25 Ways to Increase Online Sales

1. www.samaritaninfotech.com 25WAYSTO INCREASE ONLINESALES 01 Increasing online sales is the primary goal of countless businesses, large and small alike. Whether you run a mom-and-pop retail business or work for a vast ecommerce giant like Amazon, increasing sales through online channels is a little like bowling a strike – it looks a lot easier than it actually is.

2. WWW.SAMARITANINFOTECH.COM Notonlyishonestyinyourcopycrucialtoyour business’ reputation, italsofostersandencourages 1. BeHonestin YourSalesCopy trustinyourbrand. Don’tmakeclaimsyoucan’t 02 substantiate, anddon’tusehyperbolelightly – today’s consumersarehypersensitivetomarketingBS, sobe honest, straightforward, andapproachableinallyour salescopy, fromyourhomepagetoyouremail campaigns. Thismightseempainfullyobvious, butit’s amazingtomehowmanysiteswritecheckstheir productscan’tcash. Thisprinciplealsoappliestohowyouposition yourselfasabusiness. Evercomeacrossasitethat’s obviouslyrunbyoneortwopeople, butfeaturescopy thatwouldbebettersuitedtoamultinational enterprisecompany?

3. 2. GetMoreAdClicks withAdExtensions Ifyou’resellingstuffonline, adextensionsareano-brainer – thisfeature (availableinbothAdWordsandBing) allowsyou tomakeyouradbiggerwithmoreplacestoclick. Andit doesn’tcostanyextra! ANDitincreasesyourad’sclick- throughrate! Amazing, right? 03 Intheaboveexample, thelinksto “Men’sSunglasses” and “Women’s Sunglasses” givepeoplewhoarelookingtobuyanewpairofRay- Ban’stwoadditionalplacestoclick. Thissavesthepotential customerastepandmakesiteasierandfastertofindexactlywhat theywant (sotheygotoyoursiteinsteadofacompetitor’s).

4. Legionsofsatisfiedcustomers areconsiderablymore influentialthaneventhebest- 3. ShowOff Customer Testimonialsand TrustSignals writtensalescopy, somake sureyouincludegushing testimonialsandreviewsfrom yourhardcorebrand 04 evangelistsgushingabouthow wonderfulyouare. These mightappearonyourproduct pages, landingpages, pricing page, evenyourhomepage. Intoday’ssocialmediaenvironment, customerfeedbackhasneverbeenmore important. Fortunately, thismeansthatyour satisfiedcustomerscanprovideyouwithone ofthemostvaluableweaponsinyourarsenal – testimonials. Formoreinfo, checkoutmy postonthepowerofcustomer testimonials.

5. 4. CreateaSenseof Urgency It’simportanttobehonestandtransparentaboutwhoyouare 05 andwhatyoudo, butthere’snoruleagainstcreatingasense ofurgencytopersuadeprospectstobuyfromyourightnow. Manyconsumersrespondpositivelytoincentivesthatcreatea senseofurgency, fromtime-sensitivespecialofferstolimited- editionproducts. Althoughthewaysyoucanaccomplishthis areasdiverseastheproductsyoucanbuyonline, some strategiesmaybemoreeffectivethanothers. Forexample, if youdon’t (orcan’t) makealimited-editionproducttoentice prospects, maybeyoucanofferafinancialincentiveto customerswhocommittoapurchaserightaway, suchasfree shippingoradiscount.

6. 5. OfferaBulletproof Money-BackGuarantee Oftentimes, oneofthemostpowerfulfactorsinaconsumer’s 06 decisionnottobuysomethingisriskaversion – thedesireto avoidapotentialloss. Mosttimes, thisperceivedriskisa financialone. Whyshouldsomeonebuyyourproducts? What iftheydon’twork, orthecustomerdoesn’tlikethem? Even smallpurchasescancarrytheriskof “buyer’sremorse,” so overcomethisobjectionfromtheoutsetbyofferinga bulletproofmoney-backguarantee. Themoreriskyouremovefromtheprospect’sdecision, the morelikelytheyaretobuyfromyou, sotakeawayanything thatcoulddissuadeprospectsfrombuyingfromyou.

7. Ifyouhaveawiderangeofproducts, consider 6. OFFERFEWER CHOICES structuringyoursiteorproductpagesinaway thatoffersvisitorsasfewchoicesaspossible. Thisreducesthepossibilitythatthevisitorwill beoverwhelmedbydozensofdifferent 07 products. Thiscanbeaccomplishedby arrangingyourproductsintoincreasingly Tomanybusinesses, thisconceptissimply unthinkable. Surelyofferingmoreproducts isagreatwaytoincreasesales! Well, not necessarily. Infact, inmanyinstances, a greatervarietyofchoicecanleadto indecisiononthepartoftheprospect, whichinturnresultsinlostsales. narrowcategories (anaddedbonusofwhichis offeringvisitorsgreatereasetofindexactly whatthey’relookingfor), oryoucouldplace greateremphasisonfewerindividualproducts. Eitherway, rememberthatthemorechoices youprovide, themorelikelyacustomeristo bounceandgoelsewhere.

8. 7. TargetLookalike Audienceson Facebook 08 Oneofthebestwaystoincreaseonlinesalesistouse thedatayouhaveaboutyourexistingcustomersto findpeoplejustlikethem. Facebookallowsyoutodo thisthroughthetargetingoflookalikeaudiences. LookalikeaudiencesinFacebookareessentially usersonFacebookwhosharecharacteristicsand behaviorstocustomersinyourdatabase. You uploadyourdatatoFacebook, whichthencross- referencesitsowndata (andinformationfromthird- partydatabrokers) tocreatematchesbasedonthe criteriayouspecify.

9. AccordingtoBusinessInsider, approximately $4 TRILLIONworthofonlinemerchandisewasabandoned inincompleteshoppingcartslastyearalone, ofwhich 63% waspotentiallyrecoverable. Thisisatrulyjaw- droppingstatistic, andonethatrevealshowcrucialitis tonailyourcheckoutprocess. 8. Reduce Frictioninthe CheckoutProcess 09 Similartothepointaboveaboutuserexperience, reducingfrictioninyourcheckoutprocesscanhavean incredibleimpactonyourconversionrates. Justasyou shouldmakeitaseasyaspossibleforvisitorstouseand navigateyoursite, youshouldmakeiteveneasierfor themtoactuallybuywhatyou’reselling. Eliminateanyunnecessarystepsinyourcheckout processthatcoulddissuadeaprospectfromconverting. Skipunnecessaryfieldsinforms.

10. 9. ProvideasMany PaymentOptionsasPossible 10 Okay, soyourbusinesstakescreditcards. WhataboutGoogleWalletpayments? OrApplePay? WhataboutStripe? WePay? Consumershavemorechoicethaneverbeforeintermsofhowtheyactuallypayforgoodsand services, andnoteveryonepreferstouseAmericanExpress. Byofferingmorepaymentoptions, includingnewerservicesthatarebecomingincreasinglypopularonmobile, you’remakingiteasier forprospectstogiveyoutheirmoney. Sure, itcanbeahassletooptimizeyoursite (andcheckout process, aswediscussedabove) toincludealltheseoptions, butdoingsoisagreatwaytoincrease onlinesales, particularlyifyoursitehasstrongmobiletraffic.

11. 10. InvestinQualityProduct Images 11 There’scompellingevidencethatwell-presentedfoodactuallytastesbetterthansloppily plateddishes. Givenhowimportantappearanceisinrelationtohowweperceivethings (includingotherpeople), itstandstoreasonthatinvestinginqualityproductphotography willhaveasimilareffectonvisitorstoyoursite. Regardlessofwhatyousell, includehigh-qualityimagesofyourproducts – notiny thumbnailsorpoorlylitshotstakeninyourstockroom. Alsobesuretoincludeawiderange ofimages. Itmightseemoverkilltoincludeshotsofyourproductsfromeveryconceivable angle, buttryitout. Peoplelovetokickaproduct’sproverbialtiresbeforebuying, especially online.

12. 12 11. GetRidofYourLandingPages We’vementionedthisstrategybefore, anditusuallyraisesmorethanafeweyebrowstosaytheleast. However, we’renotadvocating foreliminatinglandingpagesunnecessarily, butratheroptimizingyouronlineadstoalignwithhowmanyconsumersactuallybrowse theWebandshoponline. Call-OnlycampaignsinFacebookandAdWordsareanexcellentexampleofasituationinwhichremovingthetraditionallandingpage entirelymakesalotofsense. Mostpeopledon’twanttospendseveralminutesbrowsingpagesontheirmobiledevice – theysimply wanttogetintouchwithyourbusiness. ByutilizingCall-Onlyads, you’remakingiteasierforprospectstoreachouttoyourbusiness, eliminatingoneoftheleakieststagesof theclassiconlinesalesfunnelcompletely, andpotentiallyincreasingthevolumeofcallstoyourbusiness – oneofthemostvaluable leadsourcestomanybusinesses. Peoplewhocallyouarepracticallybeggingyoutosellthemsomething.

13. 12. GiveGmail AdsaTry Afteryearsinandoutofbeta, GmailAdsareFINALLY 13 availabletoeveryone. Thisisanexcitingwaytoreach prospectsandincreasesales. Ifyou’realreadyreachingcustomerswhentheysearchand whentheybrowseonsocial, whynotgotheextramileand hitthemwhilethey’reintheirinboxes, too? Oneofthe mosteffectivewaystouseGmailAdsisbytargeting competitorkeywords. Peoplewhoareinthemarketfor yourcompetitors’ productsaregettingemailsfromyour competitorsthatmentiontheirbrandtermsrightnow. By targetingthosesametermsyoucanshowupintheir inboxesandhopefullychangetheirminds.

14. 13. KeepMessagingConsistentAcross CampaignsandYourSite EverclickedaPPCadthatgrabbedyourattention, onlytobetakentoan irrelevantlandingpage (bad) orthesite’shomepage (worse)? Didyouendup buyingwhateveryouwerelookingforfromthatsite? Probablynot. 14 Ifauserclicksanadforaspecificproductorservice, thepagethey’retaken toshouldbeaboutthatspecificproductorservice – notarelatedcategory, notaspecialofferforanotherproduct, butthatspecificproduct. Makesure yourmessagingisrelevantacrossyourPPCandpaidsocialcampaignsand thepagesassociatedwiththem, sothatadclicksactuallyturnintosales.

15. 14. AnswerEvery QuestionandAddress EveryObjectionin YourCopy 15 Oneofthemostdangerouspitfallsyoucanfallintowhentrying tosellonlineismakingassumptionsaboutyourprospective customers’ knowledgeofyourproduct, service, orevenmarket. Manycompaniesmistakenlybelievetheircustomersknowmore aboutwhatthey’resellingthantheyactuallydo, whichresultsin unansweredquestionsorobjectionsthatarefailedtobe addressed – bothofwhichcanharmsales.

16. 15. GiveAwayAsMuchAsYouPossible CanforFree Peoplelovefreestuff, andthemoreyougiveawayforfree, themorefavorablyprospectivecustomersarelikelyto perceiveyouandyourbrand, whichcanresultinmoreonlinesales. Lookatyourcurrentofferings. Canyougiveanythingawayforfree? Ifyou’reinthesoftwarebusinessasweare, it’seasytoofferfree, no-obligationtrialsofyoursoftware. Evenifyou’renot, youcanjustaseasilygiveaway samplers, trialmemberships, two-for-oneoffers, andotherreward-basedincentives. Givingstuffawayforfree isn’tjustagreatwaytoimprovepeople’sperceptionofyourbusiness, it’salsoagreatwaytointroducethemto yourmust-haveproductsandtemptthemtobuymore. 16

17. I’mgoingtogoaheadandassumethat you’realreadycreatingbuyerpersonas (becauseifyouaren’t, you’reinreal trouble), butIamgoingtochallenge youtocreateevenmoredetailedbuyer personasthanyouhaveinthepast. 16. CreateandTarget DetailedBuyer Personas 17 Ifyou’veeverlookedatthetargeting optionsavailabletoFacebook advertisers, youmayhaveseenthe amazinggranularitywithwhichyoucan targetusersonFacebook – advertisers cantargetusersbasedonthesquare footageoftheirhome, theuniversity fromwhichtheyearnedtheirdegree, and evenwheretheyplanongoingfortheir nextvacation (asMargotrevealedinher fascinatingpostaboutamazingly granularFacebookaudiences).

18. Whenyougotoarestaurant, thechancesarepretty goodthatyou’llinvariablychooseoneofthemid-priced dishes. Thisisbecausemanyrestaurantsmanipulate psychologytopushpeopletowardthemid-range meals. We’lloftenavoidthecheapestdishes – andthe mostexpensive – makingthemiddle-tieroptionsthe mostappealing. Thisisatechniqueknownas “decoy pricing.” Thesameprinciplecanbeleveragedto increasesalesonlinewithtieredpricingstructures. 17. Implement TieredPricing 18 Byincludingathird “decoy” optioninyourpricing structure, youcanpushpeopletowardthemiddle option – theoneyoureallywantthemtobuy. Sure, somepeoplewillgoforthemostexpensiveoption anyway (whichisabonus, revenue-wise), butmostwill subconsciouslyavoidthedecoyandchoosethemiddle- tieroption, whichispreciselywhatyouwantthemto do.

19. Ifyou'relookingtoincreasesalesinretail, don'tignorethe potentialofopt-inoffers – promptsthatencouragepeople tosignupforyournewsletter, mailinglist, orloyalty programs. Usingopt-inofferscannotonlysignificantly increasethenumberofcontactsinyourdatabase (amajor assetforfutureemailmarketingcampaigns), butalso increaseonlinesalesintheshortterm. 19 18. AddanOpt-In Pop-UpOfferto PushThemOver theEdge Prospectivecustomerswhoareonthefenceaboutbuying fromyoumaywellbeswayedbyawell-placedopt-inoffer for, say, freeshipping, or10% oftheirfirstorder. Evenif theydecideagainstthepurchaseatthattime, butdosign upforyouropt-inoffer, you’vestilladdedthemtoyour databaseandtheymaychoosetoreturnlatertocomplete thesale.

20. 19. GrowOnlineSaleswithMobileOptimization Makeitaseasyaspossiblefor mobilevisitorstobuywhatever you’reselling. Thismayinvolve anextensiveoverhaulofyour checkoutprocess (seetip #18)aratemobilesite. Mobilesearchhasalready eclipseddesktopsearchin volume. Ifyoudon’twantto leavesalesonthetable, it’svital thatyoursiteisoptimizedfor mobile – andnotpurelyfroma technicalperspective. Thenumberofonline businesseswithpoorly designed, badlyoptimized “mobile” sitesisamazing. 20 Amazon’smobilesiteisan excellentexampleofhowmobile ecommercecan (andarguably should) bedone, butyoudon’t needAmazon’sresourcesto createacompelling, user- friendlyexperienceforvisitors onmobile. Theharderitisforvisitorsto find – andbuy – whattheywant, themorelikelytheyareto abandonyoursitealtogether andtaketheirbusiness elsewhere. Pagesshouldload near-instantaneously, and navigationshouldbelogical. Navigationanduserexperience areamongthemostcrucial elementsofawell-designed, highlyoptimizedmobile experience.

21. 20. ImpressNewCustomerswithan AmazingFollow-UpEmail Sadly, thecustomerexperiencetypicallyendsformanybusinesseswhenthey’vefinallygot theirhandsonacustomer’smoney. Thisisaterriblemistakeforcustomerretention. To increasesalesvolumeonline, makesureyouhaveathoughtful, considerate, genuinelyuseful follow-upprocedureinplacefornewcustomers. 21 Asahardcorecomputergeek, I’malwaysorderingstufffromNewegg.com – replacement parts, newcomponents, andotherdeliciouslygeekystuff. ThereasonI’vebeenaloyalNewegg customerformanyyearsisn’tjustthepriceofthegoods (whichishighlycompetitive), but ratherthefocusoncustomerserviceandthefollow-upprocessNewegghasinplace.

22. 21. NailYourValueProposition – AndMake ItImmediatelyObvious 22 Fartoomanycompanieslosesalesandwastetimebyfocusingonthemselves. Rememberhowwediscussedthatpeople don’twanttobuythings, onlysolvetheirproblems? Well, anotherpainfultruthisthatunlessyourcustomersarethe brandevangelistswe’vebeentalkingabout, thevastmajorityofthemdon’tcareaboutyouoryourcompany – onlyhow yourproductsorserviceswillmaketheirlivesbetter. Thisiswhyyourvaluepropositionshouldtakecenterstageinall yourmarketingcommunicationsandsitecontent. Valuepropositionscanbebrokendownintothreemainareas: Relevance: Howyourproduct/servicewillsolvecustomers’ problems Quantifiablevalue: Thespecificbenefitsyourproduct/serviceoffers Differentiator: Whycustomersshouldbuyfromyouandnotacompetingcompany

23. 22. UsetheVoiceofthe CustomerforMore ResonantAdCampaigns Hopefullyyou’realreadyusingPPCandpaidsocialto expandyourreachandfindnewaudiences. However, the languageyouuseinyourcampaignscanhavea tremendousimpactonyourconversionrates (and, therefore, yoursales), somyfourthtipistouse “the voiceofthecustomer” inyourcampaigns – butwhat doesthismean? 23 Thevoiceofthecustomerisamarketresearchtechnique thatalignscopywiththeneeds, wants, painpoints, expectations, andaversionsoftheconsumerbeing targetedbythatparticularmessaging. Thisprocessoften includeslanguageandphrasingusedbycustomers themselvesduringmarketresearchandfocusgroup testing.

24. 23. PinpointYourBestAttributionand ConversionPaths Sometimes, itfeelsasthoughyou’redoingeverythingright, onlytoseeyour conversionrateshoveringsomewherebetween “miserable” and “pathetic.” Oftentimes, thisisn’tanythingtodowiththemessagingorpositioningofyourads (thoughitpaystolookatthisclosely), butratheramisunderstandingofwhenand whereconversionsarehappening. 23 Oneofthefirstthingsyoushoulddoifyourconversionrateslooklowistoexamine yourattributionmodelsandconversionpathwaysinAnalytics. Youmaybesurprised tofindthatpartsofyourmarketingstrategythatseemlikeconversiondudsactually haveabiginfluenceonyouronlinesales. Forexample, maybeorganicsearchisn’ta greatchannelforconvertingintosales, butpeoplewhofindyoufirstthroughorganic search, andthenseeaFacebookadarehighlyliketobecomeapayingcustomer. If that’sthecase, youshoulddouble-downoncontentmarketingandpoursome moneyintoFacebookremarketingtoo (seeTip #1, below).

25. Activeengagementwithprospectsviasocial mediaisoverlookedasapotentialsalestoolby fartoomanybusinessesbecauseitisperceived ashavinganegligibleimpactonactualsales – wheninfactthisisoneofthebestwaysyoucan increasebrandawareness, customer satisfaction, andsales. 24 24. ActuallyTalkto YourProspectson SocialMedia Thinkofatimewhenyoutweetedatacompany, or commentedonabrand’sFacebookpage – andthe companyactuallyrespondedtoyoupersonally. What effectdidthishaveonyourperceptionofthatbrand? I’llwageritbecamesignificantlymorefavorable. Providingfast, honestanswerstoquestionsthat potentialcustomershaveaboutyourofferingsisan excellentwaytoincreasesales, asthemoreattention youareperceivedaspayingtopotentialcustomers, themorelikelypeoplearetowanttobuyfromyou.

26. 25. UseRemarketingtoCloseWayMoreDeals Nomatterwhetheryou’rerunningaPPCcampaignoraFacebookadvertising campaign, anydigitalmarketinginitiativetakestime, money, andeffortto accomplish. Ifyou’renotusingremarketing, you’reessentiallybankingon prospectivecustomersconvertingimmediately, whichalmostneverhappens (and isexactlyascrazyasitsounds). 25 Whetheryou’reremarketingyourcontentoraspecifictime-sensitivesaleoffer, remarketingisarguablythesinglemosteffectivewaytoincreasesalesonline. Not onlydoesremarketingkeepyourbrandattheforefrontofprospects’ minds, it alsoprovideswould-becustomerswithnumerousadditionalopportunitiesto convert. Giventheoften-fracturedcustomerjourney, whichnowusuallytakes placeacrossatleastadayortwoandseveraldevices, remarketingalsoclosely alignswithhowtoday’sconsumersprefertoshop – whichiswhereverand whenevertheychoose.

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