Bonafide Marketing Genius

10 Ways Online Marketing Can Help Small Businesses

There’s an old saying: “You’re only as good as your last sale.” With the world shifting to online marketing, small businesses can no longer rely on a few well-executed trade shows and advertisements to drum up business. In today’s world, a business’ website, social media presence, and online reviews all play a part in gaining trust and making a sale.

So whether you’re just getting started or you’re already an established business in the digital marketing world, read on for 10 ways online marketing can help small businesses.

1. Established Trust In A Tricky Marketplace

If you’re looking to grow your business, you’ve surely considered the importance of establishing trust with customers early and often. However, the vast majority of your customers will now do their shopping online, so you must ensure that they feel safe and confident making a purchase from you. With that in mind, here are five ways to ensure that your online marketing strategy builds trust and confidence in your customers so that they feel secure buying from you in the future.

Implement Fraud Prevention Measures

The last thing any business needs is to lose customers to fraudsters. If your business depends on retail sales to generate revenue, you must implement fraud prevention measures to ensure that customers engage with you in a friendly manner and that they feel safe making purchases. To that end, you can:

  • Require all customers to verify their identity via ID verification methods like SSO or a password
  • Review customers’ purchase activity and behavior to identify suspicious activity
  • Evaluate customer reviews to get an idea of how others feel about your business
  • Run credit reports on new and existing customers to flag any suspicious activity
  • Reduce the number of no-shows and abandoned carts by implementing automated emails or texts to follow-up

2. Generate More Leads

According to HubSpot Blogs research, 48% of consumers have purchased a product or service after visiting a blog; 44% have made a purchase after reading an online review; and 41% have bought something after watching a video.

If you’re looking to grow your business, you must develop and implement effective lead generation strategies to get in touch with potential customers. That means generating traffic to your website via organic search engine optimization (SEO), paid advertising, and social media. You can then convert these leads into sales by using effective marketing and communication plans.

Let’s say you’re running an eCommerce store. You can integrate SEO and paid ads into your marketing plan to get in touch with potential customers and gain their trust. You can also consider using digital marketing agencies to implement and manage this strategy for you.

3. Increase Average Order Values

According to HubSpot Blogs research, 25% of consumers have purchased an item online simply because it was available at a good price. In order to increase average order values, you must consider the entire customer lifecycle, from acquiring leads to converting them into paying customers. This can be challenging, as you’ll likely have to retrain your employees to think of customers not as someone who simply walks in the door, but rather as someone who has an active role in the buying process. Here are some ways you can increase average order values:

  • Offer frequent promotions and discounts
  • Consider providing samples of your product
  • Add more convenient payment options
  • Incorporate social media features
  • Get feedback from customers via surveys
  • Consider integrating your store with online marketplaces
  • Use your eCommerce store to gain credibility with others in your industry
  • Establish long-term customer relationships

4. Retain Customers

If a customer has once done you the favor of buying something from your store, it’s likely they’ll come back for more. According to HubSpot Blogs research, 14% of consumers regularly return to a store or website they’ve been to before, and 9% regularly use a website to discover new products. This is why establishing and maintaining a good relationship with customers is so important; they can be your best source of leads, support, and product information in the future. To retain customers, you can:

  • Offer a money-back guarantee
  • Show customers how their purchase benefits others (e.g., charity, employment)
  • Offer tutorials or videos to provide customers with sufficient information
  • Incorporate social media features
  • Consider providing customers with useful information on how to use your product (e.g., FAQs, Frequently Asked Questions)
  • Use your eCommerce store to gain credibility with others in your industry
  • Establish long-term customer relationships
  • Reward customers for spending money with you (e.g., frequent flyer miles, discount coupons)
  • Consider providing customer support via social media

5. Increase Product Retention

If you’re looking to increase product retention, you must develop a strategy that focuses on customer relationships and builds trust. To establish trust, you can:

According to HubSpot Blogs research, 65% of consumers have purchased an item simply because it was available at a good price. In order to increase product retention, you must consider the entire customer lifecycle, from acquiring leads to retaining them as paying customers. This can be challenging, as you’ll likely have to retrain your employees to think of customers not as someone who simply walks in the door, but rather as someone who has an active role in the buying process. Here are some ways you can increase product retention:

  • Offer a money-back guarantee
  • Show customers how their purchase benefits others (e.g., charity, employment)
  • Offer tutorials or videos to provide customers with sufficient information
  • Incorporate social media features
  • Consider providing customers with useful information on how to use your product (e.g., FAQs, Frequently Asked Questions)
  • Use your eCommerce store to gain credibility with others in your industry
  • Establish long-term customer relationships
  • Reward customers for spending money with you (e.g., frequent flyer miles, discount coupons)
  • Consider providing customer support via social media

6. Reduce Product Returns

If you’re looking to reduce product returns, you must develop a strategy that focuses on customer relationships and builds trust. To establish trust, you can:

According to HubSpot Blogs research, 17% of consumers have purchased an item simply because it was available at a good price. In order to reduce product returns, you must consider the entire customer lifecycle, from acquiring leads to retaining them as paying customers. This can be challenging, as you’ll likely have to retrain your employees to think of customers not as someone who simply walks in the door, but rather as someone who has an active role in the buying process. Here are some ways you can reduce product returns:

  • Offer a money-back guarantee
  • Show customers how their purchase benefits others (e.g., charity, employment)
  • Offer tutorials or videos to provide customers with sufficient information
  • Incorporate social media features
  • Consider providing customers with useful information on how to use your product (e.g., FAQs, Frequently Asked Questions)
  • Use your eCommerce store to gain credibility with others in your industry
  • Establish long-term customer relationships
  • Reward customers for spending money with you (e.g., frequent flyer miles, discount coupons)
  • Consider providing customer support via social media

7. Increase Referrals

If you’re looking to increase referrals, you must develop a strategy that focuses on customer relationships and builds trust. To establish trust, you can: