It’s a busy time of year for e-commerce businesses. Whether you are gearing up your website for Christmas and the New Year, or want to increase long-term revenue, you need to take steps to ensure your website stands out from the crowd.
To do this, here are ten straightforward online sales strategies you can start implementing today:
1) Focus On Existing Customers
It generally costs far more to acquire a new sale than to upsell to existing customers. Loyal, repeat customers are a fertile market because you have already done the groundwork of building up trust and a professional reputation. So, when you are in need of a rapid increase in online sales, create a special offer for your existing customers. This could take the form of reward points, discount coupons, or exclusive products not available on the main website.
2) Reassure Visitors About Cyber Security
Cybersecurity is a major concern for consumers, especially when using an independent e-commerce website. Set their mind at rest and encourage more sales by visibly demonstrating your security credentials. If you haven’t already, acquire an HTTPS certificate for your website. You should also display icons for all the security applications you use for your website, e.g. VeriSign, McAfee Secure etc.
3) Provide Visual Product Demonstrations
You’re more likely to get a sale if your customer can visually see the product and how it works. Videos are far more effective at doing this than 2-D images alone. Product and instructional videos are also good for SEO purposes.
4) Attach Images & Full Names To Your Customer Testimonials
Customer testimonials are effective because they give personal credibility to your business. They become even more credible when you include a person’s full name, job title, and image next to the testimonial. This helps prove that the testimonials are genuine and builds trust with your brand.
5) Make Your Site Mobile Friendly
Make sure your website is fully responsive to different screen sizes and is optimised to load quickly on mobile devices. Customers should be able to access the full experience from their phones or tablets, including secure online payments.
6) Entice People With Special Offers
Regular special offers are a great way of boosting online sales. People are more likely to buy if they think they’re getting a discount. Rotate your offers to attract interest to different categories of product and use them strategically to shift overstocked items and seasonal produce.
7) Highlight Your Best-Selling Items
Draw attention to trending and popular items on your site by creating a category page for bestsellers, or featured items. You can use this strategy to increase sales on high margin items, or even to draw attention to struggling products.
8) Create A Sense Of Urgency
It’s natural for customers to feel purchase anxiety the second before they finalise a sale, which is the reason behind most abandoned shopping carts. You can counteract this by encouraging a sense of urgency or FOMO (fear of missing out). Limited time special offers are one way of doing this. Another strategy is to alert customers when there is a limited quantity of items remaining. This makes it more likely they’ll close the sale now, rather than go away to think about it.
9) Accept Different Payment Options
Make it as easy as possible for people to buy your products. You should use a payment processing system that accepts all major debit and credit cards. PayPal and Applepay are also popular and convenient means of payment, as they avoid the tedious necessity of having to fill out endless customer details when making a first purchase.
10) Focus On Your Value Proposition
Consumers aren’t really interested in your company history, your business address, or mugshots of your directors. They are on your website for one reason, and that is your products. Emphasise the value your company offers customers through your products and make this proposition prominent on your website.
Next Steps
At JDR, we can help transform your website into a powerful tool for online sales. To discuss your options with one of our sales and marketing experts, please call 01332 982198 today.
Image source: Unsplash
