Ecommerce stores are on the rise as of late, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. For many customers, online shopping gives them the convenience of being able to shop for products from their own mobile devices. As more people become more accustomed to online shopping, ecommerce will only continue to grow. In fact, it is expected that it will make up a whopping 22 percent of retail sales worldwide by 2023.
As of 2021, it is estimated that there will be 2.14 billion digital buyers worldwide and the number is expected to grow in the coming years. If you own an ecommerce store, that’s a lot of potential customers. Ecommerce is a competitive industry so you need to find ways to boost your ecommerce sales. If you are trying to learn how to increase your ecommerce sales, then this article is for you.
Steps In Boosting Ecommerce Sales
- Build Brand Awareness
- Use Multiple Communication Channels
- Implement A Solid Email Marketing Strategy
- Upsell Your Products
- Create A Good Shopping Experience
- Optimize Your Store For Mobile
- Engage Customers
- Simplify Checkout Process
- Improve Your SEO
- Know Your Customers
Let’s proceed.
Steps In Boosting ECommerce Sales
As an ecommerce business owner, your primary goal is to find ways to attract customers and increase sales. It can be disappointing for you to have done everything but still be unable to generate sales. That’s what we are here for. We will provide you with some tips on how you can increase sales from your ecommerce store.
1. Build Brand Awareness
Ecommerce is a competitive industry so you want to be able to break through the noise to be able to have a share of the pie. Building brand awareness is important when selling online. The more people know about your brand, the higher your sales will be. Brand awareness helps build trust which could impact sales, repeat purchases, and SEO. When customers trust your brand, they are more likely to make a purchase.
Brand awareness starts with creating trust among your customers. This is important because it gives you a chance to talk to customers and build trust. Here are a few ways you can improve your brand awareness:
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- Improve quality. Sell what your production description says. This shows your honesty to your customers. Also, you should create quality content. Your objective should not be just sales but should also inform and educate customers.
- Run Online Ad Campaigns. Online advertising will allow you to be seen more by potential customers. Even if they don’t click on your ads, they will become aware of your brand.
- Engage with Customers. Reply to comments on social media or blogs. If there are people discussing your products on forums, you should get involved in the conversation. By engaging with customers, they will see you as a real human rather than just a faceless business.
Brand awareness can spell the difference between making a sale and losing it. You want to be the first brand that will come to the mind of customers when they are looking for a product or service. The more aware they are of your brand, the better the chance of getting repeat business.
2. Use Multiple Communication Channels
These days, reaching your potential customers on your website is not enough. To become successful online, you need to be in as many places as possible. This will increase your chances of being discovered by potential customers. Studies show that companies with omnichannel customer engagement retain an average of 89% of their customers. Aside from your website, you should also consider being present on social media, email, live chat, and other communication channels.
Studies show that omnichannel customers spend 15% to 30% more compared to single or multiple channel customers. If you have a brick-and-mortar store aside from an online store, omnichannel will drive sales and traffic to both. Omnichannel marketing gives customers the convenience of starting and completing purchases on different channels. Also, an omnichannel strategy ensures a seamless customer experience.
Having an omnichannel strategy allows your businesses to break through the noise in a crowded market. It allows you to remain relevant and stand out from the competition. More importantly, it gives you a channel for personalizing the customer experience and turning leads into regular customers. Customer shopping behavior is evolving and omnichannel marketing allows you to keep up with these changing trends.
3. Implement A Solid Email Marketing Strategy
In the age of social media and other digital channels, email marketing still has a place in targeting potential customers. Even with the widespread use of digital marketing channels, customers still prefer receiving emails from businesses. It is estimated that the number of email users worldwide is at 4.3 billion in 2022 and is expected to swell to 4.6 billion by 2025. If you are not using email marketing, imagine the number of potential customers you will miss out on.
To start with email marketing, create a list of your target audience. According to a 2015 study by Forrester Research, email marketing generates 24% revenue. However, it is not enough for you to just capture a bunch of email addresses, you need to send out emails to the right audience for your campaign to be effective. Email marketing is a great way to ensure that your business remains top of mind with customers.
There are different types of emails you can send depending on your marketing goal. For instance, you can send out a welcome email as soon as the customer makes a purchase. You can also send emails to solicit feedback from customers. In addition, your email marketing can be about sending newsletters to notify subscribers about new discount offers, product tips, or company news.
4. Upsell Your Products
Upselling your products can be more effective than acquiring a new customer. Data reveals that upselling is 68% more affordable than acquiring a new customer. Upselling means you offer a slightly more premium product than the one your customer originally purchased. By upselling, you increase revenue by 10 – 30% on average. With upselling, you either offer a more superior model of the product or a similar product with value-added features.
Upselling is the reason why you opted for a 54” television instead of the 48” you originally planned or why you bought a bigger bag of coffee for $3 more. The end goal of upselling is to increase the average order value. There are two main considerations you need to keep in mind when upselling:
- The item you are upselling should be related to the original product
- Be sensitive to the anticipated price range of your customers
In addition, the product you are upselling should fit the original needs of your customer. It should be a better fit than the original for the additional cost to be worthwhile. Customers will have second thoughts about buying a product with a higher price point if they have another price already in mind.
5. Create A Good Shopping Experience
Boosting potential revenue for your ecommerce website is not just about attracting customers to your website. You also need to make sure that they convert when they get there. To do this, you need to make sure that they get a seamless shopping experience. You need to make it easier for them to quickly find what they are looking for. Nowadays, customers place a premium on a good experience with your brand.
How important is it to deliver a positive customer experience? As reported by Emplifi, 4 out of 5 respondents would leave a brand to which they are loyal after three or fewer instances of poor customer experience. In addition, 65% of customers believe that a positive experience is more influential than great advertising. This is why it is important to always ensure the delivery of a great customer experience.
Once the customer is ready to make a purchase, make the payment process simple. Offer as many payment methods as possible. Your customer may not find it convenient to pay online purchases using their credit card but they’re okay to pay with PayPal. Also, you can offer a guest checkout so they won’t have to create an account which can be time consuming.
6. Optimize Your Store For Mobile
According to Statista, more than half of all online purchases are expected to happen on mobile devices. Thus, your online store needs to be accessible on mobile devices. However, a 2018 study found that only about 12 percent of consumers found online shopping on their mobile devices convenient and 62 percent of customers complain that pages and links are too small to click on when accessing sites via mobile devices.
Nowadays, people love shopping on their mobile devices and there is no sign that this trend will stop. If your ecommerce store cannot be accessed on mobile devices, then say goodbye to potential customers. Thus, you need to make sure that your online store is mobile-friendly. With the competition fierce, stores that do not provide a frictionless mobile experience will end up missing a lot of opportunities.
As an e-commerce owner, you need to pay attention to the user experience on your website. Consider this: 86% of customers are willing to pay more to get a great customer experience. On the other hand, 57% will not recommend a website with a poor customer experience. Work on delivering a great customer experience and the revenue will come.
7. Engage Customers
Ecommerce retailers are now facing a new breed of customers. As more customers are now getting more comfortable with online shopping, they now expect to receive the best customer experience possible. 73% of customers point to customer experience as an important factor in their purchasing decision. The benchmark of quality should be judged in terms of customer satisfaction. But customer satisfaction would not happen if you won’t engage with them. Companies that successfully engage with customers achieve 63% lower customer attrition, 55% higher share of wallet, and 50% higher productivity.
Customer engagement is important in building strong relationships. A Salesforce study revealed that 80% of customers say that the experience provided by a company is as important to them as its products and services. A fully-engaged customer generates more revenue than average. By engaging with customers, you will be able to provide a personalized customer experience. Customer engagement helps you provide proactive support increasing your chances of converting visitors into potential leads.
Keep your customers engaged on your social media pages. If they are trying to reach out to you through Facebook Messenger or other channels, you should be proactive in engaging with them. Redirecting them to another channel is not a good practice. Customer engagement starts with a single interaction so you need to go the extra mile when engaging with them. It’s what customers want and expect from you.
8. Simplify Checkout Process
Having a complicated checkout process can result in cart abandonment. In 2021, more than 18% of customers abandoned their carts because of a complicated checkout process. The longer and more complicated the checkout process is, the greater the risk for cart abandonment. When someone visits your website and places something in their cart, it is your job to make sure that they are converted into a potential customer.
The best way to convert leads to customers is to make the buying process as simple and free of distraction as possible. There are many ways you can simplify the checkout process. For instance, you can drop the requirement of having people provide unnecessary information during the registration process. Give customers the option to checkout as a guest.
Additionally, provide them with multiple payment options. Some customers may not be comfortable with paying with their credit cards. Some like paying with PayPal or other online channels. According to the Worldpay Global Payments Report, 36% of global online shoppers prefer eWallets as their payment method. If you don’t offer e-wallet payments, chances are customers will look for another online store that offers it.
9. Improve Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for increasing the sales of your online store. Studies show that organic search is responsible for 38% of overall website traffic. The more optimized your landing pages, keywords, and blog posts are, the higher they will rank on search engines. Effective SEO strategies can generate an ROI of $2.75 for every $1 spent. But making your site stand out is not always easy.
More than just the keywords, you should also optimize your product descriptions. How can you do that? You can add detailed, keyword-rich descriptions and calls to action. Also, you should include high-quality images to improve your search engine rankings and drive more traffic from potential customers.
Lastly, avoid using stop words such as “the,” “and,” “of,” and “a.” This will decrease your content’s readability and may also lower your SEO rankings. Also, it will less likely hold your reader’s interest. By removing stop words from your website, you can create a more relevant copy.
10. Know Your Customers
In ecommerce, knowing who your target audience is vital to successfully convert visitors. However, not everyone who visits your website are potential customers. You can’t guess who your customers are. You need to study your metrics, qualify your leads, and then offer your products accordingly.
Learning more about your customers and how your products or services fit into their everyday life will allow you to personalize your offering to them. It is important for you to understand the needs and expectations of your customers. Knowing your customers goes beyond knowing their name, age, gender, marital status, income level, and others. It involves knowing their interests so you can cater to what they exactly need.
In addition, knowing your customers also means determining the channels where they engage with you, their pain points, and others. It is important for these questions to be answered for your online store to become successful. Keep your product catalog updated and make sure that it includes all the details potential customers may be looking for.
Having the best ecommerce website will not mean anything if it does not convert visitors into leads into potential customers. Keep these tips in mind to ensure that your website will become truly profitable.
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