You have your product lines ready, your website’s up, you’re on all the right social media apps. Your eCommerce store is good to go! But it takes time to generate a steady flow of sales. As Forbes recently noted, a willingness to experiment is crucial for growth, and businesses need to get creative to not only keep up with the competition, but beat it.
So how can you increase your eCommerce sales?
While it requires a sustained effort, increasing eCommerce sales is often a result of implementing small techniques or changes that lead to bigger results over time.
Let’s take a look at some expert tips to boost sales and conversions.
7 Expert Tips to Increase your eCommerce Sales
1. Embrace the Power of Email Marketing
There are lots of social media sites. But email remains one of the most powerful ways of marketing your products. Compiling an email list helps you build a community of loyal customers which is precisely the right audience for any retargeting campaigns. You usually already have permission to send promotions or special offers to your email list and unlike paid advertising, you don’t need to invest any funds in the process. Email is a formidable communication medium, as studies by Google show that more than 70% of people use a mobile app to check their email, and mobile users check their inbox more than three times per day!
2. Incorporate Scarcity into the Process
Scarcity can help create a sense of urgency for visitors to an eCommerce store. For instance, if a product is in short supply or only on sale for a short amount of time, its perceived scarcity will make it more desirable, as a recent article on Hubspot demonstrated, showing how brands use scarcity as a tactic to promote and sell their products.
You might create a sense of scarcity by showing a “Just X remaining” label next to products, adding a countdown timer for special offers, or offering free shipping for a limited time. Incorporating scarcity works and should increase your conversion rates!
3. Offer Upsell Items at Every Opportunity
Studies suggest your current customer base is 50% more likely to make a purchase than a new site visitor. According to ecommerce analytics existing customers also spend 30% more and the cost of reaching them is far less than a new customer who isn’t familiar with your brand.
Offer upsells when a customer has decided to make a purchase on your eCommerce store, potentially enabling an extra sale to take place with minimal effort on your part. It’s also likely this upsell product is in some way relevant to the purchased item, and you can feature these products as “related items” any time a site visitor adds a particular product to their shopping cart.
4. Install a Live Chat Feature on the Website
Though email is a preferred means of communication for many people, there’s a reason why live chat is on the rise. More and more brands are turning to instant chat stores to facilitate questions and inquiries. Instant chat is also easy to install and just as easy for businesses to use.
Customers appreciate live chat as it’s quick and easy, but also because they are used to text and messaging. Live chat software is also an affordable way to provide customer service and catch customers before they think about taking their search elsewhere. Check out these other reasons why live chat is a must have!
5. Experiment with Paid Advertising
Paid advertising should be part of every marketing plan, including when sales are going well. Paid ads can produce a remarkable return on investment, and Google estimates that advertisers receive at least $2 for every $1 they invest.
There are many ways to advertise your company but Google Ads is an obvious place to start. It’s important to test various keywords and ensure the ad is producing results. There’s really no good reason not to experiment with paid advertising. Just set a budget to make sure you minimize the risk.
6. Spend More Time on Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long-term strategy that can help generate a regular stream of traffic for your eCommerce store. According to Digital Authority Partners, SEO is crucial for sales success. Organic searches account for more than 35% of all online traffic, and that’s not a number you can afford to ignore!
In short, the more time and effort spent on optimizing content with SEO, the higher your eCommerce store will rank on search engines. This includes all types of web content from blog posts and landing pages to video descriptions and product listings.
7. Highlight Reviews to Nurture More Conversions
More than 70% of customers check online reviews before making a purchase. While this feedback is important for improving any store, a stack of positive reviews is sure to nurture a better rate of conversion with new customers.
Make sure to highlight customer reviews in menus, checkout areas, and any place where site visitors can see them right away. Always add ratings to your product listings and prompt buyers to leave a review to strengthen the positive feedback loop. If you miss this opportunity, you might use the email list mentioned earlier to reach out and request a review.
Final Thoughts
While paid advertising is great for increasing sales, a variety of other ways to attract more buying customers to your site is available–and they’re often more affordable too. Paying close attention to SEO is sure to benefit in the long run, and even minor adjustments to a product listing can improve the bottom line overnight. Success in eCommerce is also something that requires time, and sometimes the smallest tweaks to your marketing efforts can make an immense difference in sales and return customers over time.
GAG Staff