure that it is intuitive to navigate. If potential customers cannot figure out where to find products, their shopping cart, or answers to common questions, they will leave your page and buy elsewhere.
Avoid this with clear organization, including a well-organized menu and navigation bar. While you are at it, make sure to add a search bar if you don’t already have one.
Create a Sales Funnel Specific to Your Business
One of the first things you should do with e-commerce is creating your sales funnel. While you can get inspiration online, it will be unique to your business.
Knowing how long it typically takes to convert a lead into a sale will help you better plan your online marketing efforts.
Take Advantage of Email Marketing
Email marketing is a great way to reach your target audience and create a more personalized experience. To make the most of email marketing, segment your email list into categories based on the type of content to sell.
You also want to make sure that not every email pushes a sale. Most of them should provide valuable information as people are more likely to open your emails if they see value in them.
Use Retargeting
One of those email segments should be to retarget past customers. You already put in the effort to move these customers through your sales funnel successfully, so take advantage of that.
Getting a repeat customer tends to require less effort than gaining a new one. Incorporate retargeting into your email marketing as well as display ads.
Work on Building Social Proof
Social proof refers to reviews and testimonials. Having strong social proof dramatically improves the chances of people choosing to buy from you, as they will see that you are an established and reputable company.
To do this, encourage customers to leave reviews and testimonials on your products. If you can, gather reviews from various websites and directories and share the best ones on your page.
If you don’t currently have many reviews, encourage customers to leave a review. You can send them a follow-up email reminding them to do so after a purchase. You can even offer an incentive, such as a discount on the next purchase in exchange for a review.
Go for Growth!
The economy is predicted to make a major comeback, now is the time to set your business up for growth so you can capitalize!