So you’ve decided to go the extra mile and set up an online store. Congrats! Your business will benefit from a steady stream of customers who want to purchase your product. But, as the old adage goes, if you don’t measure it, you don’t know if you’re making any progress. To ensure you’re developing marketing strategies that will generate the most sales, you need to understand what’s working and what needs to be changed. Luckily for you, we’re here to help with six tips on how to market your online store.
1. Establish Reliable Routes to Customer Engagement
When a customer visits your site, you want to make sure they’re interested in your product or service. In today’s world of instant gratification, if they click on an offer and it takes them to a different site, they may view that as a waste of time and ultimately close the tab. To prevent this, establish clear links to your main site and other supporting websites from the outset.
For example, let’s say you’re selling swimsuits and you’ve linked to a popular clothing website to drive traffic. When a customer visits your site, they’ll see an enticing offer for a free swimming suit with the purchase of another suit. However, if you’ve also linked to a different site selling bridal gowns, they may feel mislead by the offer and decide to pass on your product without a purchase.
In a nutshell, make sure your website’s links are reliable sources of information about your product or service. If they aren’t, then you might be losing out on a potential customer. Establishing reliable links takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it.
2. Have a Clear Call-to-Action
When you have a look at any well-designed, high-quality website, you’ll notice something common: a clear call-to-action (CTA). A CTA is an element on your site that motivates the user to take some sort of action. When someone visits your site, it’s usually because they’re either looking for information or they want to make a purchase. To encourage them to take the action you want, strategically place a CTA at the end of each webpage.
For example, let’s say you’re selling cookbooks and you have a single webpage about seasonal fruits. You might decide to add a link at the end of the page that says, “If you want to learn more about seasonal fruits, click here.”
Now, you want that link to be engaging. What would make it more attractive to someone as a link compared to, say, a plain old text box with the word “click here”? The answer is: graphics! Having a CTA with a picture of a juicy orange in front of a cottage cheeses makes it more appealing than a plain link. It’s the same concept as the old ’70s commercials that would follow this pattern: “Come on down to ABC Store or any other store. We’ve got something for anyone.”
The reason people remember those commercials is because they used humor and interesting fonts to get their point across. While we might not always want to resort to old commercials as a marketing tool, keeping this in mind can help you come up with creative and engaging CTAs for your website.
3. Focus On The Long-Haul Engagement
In today’s world, customers can be fickle. The second you stop showing up in their minds, they’ll start forgetting about you. To keep your customers interested and to ensure they continue to find you useful, you need to focus on the longer-term engagement and build trust and credibility slowly.
To achieve this, commit to creating engaging content that will hold the attention of your audience. Whether you’re writing an article or creating a video, make sure the content is of good quality and something that will continue to interest your audience. Also, be consistent in your delivery of this content. If you want to learn more, check out these marketing tips on how to write an effective business plan.
For example, let’s say you’re selling hair extensions and you’ve linked to a blog about fashion. When a customer visits your site, they may read an article about the most fashionable way to wear their hair. However, if you’ve also linked to another blog about cooking, they may decide your product isn’t quite what they’re looking for and move on to the next site.
If you want to succeed as a business owner, you need to understand how to bring in customers and keep them coming back for more. Establishing a steady stream of revenue is a sure path to eventual success. However, to get there, you first have to find your customers and engage with them. To do this, it’s essential that you create content that will compel your audience to action. With a little bit of effort and a whole lot of ingenuity, you’ll find a way to make money online.
4. Customize Your Store For Different Geographic Locations
If your target market isn’t local, it’s vital that you understand how to market your business to people located in other places. To make this happen, you need to consider a few things. First, if you’re planning on doing business with people outside your home country, then you need to make sure you understand the legal and financial requirements. Second, you need to consider how to market your product or service to your target audience. Third, you need to develop a strong online presence that will encourage potential customers to come back for more.
For example, if you’re operating an online store from Indonesia and you want to attract customers from Singapore, you need to make sure that your Indonesian store is set up in a way that makes it easy for Singaporeans to purchase your products. To do this, you could look into changing your site’s address, switching to a different domain name, or allowing for online payment with Singapore dollars. These measures will make it easier for Singaporeans to purchase your products. If you want to learn more, here are some marketing tips for Spanish entrepreneurs.
5. Include Other Useful Information On Your Site
While we might not always need to tell our customers everything they need to know, in some cases, including more information can help. For example, let’s say you’re selling beach towels and you’ve linked to a blog post about the top vacation spots. If a customer wants to learn more about where they should go and what amenities are available, you could direct them to the blog post. Doing this can help you establish yourself as an expert and encourage people to click through to your site.
Additionally, if you’re providing a valuable service, such as online scheduling or tax preparation, then you can add information about how to utilize that service. For instance, if you schedule appointments via phone or email, you can include a link to your Google Voice number or email address. Doing this can help you build trust and show customers you’re a serious business that can be trusted.
6. Measure And Assess The Effect Of Your Marketing Efforts
When you start seeing results from your marketing efforts, it’s time to celebrate! However, if you’re looking to really understand the power of your marketing efforts, then you need to consider a few things. First, measure the results. Second, assess what’s working and what isn’t. Third, consider the end goal and make sure you’re heading in the right direction.
To measure the results of your marketing efforts, you need to set up a tracking system. To do this, you can sign up for a free Google Analytics account (analytics.google.com). When you sign up for this account, Google will give you a link you can share with your customers so they can see how their data is being used. With this link, your customers can look up their account information and view key performance metrics, such as how many people are visiting your site, what links they’re clicking on, how many people are converting into leads, and more.
From here, you can track the results of your marketing efforts and determine what’s working and what needs to be changed. With this information, you’ll be able to improve your strategy and ensure you’re reaching your target audience effectively. If you want to learn more, here are some tips for creating a winning business plan.