Nowadays, E-Commerce is considered to be one of the fastest growing business sectors across the globe. Why not use this opportunity to build your store and reap all of the benefits of selling at least some of your products online? You are on the right track if your business is already present online. But in order to enjoy as many benefits from it as you can, there is a need to make sure that your website is properly optimized for both visitors and search engines. This article will guide you through the 7 tips on improving your sales online. They all are easy to implement and guaranteed to take your business to the next level. So, without any additional introductions, let us dive straight into it!
Tip 1. First things first, how do you get started?
(a) Add all the product information and the respective options All of your product pages must contain high-quality photos of the products you are currently selling. They should also come with detailed descriptions to tell visitors how good your products really are. Since many customers love to buy customized products, don’t forget to include an option to purchase things of a particular color, size or style. Due to the current popularity of social networking sites, it is important that you give your buyers an opportunity to spread a positive word about your products. This can be accomplished by introducing social media icons on all of the landing pages.
(b) Connect your store to the payment system. In order to receive money for the things you are going to sell online, don’t forget to install a payment system on your Store Manager account. When selecting a new payment method, some of the options you might want to choose your payments from including Paypal, credit card, cash and so on.
(c) Organize shipping and make a decision on taxes. Organize your shipments and set up total prices depending on the regions you are going to work in. Some of the countries might have a VAT of up to 35 percent, whereas the others will not charge any VATs at all.
Tip 2. Take advantage of Auto-Related Upsells and Cross-Sells Extensions
Once your website is set up and ready for business, it’s time to add a new functionality to your store. Instead of offering customers just a single type of product they were originally looking for, present them with other thematically related goods which can be considered as complements. If you are an owner of a Magento store looking to improve sale figures, consider using the Magento 2 Automatic Related Products extension. By implementing the respective feature on your website, you will let customers easily find relevant products which appeared to be popular among your clients in the past.
One quick example of how this works. Say a customer came to your store with an initial attention of buying a warm jacket. Once he or she finishes the whole shopping process, present your brand new scarf which happened to have a 50% discount. This will be a win-win situation for both you and your visitors.
Tip 3. Invest time and effort in optimizing your landing pages
When you walk down the street and notice a showcase of a brand new store, what are the factors which can convince you to walk through the door and buy the things you want to buy? Apart from the exceptional product characteristics and customer support, it is most probably the storefront which managed to grab your attention. And you as online store owner can create your beautifully looking landing page too. The latter has a significant role in representing all the unique features of your business. Therefore, it is important to design them with an aim of grabbing as much customer attention as you possibly can. If you sell clothing and it is the end of October, introduce your visitors to a brand new winter collection to get them ready for the upcoming winter months. When a user lands on a particular landing page, he or she should not have any doubts about where to go next. Accompany your product pages with clear Call to Action elements to make the overall purchasing process both easier and faster.
Tip 4. Share something special with your customers
Do you have any special offers, discounts, end-of-season sales currently going on? If yes is the answer, make your customers aware of it! How can you do that? Just mark your discounted products with the special ribbons, create unique coupons to make them excited. The more price discounts you present your customers with, the happier they will be.
Tip 5. Keep in touch with your customers and inform them about the latest offers
Don’t limit your marketing activities by concentrating on your site. Use the magical power of social media to stimulate sales and offer special discounts exclusively to your subscribers on the social media. Accompany your social media activities with email marketing and offer an opportunity to subscribe to your weekly or monthly newsletter. The latter may contain an information about your holiday sales, new collections or a recent blog post. When your social media and email marketing campaigns are up and running, consider adding Search Engine Advertising to your existing marketing campaign. The list of advertising networks to present your business on may include Google Adwords’ Search/Display Advertising, Bing Ads, Facebook Advertising and many more. The more effort you put in promoting your business, the more buyers will come to your site.
Tip 6. Make your customers trust you
Nowadays, the Internet is packed with online shops offering any kind of products we сan potentially think of. You can buy almost anything, from an ordinary pencil to a brand new car. Therefore, in order to stand out from the crowd, it is important to present your website as a trustful and well-respected place.
Below are the tips on how you can do that:
(a) Include a statement detailing your shipping, tax and return policies;
(b) Give your clients an opportunity to write a customer review expressing their opinions about a particular product or a customer support.
(c) If you have been mentioned somewhere on the mass media, create a page on your site to show your customers how good you actually are.
(d) Introduce your visitors to the company’s staff and the corporate history. The more they know about you, the more trust you will enjoy in return.
(e) Include the FAQ section on your website. This will increase your reputation and save time for both you and your visitors.
Tip 7. Make sure the users will be able to contact you
Include a Contact Page on your website with a telephone number and a contact form. Do you have a physical store? If the answer is «yes», include information about your actual address where customers can find you. Another great idea is to integrate a virtual chat on your site so that the users will be able to get in touch with your support team in a matter of seconds. Last but not least, include the links to your social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and others.
