Friday 25 January 2013

How To Increase Your Online Sales

One sure fire way to increase your business profitability is to increase your sales, but effective marketing will be wasted if you can’t convert those who visit your website into paying customers. Before hiring the services of a business consultant, for in-depth strategies relating to your organisation, try the following steps to increase sales online:

Make your services clear – One of the biggest barriers between you and your online sales is your website home page. It’s a common mistake to try to be witty or poetic on your landing page, but clear headers that detail exactly what you offer can make a huge difference in securing custom.

Improve your CTA (Calls-to-action) – Effective calls-to-action are essential in triggering your customer to do something, whether that is: adding their name to your mailing list, browsing your products or placing an order. CTA’s should be ‘above the fold’ of your website, meaning there’s no need for viewers to scroll down.
Use concise headlines and phrases that direct action like ‘Sign-Up’, ‘Buy Now’ and ‘Contact Us’ along with colours and images that stand out in a simple and professional manner.

Emphasize the benefits for your customers – Put yourself in the mind-set of your buyers, how do your products and services really benefit them? List these benefits within your content and product descriptions. Use percentiles and statistics were possible; by how much can your software increase productivity? How fast will your new diet plan help people lose weight?


Customise your offers – For some small businesses a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not the most successful. Even when you think your audience is a homogenous group, look closer and make sure you have segmented your potential customers properly. Your actual products/services need not change, but the way you market them can.

Make sure you’re easy to do business with – Secret shop your own company. This could mean heading in store and browsing physical products or sitting back and using your business website to place an order. Is it as easy as possible to do business with your organisation? A quick review of the purchasing process can help eliminate inadvertently pushing clients away.

Display testimonials and reviews – Online business is based on trust. When we can’t see and touch products in advance, we rely on reviews, particularly if we’re making a hefty investment. The same applies to online service providers. Testimonials help build a trustworthy reputation when clients won’t have the chance to meet you face-to-face.

Make the most of social media – Today, business consultants will tell you the growing importance of social media for increasing business sales online. The amount of time and money you invest in online marketing will have a direct impact on the results you can achieve but even casual use of social networks for business can see an increase in traffic and lead generation. Facebook, Twitter and now Google+ have become staples in any organisations online presence.

Ensure a sense of urgency – If you want to make quick sales, you need to convince your browsers they need to buy now. Irresistible offers which have a limited time period are a great way to instil a sense of urgency for the buyer.

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