Online Sales

Or How to Sell Online

It depends greatly on the products you’re selling. If you are an established entrepreneur and have already your physical store, then that’s the starting point which determines your approach. The products are a given, and we start from there. The assumption is that the products you want to sell are the best possible in their category, you believe in them and you are proud of them and want to share it with others so that they also benefit from using them.

First of all, define your audience. Who do you intend to target with your marketing and advertisement? Which is the segment of society that uses and is likely to buy your products? For corsettes, it is mainly going to be women, while men are a more likely audience when it comes to fishing equipment. Very obvious examples, I know, but it is possible to define an audience for any type of product or service. Age, gender, habits and interests — you can outline your potential customer base with them.

Then, what are the habits and interests of those potential customers? Where can you reach them — which channels, blogs, websites are they visiting, on what device, any physical places they prefer to visit? All worthwhile points to consider before deciding on your marketing strategy.

So, let’s dive in to our main topic: marketing strategies. Entire books could be written on each paragraph, so all is shortened to be nutshell-sized.

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

Google, Facebook and other platforms offer endless possibilities to invest in gaining brand awareness, making your shop known and find new customers. It mihgt be costly but it definitely gives a boost to your website’s visibility. Just starting up and nobody knows you yet? Launching your shop in a new geographical zone? This is the fast way to gain an audience base.

It should be given a thought which channel works for your line of products. Google has very useful tools for planning keywords and keep an eye on the trends of searches performed in it. From there you will know if people are searching for what you have to offer. And you will notice when trends are changing.

Facebook is just powerful in advertisement, you can post pictures, videos and involve people right away, getting comments and direct messages. It works perfectly with products that can interest people in their free time, kitchen ware, health and beauty products, fitness related articles are examples of what sells well on Facebook. To be considered is the age of the users, as the ever-emerging new social platforms get the attention of the younger generations, and if you want to target them, it is probably better to turn to Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.

FACEBOOK AND OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA

In addition to all the above, you have free tools on the social media platforms to make your brand known. You can become member in different Facebook groups and start to talk to your customers, giving free advice and establishing yourself as an opinion leader in the subject. You can do live videos and seminars. You can connect with influencers who can promote your products.

SEO

The SEO of your website can bring you customers without having to pay for getting their attention. Thorough keyword-monitoring and lot of work to write a continuous blog with useful content that contain those keywords that people will look for, backlink-creating collaborations, guest-postings in other blogs — it’s a lot of very detailed work that with time can make you known and ensure a stable position for you among the leaders of your sector.

EMAIL MARKETING

The most effective tool once you have a list of subscribers. You can regularly update them on new arrivals, sales and events. You can do it really professionally, with segmented lists and automated emails. It can play a big role in your customer retention to regularly write to existing ones, to let them know about some good deals or offer them discounts as part of your loyalty program.

KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS AND KEEP EXPANDING

It is indeed true that it costs much less to retain a customer than to make a new one. Good quality of your product and excellent customer service will leave a good impression in your buyers, and they will be very likely to return to your shop and buy from you again. Don’t lose touch with them, get them to sign up for your newsletter and send them regular emails with the news and occasional discounts, to invite them to your events, online seminars, etc. Keep them satisfied and interested while continuing to acquire new customers — and that’s what expansion is called!