Online sales are the bedrock on which numerous digital businesses are built. Long-standing e-commerce business or a fresh online webstore, oal is the same - to sell. But the process is not as easy as it is made out to be. Setting up an online webstore that sells quality products or services isn’t enough to guarantee any sales.
However, there are numerous hacks or ways in which a business can stand out among a sea of other digital business startups. In today’s day and age, every e-commerce organization follows a range of strategies that include SEO, social media marketing, PPC ads, content marketing, all ensuring a surge in website traffic, with the hopes of converting it into tangible sales. While it is a pertinent aspect of transforming potential customers into buyers, having traffic on the online webstore alone is not enough. With an average conversion rate of 1 to 3%, e-commerce companies must concentrate on numerous other facets. Facets that attest trust and positivity for the potential customers, exhume warmth for the existing customers to push them into remaining loyal to the product or service, and innovative ways to let the unknowns take notice of the business.
To help online webstore(s) in achieving the same, we have compiled five ways that can help drive sales online. These are simple strategies that can be implemented right away, irrespective of the line of business one is in.
Upselling is a process where you encourage a customer to spend more on the product/service than they originally intended on in the first place. One of the most common ways this is done is by offering a more premium product for a conservative hike in price. We see this commonly across consumer electronic goods, where a better product with the better specification is available for less than a 5% increase in the price. By pushing the consumer to spend more, online webstore(s) can generate more sales or rather more mark-ups on the sales they achieve.
Cross-selling is another common practice an online webstore adopts when they sell online. Here, the business sells related products to the one that is being purchased on the check-out page of the online webstore. Businesses also hand out bundle offers wherein they club two or more pertinent or ancillary products together to generate more sales. Take a mobile phone handset for example. A company can sell protective insurance, phone case, earphones, all as a part of the bundle offer to generate better sales.
Instagram is one such weapon in the social media arsenal that can unleash the true potential of digital business. The app boasts of having over 500 million daily active users which includes the likes of potential customers, influencers, competitive brands among others. With organic engagement and relevant hashtags, Instagram can help a business by increasing its user base who could be interested in the products. Moreover, Instagram now paves the path directly to purchase making it easier for businesses to harness its true potential.
Social media also allows businesses to set up trust, unlike any other medium. With millions of users interacting with the medium every single day, businesses can use testimonials, reviews, endorsements, achievements to interact and attract customers towards their brand. Social media helps businesses build a following that gravitates towards their offerings, thereby boosting sales.
When businesses sell online, their checkout pages come in different forms. Most of the online webstore(s) want the customers to sign up before the order is completed. But this process might not be all that beneficial for numerous businesses. More than often, customers do not want to disclose all their details, or simply do not have the time to complete the sign-up process. Helping online webstore(s) here is the guest checkout page.
The guest checkout page on an online webstore also reduces cart abandonment. It is also extremely helpful for customers who might not remember the credentials when they visit later again. The guest checkout page offers ease, simplicity, and is timesaving, all while paving the way for generating more sales.
Every online webstore has potential customers that have drifted away from their webstore leaving their carts. This could happen due to numerous reasons. Outbound links, design flaws, not trustworthy enough are just some of the reasons that drive customers to abandon their carts. Online webstore(s) must pay heed to the cart abandonment rates and find ways to capture and convert these ‘potential’ customers once again.
These customers can be converted once again by having emailers that ask them the reason for their abandonment. These emailers have a 40% open rate with a 20% click-through rate. Numerous e-commerce giants send out emailers reminding their customers about what they are missing out on. Another way online webstore(s) can contact and recover from this abandonment rate is by ad retargeting. Also known as remarketing, businesses use PPC ads or Facebook ads to show their visitors what they’re missing out on. These could be through display ads or banner ads on Facebook, or across websites. Online businesses also rely on chat features that are integrated on the website to help reduce the cart abandonment rate. By helping customers navigate through the process, give out solutions for any technical problems, online webstore(s) can ensure the sale goes through without any hurdles.
The biggest hurdle for buying anything online is the degree of skepticism that consumers have while shopping. Can it be returned? Will the refunds be processed swiftly? What is the exchange policy? These questions always plague the mind of a consumer, leading to uncertainty which eventually translates into ambiguity towards purchasing products or services. Individuals running an online webstore must always be wary of the worst-case scenarios that customers come up with. To help customers have a positive experience in an online webstore, it is imperative to establish how seamless and easy the shopping experience is. Helping a customer with returns or processing their refunds swiftly and seamlessly helps businesses earn loyalty, which could eventually lead to sales.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and pump up your sales. All the best folks!
