Buying and selling products over the internet can be tricky - especially if your marketing strategy just isn’t working. There are different types of ecommerce models and the truth is that there is no one universal way to promote sales through marketing - it is entirely dependent on what your model is. Despite that, there are a few tips that anyone can use to grow their sales and get closer to the desired results.
If you’re in the beginning of starting your business then it might be a good idea to try social media marketing on all platforms - Facebook, Instagram (Twitter, Tumblr, others). However, when you’ve already spent some time working on it, you need to evaluate which platforms are contributing and which aren’t. If you’re getting nothing out of Facebook, then cut it out of your schedule. There is no point in wasting time on something that doesn’t work.
After you have identified what platform works best for your model then you can safely invest more time and work into using it as a marketing tool.
While it is sometimes a good idea to share things that aren’t original to your brand, what really grabs people is content that they cannot see anywhere else. Imagine the difference between posting an article that you found online and hiring someone to write a specific article that will only be available on your platform. People respond to original content - whether it’s an article, a podcast, a simple picture, or even an ebook.
That way people who are actually interested in learning more about what you offer will have the opportunity to do so with content that actually came from you, rather than another place on the internet.
There are certain ways in which you can automate your social networks. For example, it is possible to schedule Facebook posts for a whole month ahead which means that you will not have to think about the content for a long time. How that will help you grow your sales is that you will have more free time to work on other things such as responding to comments and questions and investing in other platforms.
The Marketing Director of PickWriters, one of the top translation companies, acknowledged the great benefits social media activity brought to their business: “Since we started adding users and locations on our Instagram posts, we were able to reach new followers without mentioning more details. Also, we got new followers from the users who were browsing through the photos that had the user or location tag.”
If you have an online store where you’re selling goods and you’re confident that the store looks great on a computer, then it is time to make sure it looks great everywhere else too. The amount of people who shop on their phones is huge and you do not want to push customers away by having an unresponsive and confusing website on different digital platforms.
If you have a friendly interface on all platforms, then you’re guaranteed to increase the chances of growing your sales. Nobody likes to shop on a website that is unresponsive or difficult to use.
Something as simple as using a customer’s name in an email can make a big difference. Tons of emails go out every time someone makes a purchase and personalizing them to show that you care can do wonders. Further, you can create surveys and send out questions that will make your customers feel like their opinion is heard. If someone was unhappy with an item, they should also have the option to get some kind of compensation for it.
Make your clients feel like you care about their experience and that you take the time to sort out their problems - even if that means hiring an extra person to help out. That way when everything goes smoothly they are going to come back, make another purchase, and help your sales grow.
Getting discouraged to buy an item when you see that delivery costs a bit too much is not unheard of. Not only does delivery need to be cheap in relation to what items you’re selling but if you guarantee faster shipping than usual then your sales should start growing. Even if people must pay for express shipping - it is still a good idea to have it as an option for those who like receiving their items fast.
Another thing you can do is try offering free delivery. People would often rather pay 90 dollars for an item when delivery is free, than 70 for an item with 20 dollars for delivery. The delivery fee is often seen as paying for “nothing”. Try upgrading your delivery services and you can expect some great results in your sales.
This one is a bit more specific than the rest of the tips. Firstly, if your page doesn’t have the option to add an item to a wishlist, then you must create it right away. Sometimes people like to add things with the intention on buying them later in the month when they get their salary. If they simply leave something in the cart, chances are it may disappear, but having a wishlist connected to their account is a safer way to make sure it stays there.
Further, if something has been in a user’s wishlist for a week or two, it could be a good idea to create an automatic email that reminds them about it and hopefully lures them back into the website. Even if they still don’t buy the item, they are paying you another visit and increasing the chances of your sales growing.
The ecommerce marketing journey is difficult one and things often don’t work out as expected. The strategies, however, are numerous, and sometimes implementing just one or two can make a big difference in relation to your sales. Waiting for sales to happen on their own will never work - you must do the time and a lot of research in order to get the desired results.
Kristin Savage nourishes, sparks and empowers using the magic of a word. Along with pursuing her degree in Creative Writing, Kristin was gaining experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in marketing strategy for publishers and authors. Now she had found herself as a freelance writer. She observes with a special interest how the latest achievements in media and technology help to grow readership and revenue and shares her opinion. You can find her on Facebook.