Four Ways to Boost Online Sales

Business  

Online sales are on the verge of overtaking purchases for products and services done without the aid of information technology. Using technology and engagement are a sure way to boost your bottom line.

In today’s world, the internet is the marketplace. Online sales are poised to surpass purchases for products and services done without the aid of information technology. According to the data, sales transacted online will reach a massive $523 billion in the US by the year 2020.

However, despite the fact that the internet is taking over the business landscape, many companies still fail when trying to market their products or services to an online audience. E-commerce is very different than operating a brick and mortar business. You need to keep this in mind. Here are three strategies you can use to boost your online sales for your ecommerce business.

Leverage Big Data and Wearable Tech

Big data is the collection of massive amounts of information in such high volume that previous computer hardware was not able to handle it. Addiction recovery centers across the United States are starting to implement new technology to help patients. Today, however, big data can be properly stored and later parsed by data analytics software to provide actionable intelligence for your business.

One way to collect big data that can help you boost sales is through the use of wearable tech. Wearable tech can tell you how customers are using your product and provide many other kinds of useful information. For example, smart glasses that are used to watch movies during a commute can collect information regarding a person’s entertainment preferences. This info can then be used by a company to advertise other related programs and entertainment products that consumer may be interested in. However, without big data, this information couldn’t be properly stored in high volume and acted upon for marketing purposes.

Related articles

• Big Data 2017: A Bright Future for Big Business 
• 4 Ways Technology Can Help Your Business Better its Brand 
• How Tech Tricks Can Help Businesses Nudge Their Customers Towards Making More Purchases 

Aim for Long Term Engagement

One thing you should really focus on as an online business is engagement. This is one of the keys to building loyal relationships with customers and developing steady revenue streams. Brick and mortar companies try to accomplish this through the use of things like customer loyalty programs. You can do the same through the use of integrated apps to help customers keep track of a point system or to even use those points to make purchases.

App integration should be an important part of any online marketing plan if your goal is high user engagement. According to statistics, use of smartphones and other mobile devices to connect to the web eclipsed PC and laptop internet use sometime in 2014. Mobile is now the way most people use the internet.

An email list is another excellent strategy for maintaining long term user engagement. It can allow you to implement suggestive selling based on a customer’s purchase history. Social media networks like Twitter and Facebook can allow you to communicate directly with customers in a way not possible through other means. Try to use a multitude of different tools to increase engagement.

Develop a Strong Internet Marketing Plan

E-commerce and internet marketing go hand in hand. If you develop an eCommerce site without putting a lot of thought into strategies to market that website on the net, you are probably wasting your time.

There are many tools and services on the net you can take advantage of. Google AdSense, for example, can help you obtain preferential treatment by the Google search engine so that users of Google find your website first instead of the websites of competitors. It can also help you keep track of what keywords and keyword phrases people use to find your website. This can help you refine your SEO and increase your inbound traffic from Google.

Another good choice you should consider is using email marketing agencies. These companies can help you develop a strong email based marketing plan to help you produce more conversions through email than you would otherwise. Such companies may have mailing lists for consumers likely to be interested in your product or service to help you generate far more leads than would be possible without such a service.

Integrate Offline Marketing

While internet marketing is certainly integral to the success of an eCommerce website, you should consider the fact that people are not connected 24/7. Offline marketing can also be a powerful tool to direct consumers to your website. It is true that traditional advertising mediums like print, radio and TV will be a lot more expensive than internet advertising options. However, the upside is they may reach far more people than an internet ad would. You also have the option of better targeting specific geographic areas by advertising in specific media markets.

Close to one third of brick and mortar retailers also sell their products online. If you have a brick and mortar location as well, certainly do your best to inform your store visitors about your website. One common strategy is to ask if customers want to sign up for your email list during checkout. Offering in-store coupons online is another great method to create strong crossover between your offline and online clientele.

By  Kevin Faber	Embed
Kevin Faber is the CEO of Silver Summit Capital. He graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in Business/Managerial Economics. In his free time, Kevin is usually watching basketball or kicking back and reading a good book.