Irma D. Rutherford Online, it’s harder to convince customers to purchase your products than in a brick-and-mortar store. There’s no friendly face to welcome them or an associate who can help them find what they are looking for. You don’t have to let your online retail success be a matter of chance.
You can boost your sales by using some basic strategies. This will allow you to provide your customers with the support they want, both in person and online.
These 11 retail marketing techniques can help you increase your sales and make yourself stand out online.
Find new customers quickly and increase your retail store sales with the help of this tool.
Send abandoned cart emails.
SalesCycle reports that more than 75% of retail site visitors put items in their shopping cart but never finish the checkout. Emails that are targeted at abandoned cart visitors can help you recover sales.
There are several ways to contact shoppers who have left items in their shopping carts. You can offer a one-time special, such as free shipping for orders exceeding a certain dollar amount. One way to grab attention is by personalizing subject lines with a reference to an item that the customer has left behind.
Add video to product listings.
Videos are an excellent way to increase engagement online. It is just as important to your retail strategy as it is to your social media strategy. Still not convinced? Recent survey results on video and marketing
62% of retail customers watch product review videos before purchasing a product.
84% of people buy a service or product after watching a video from a retailer.
97% of video marketers reported that videos increased the user’s understanding of a service or product.
56% of consumers think a website should include video content.
Include videos on your product page to increase the conversion rate. This is the percentage of site visitors who complete a desired action like purchasing a product or booking your services. Product pages with videos see 37% more conversions to add-to-cart than those without videos.
Compelling video content could be information about a product, a demo, or a critique. Do not worry about the production value. Customers want information that is easy to digest, not entertainment.
Video clips of one to three-minute length tend to be more popular with visitors.
Join forces with influencers on social networks.
Influencers have become a major part of marketing. A recent Digital Marketing Institute study revealed that 86 percent of marketers had used influencer marketing within the last year.
Retailers benefit from the endorsements of popular social media influencers. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, businesses earn, on average, $6.50 per dollar spent on influencer marketing. The top 13 percent of companies earn $20 for every dollar they spend.
Influencer marketing can be a great investment. This is partly because it allows you to repurpose your content on other platforms, such as product display pages. You can create a section of your website where you collect product videos and promote them.
Create a blog
Online retailers must use content marketing. Content marketing is essential for online retailers. Good content increases conversion rate and attracts more leads.
It can take a lot of time to create blog content, but you can reuse it across channels, just like with influencer marketing. Promote your blog posts on Facebook and Twitter, and include a teaser in your newsletters.
A retail website blog’s goal is to offer value to customers and generate more leads. It does not have to be about pushing a particular product. However, you can use the blog to promote products. Mix up your topics.
Improve your website responsiveness.
Does your site load quickly? If not, responsiveness should be a top priority. According to marketing consultant Neil Patel, 40 percent of users will abandon websites that take more than three seconds to load.
You need to make sure that your site is compatible with mobile devices. Mobile shopping is now more popular than desktop shopping. Online shoppers spend 44% of their time on smartphones and 11% on tablets. You’re losing sales every day if your website is unresponsive or not mobile-friendly.
Mobile is dominating the ecommerce business. In 2018, mobile ecommerce sales racked up $1.8 trillion annually, and that number is expected to grow to more than $3.5 trillion by 2021.
Smart pop-ups
Pop-ups appear as small windows on a website. Pop-ups can occur when you first open a web page, or they can gradually fade in or slide into the page from the side, top, or bottom. Pop-ups are well-known, but they can be used to get visitors to sign up for your mailing list.
When retailers use this technique correctly, it can yield important results.
Pop-ups are used in a variety of ways.
Delayed Pop-Ups: appear after a certain period.
Pushdown Pop-ups: move page content to the bottom of the page.
Pop-ups that push up: Slide up from the bottom of the screen.
Exit Intent Pop-Ups are displayed when the customer tries to leave a site.
Sign-up forms: encourage visitors to subscribe to resources such as email promotions.
Create interactive email content.
Email Marketing remains one of the best ways to reach out to your audience. This strategy relies on creating email content that stands out.
Interactive emails that are clickable drive better results. Create a quiz that helps shoppers discover their “shopping type” or make product choices. You can also create an interactive email with rewards and incentives like limited-time discount codes. You can encourage your customers to purchase if you make them feel special through your email communication.
Add a Live Chat feature to Your Website
live chat is the most popular digital contact method. It’s far ahead of social media and email. Customers can receive instant answers to their product-related questions and get the same personalized service they would get in a store.
You can eliminate many objections to buying on the virtual floor by answering questions promptly. This can not only increase conversions but also improve customer satisfaction. Customer loyalty is built over time when you are able to satisfy your customers.
This chart ranks the main methods of customer contact by customer satisfaction levels. Live chat leads the pack at 73% customer satisfaction, compared to email at 61% and phone at just 44%.
Launch a brand ambassador program.
You can grow your organic customer relationship and increase sales by turning customers into brand advocates. Brand ambassadors are fans who support your brand. They will share their honest opinions about your product or service via social media, word of mouth, and other channels.
Create a core group to act as brand ambassadors. Reward these customers by offering them freebies, upgrades in service, or other exclusive benefits. It is important to build a team of brand ambassadors who will be willing to promote your products and services to others.
Buy now and pay later services.
You convert more leads when you make it easy for customers to purchase now and pay later. The customer is more likely to finish the purchase and less likely to change their mind. Pay later services work similarly to the popular in-store layaway programs that have been around for years. They can help make your product affordable to those who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.
