Boost Your Bottom Line: Increase Online Sales with 12 Powerful Strategies

Intro

Several shoppers who started shopping online due to COVID-19 stay-at-home orders have become loyal online buyers. Increasing sales online and building loyalty are possible by utilizing fundamental strategies and marketing tactics.

We have a lot of ideas on the list, so choose a few that you think will work best for your business and get started. 

Know Your Target Audience

Knowing your customers will help you make the right decisions about your products and marketing efforts. You can identify purchasing patterns and preferences by utilizing analytics tools in your online store.

Even though there are no alternatives to face-to-face interactions, you still have plenty of opportunities to ask questions via email, online chat, and phone calls. 

Use Google Analytics

Using your marketing resources and time wisely is essential. To better focus your marketing efforts, Google Analytics can be used to research how customers find your store.

In the case of your cookware store, if an article about healthy eating gets a lot of traffic, you should write more content about it. Investing more in advertising might be worthwhile if most of your sales are from Facebook ads.

Your Unique Selling Point

Is there anything you can offer that no one else can? Who are you, your store, and your products? Your uniqueness must be shouted from the rooftops once you have identified it. Add it to your tagline, make it prominent on your home page, highlight it in your email marketing, and announce it in social media ads.

You can give people a reason to come to your online store and, more importantly, to buy your products by building your marketing campaigns and efforts around your unique selling proposition. 

Enhance the Customer Experience by Simplifying It

Make it easy for customers to find and purchase what they want. You may need to improve your customer experience if your analytics indicate that many people are visiting your site but have yet to purchase.

Ask friends and family members who belong to your target market to play the role of customers in your online store and watch them go through the process. Take a look at their struggles or mistakes. The search function, product navigation, and checkout process all need improvement on your website.

Customer Service is the Key

Providing excellent customer service is essential to customers. Provide clear contact information on your website's contact page. If you have a chat link, include the link, your contact number, and your email address. Your website can benefit from an FAQ page that helps people find answers quickly.

The most important thing is to respond quickly to customers who contact you. Online stores rarely have in-person conversations, so make the most of the opportunity to establish a relationship.

Make Your Website Chat-Friendly

Chat has become a more common method of communicating with businesses since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Ensure you have a chat feature on your website if you still need to get one.

Your customers will be notified when you return using an autoresponder since you can't spend 24 hours on your computer. Also, you can use Virtual Agent Technology (VAT), a plug-in for your website that instantly answers customers' common and essential questions.

Make Checkout Simple

Checkout is critical in the buyer's journey, but many sales people need help. Customers can purchase without filling out long forms by offering a guest checkout option.

Rather than overwhelming the customer with information fields, split the checkout process into several pages or an expanding page. Make sure your text is short. The "Buy" button and an icon for the shopping cart are standard buttons and verbiage.

Decide Which Ecommerce Platform is Right for You

Choose a platform that has a simple process and management features so your customers will be able to navigate your site easily. Instead of growing your store, you can focus on growing your business.

Rather than building a full website, consider a platform such as Square Online Checkout, which allows customers to pay online without requiring an entire site. 

Display Customer Reviews on Product Pages

You can increase your online sales by allowing customers to share positive and negative comments about your products. It may be time to resolve the problems or discontinue a product that consistently receives poor reviews.

Allow customers to leave both star ratings and comments when adding reviews. Provide customers with as much ease of writing reviews as possible. A platform that includes this feature is even better.

Display High-Quality Photos of Your Products 

A good photo is essential. To show the features of your products, hire a professional photographer if necessary. 22% of online product returns occur when items appear differently than in the photos.

Make sure your photos accurately represent the products. Multiple images can be posted of a product. Approximately 60% of U.S. online shoppers must see three to four images on average before purchasing.

Unboxing Experience

An important aspect of e-commerce success is packaging's role in increasing sales. Packing serves more than just as a means of protection; it is a powerful tool for branding and customer engagement.

Well-designed and thoughtfully executed packaging strategies enhance unboxing experiences. The packaging of an exciting product can inspire anticipation and excitement among consumers, encouraging a sense of connection.

Furthermore, packaging can provide customers with information about the product, its features, and how to use it, guiding their purchase decisions and providing them with confidence.

Businesses can establish an identifiable visual identity by aligning packaging with brand values and aesthetics. An effective packaging strategy can differentiate products, encourage repeat purchases, and ultimately increase online sales in online retail.

With a reliable packaging partner, you will be able to create unique packaging that meets your product requirements. In the world of packaging solutions, Blue Box Packaging stands out as a leader dedicated to innovation, quality, and sustainability.

Keeping Shipping Costs Low is Essential

Consumers pay more attention to shipping charges until they reach the checkout page because many large retailers offer free shipping. Offer free shipping when possible by building shipping costs into your products. If there is a minimum order, you can offer free shipping or a flat rate upfront if that isn't feasible. 

SEO is a Must

It would help if you made it easy for your customers to find you when you have an online store. Improving your search engine ranking for keywords your customers search for when finding your business is a good idea. SEO aims to make your website rank in Google search engine results. A reliable SEO agency can help you.

Create Content

Google is the first place people go when they have a question. Through SEO, you can help people find your eCommerce store by creating content that provides them with exciting and relevant information. Consider addressing common challenges or ways to use your products instead of writing about them. You could write about fun games to play with your cat or how to soothe separation anxiety in cats if you sell cat toys. Writing new posts regularly will help you rank higher in search engines because search engines prefer pages that provide consistent content.

Make your Website Responsive

A mobile-friendly online store is essential for customers using mobile devices to purchase. A responsive eCommerce platform renders websites correctly on smartphones, so you should use one. It is convenient for your customers to buy products anytime with whatever device they have.

Email Marketing

Even though email marketing seems old-fashioned, it still works today. Your customers can quickly learn about sales, new products, and tips when you use a platform that automatically collects emails. Adding a subscription option to your blog or offering a discount code can also help you collect email addresses. Regularly keeping in touch with your customers can be achieved by sending an email newsletter.

Become Active on Social Media

You can help your store gain new customers by consistently sharing content on social media relevant to your target audience. Ensure your Instagram account is filled with high-quality pictures or videos of your products being used.

Provide Multiple Payment Options

It is easier for everyone to access your site if multiple payment options are available. No one type of financial background or payment method fits everyone. For instance, people shopping on their phones may prefer Apple Pay because their credit card isn't readily available. Having a variety of payment options prevents cart abandonment.

Incentives Based on Rewards

By offering incentives, your company encourages people to purchase from you. Consider free shipping, discount codes, or another perk for purchases over a certain amount.

Advertise

Almost any service business today needs digital marketing to be successful. The use of advertisements is becoming increasingly popular as a way to attract more customers. Potential customers unfamiliar with your brand can be reached using suitable targeting options.

As a result of including digital marketing ads in their marketing plans, businesses have seen their online sales increase significantly. It is much easier to create these ads than traditional commercials, which are much cheaper. Various content is included in these adverts, such as videos, text, images, and interactive features. You can create different ads depending on your target audience's values.