Businesses had to go online after the pandemic started since people started shopping online to avoid the virus. The situation compelled many businesses to increase their online presence to connect with their customers. Going online also allowed them to increase revenues as the recession started to affect the economy.
Even after the situation improved, an online presence became a necessity as forecasts showed that global e-commerce sales will increase every year. This makes it essential for businesses to work on their online presence to increase sales. Here are some ways for businesses to increase their online sales.
Optimize the Website for Search Engines
Setting up a website is not enough since consumers have to find the website of the business amid the huge number of online stores in the market. Due to this, businesses need to optimize their websites for search engines to connect with their target audience.
Businesses should carry out search engine optimization (SEO) activities to ensure their websites rank well on the search engine results page (SERP) of Google. These activities include using keywords that are relevant to the business on the website.
They should also set up an account on online business listing platforms, including Google My Business, Yelp, and Bing. Businesses should include all necessary details on these platforms, including their name, location, contact details, and business hours. They should also upload recent images of their products and reviews from existing customers.
Aside from SEO, businesses should also implement a social media marketing campaign to take advantage of the reach of social media platforms in the market. They should create accounts on major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Ensure Honesty in the Sales Copy
With the huge number of stores selling products online, consumers are wary about patronizing businesses that are duplicitous and do not deliver on their promises. The anonymity provided by the internet allows some businesses to deceive consumers into buying their products even though they do not work. But this practice also means these businesses will not last long.
To avoid this situation, businesses should be honesty in their sales copies and deliver on the promises they make to their customers. Being honest and straightforward allows businesses to build a loyal customer base who knows that these businesses will deliver on their promises.
It’s also important for businesses to check the market’s perception of their brands. Knowing the perception of the market allows businesses to know if the consumers trust them. To obtain this information, businesses should implement a brand health tracking strategy to gain insight into their buyer’s journey. The strategy also allows businesses to know how they can increase brand loyalty in the market and the keywords their market use when looking for products online.
Increase Trust Through Testimonials
Testimonials allow businesses to build their reputation in the online marketplace. With many consumers relying on feedback from other consumers, businesses should use testimonials in their marketing strategies.
Testimonials allow businesses to overcome obstacles in converting potential buyers of their products. But they should make sure that these testimonials are authentic and other consumers can relate to them. So, businesses should include the demographic information of the customers who agree to provide a testimonial for the business.
The testimonial should also focus on a specific product or service that the business offers in the market. Since customers are not used to writing testimonials, businesses should guide their customers when they provide them.
Businesses should post these testimonials on their websites, social media pages, and online business listings. Using these testimonials allows businesses to increase their trust level in their market.
Facilitate Smooth a Checkout Process
When consumers buy products online, they prefer to transact with businesses that offer a speedy checkout process. When they encounter issues in the checkout process, consumers will abandon their cars and look for another website that offers faster checkouts.
Due to this, businesses should ensure their checkout process is smooth and fast. Reducing issues in the checkout process will increase the conversion rates of businesses. Aside from making the website easy to use, businesses should also make it easy for consumers to pay for the products they want to buy.
To achieve this, businesses should remove unnecessary steps during checkout. These steps can discourage customers from completing the checkout process. Businesses should also remove unnecessary fields on the checkout forms. They should also ensure the customers do not time out when they purchase products. Additionally, businesses should ensure their customers do not have to start over when they time out while trying to -purchase products on their websites.
The pandemic highlighted the importance of going online for businesses to connect with their customers. So, it’s important for businesses should work in increasing online sales to stay profitable.
