E-commerce business has witnessed an unprecedented growth in the year 2015. Forecast for 2016 and beyond also shows a bullish trend in the global e-commerce industry. Along with the growth, comes competition and to survive and succeed in the fiercely competitive market you need to have strategies that increase the online sales of your ecommerce store.
If you already have a nicely built online store, invested in good SEO and digital marketing, but still not getting the desired sales volume, try out the following to increase the sales of your website:
1.Go for a mobile store: Do you have a mobile website? If not, you are losing out on almost 30% of sales volume daily. Online buyers are increasingly using their mobiles to search and buy products while on the move. Also, the number of mobile users has increased manifold in the last 3-5 years. In a country like India, mobile is the only way to connect to internet for small town and village buyers. Google and other search engines also give preference in ranking to a mobile friendly website. Having a mobile site will not only increase your sales but would also help you get better visibility on all prominent search engines.
2.Keep pace with technology: Is your store built on the latest technology or you are stuck with some ancient technology? If your store does not load fast enough, is unable to work seamlessly on multiple devices and is not flexible for changes and customization you are certainly not using the right technology. This aspect alone can be the game changer and decide whether you stay in or get out of the competition altogether. It is an established fact that a fast loading site attracts, retains and converts visitors into buyers. An online store built on latest technology using responsive design is a sure shot way to increase your sales volume.
3.Cater to your target audience: Gather as much input as you can about your target audience. Ask for feedback from your customers and invest in some reliable market studies. There is no better way to improve your product listing and services than to get the unbiased feedback of the end user. Depending on the age, location and buying behavior of your audience devise marketing plans that appeals to each segment. Incorporate various tools and technology (abandoned cart details, browsing history etc.) on your website that gathers input about the buying habits of individual buyers and send personalized offers to them. This step would help you convert more visitors into buyers.
4.Capture email id on your site: You can build a very good database for promoting your products by capturing the email id of your visitors. Highlight the user registration form on your website and offer discount or free products to prompt visitors to register with your business. Email ids thus harvested can be used to send out promotional offers and newsletters.
5.Choose a product and Create urgency to buy: When offering deals to your visitors and customers give a call for action and create an urgency to buy. Offer limited period flash sales on a chosen product or category and channelize every medium be it social media, content or PPC to drive sales to that very product. It is a well-known fact that creating an urgency to buy and using multiple channels to reiterate this prompts the potential buyers to visit the site and buy during a limited period offer.
6.Offer Freebies: Every buyer is looking for some additional benefits out of their purchase. Offering freebies like a free product on larger orders or free shipping often attracts better sales. Ensure that you are very clear about what you are offering to your buyers and highlight your freebies prominently. This would help spread the word about your latest offer and bring in additional sales from word of mouth.
7.Promote cross-selling and upselling heavily: Create a trail for your buyers and prompt them to buy with related product offerings. Upselling and cross selling offers are well known ways to promote sales at no additional cost. Prominently show the advantages and cost savings in upsizing their order and you ensure better sales for your store.
8.Streamline Delivery: Logistics is going to be the game changer for e commerce success in the days to come. If the delivery of your products is streamlines and the buyer gets his order on time, it builds trust in your brand and eventually results in improved sales. Offering prompt delivery offers the benefit of immediate gratification to the customer. This makes purchasing in an online store as good as purchasing in a real store where you get hold of your purchase immediately. Timely delivery is also known to reduce order cancellation and chargebacks.
Apart from following the above always track your competitors and keep checking out their latest offers. Instead of trying to outdo them on price alone, try to figure what they haven’t offered and bank on that factor to boost your sales.
If you have any more tricks up your sleeves to increase online sales do share them in comments below.
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