Let’s face it, we are all in business to make a profit; that’s what keeps things going and pays the bills.
With that, as a business owner you have to be efficient in how you conduct your daily operations, the team you put together and the strategy in place to sell a product or service online to make that profit.
Now there are three important steps in boosting your sales online:
1. Be There
In order for you to have any chance in reaching your target customers online; you have to be present. Whether through SEO, SEM or other methods to get you on top of the search result pages; you have to be visible to reach that customer.
A very important stat that I always mention to customers is the fact that 81% of buyers shop online first. This means in no uncertain terms If you are not there, then your competitor will be.
To be there organically you can devise strong SEO tactics; but this may be a more long term strategy. The fastest way to get exposure on a Google search for example is to do Google Adwords. By running Adwords campaigns your listing or business can automatically show up when someone searches for your keywords or words that matter to your business. For this to be effective, you will need an adequate budget as this gives you the best chance of being visible.
2. Be Credible
Any business owner will tell you that people do business with who they trust. With this said, you have to ensure that your website is trustworthy, and displays information that allows users to feel confident in purchasing your goods and services online. That means great reviews, great testimonials, reputable clients, and displaying factual and accurate information. I often times tell customers, your website is a representation of your business. Therefore it should be so attractive that they want to stay and buy your product or service. It makes a huge difference when a company has a well developed, strongly laid out website that can guide customers to navigate quickly to take their desired actions so as to boost sales online. For example, you don’t want a customer submitting their information on a form that is broken or trying to click on a link that does not work. This can be very frustrating and hence may result in distrust and shows unprofessionalism. And again this will immediately put a level of doubt in the mind of the customer; which is NOT good. You never want to put any doubt in the mind of the consumers about your product or services. As any doubt may result in delays in purchase or shopping the competitors site. With this in mind, a website should be easy navigable, trustworthy and has a credible representation of the company in order to boost your online sales.
3. Ease of Purchase
Now, you may have the best of website and show credibility; if your site is not useful to convert or complete a transaction, then you are leaving sales/money on the table. It is very important that your website is highly optimized to have effective call to actions and converting pages to encourage customers to make a purchase. During my coaching sessions with sales people I would always say – you can sell all you want throughout the conversations, but there has to be a point when you ask for the sale. This is the same with your website, you have to direct the customer to take the desired action – whether this is a phone call, filling out a form, downloading or registering for an event. The process has to be seamless to give customers the best experience to choose you over the competitor.
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