[Guest post kindly provided by Convertica – the conversion rate optimisation specialists]
In an online-centric world, being able to make Internet sales is a vital part of most businesses’ success. No matter the size of your business or its years of operation, you may need to increase your online sales.
Whether you’re struggling to close deals or get people to visit your website in the first place, check out these 3 simple changes you can make to improve your online sales.
1. Stop Making Cookie-Cutter Adjustments to Your Website
There are millions of guides that will tell you the best ways to design your CTA buttons and landing pages. Some strategies are no-brainers: Avoid neutral-colored CTA buttons like black, brown, and white and make sure your page load time is quick enough to retain consumer interest. However, these general guidelines can only take your website so far.
Thousands of blog posts will tell you to use green CTA buttons because they stimulate the “Go ahead” signal in customers’ minds. For example, the Spotify homepage calls users to “Go Premium” in a stand-out green button, while the free option isn’t as clearly highlighted.
Some blogs will advise your business to use red because it evokes feelings of excitement and action. Still, others will tell you to use orange, as customers will associate it with feelings of content and warmth.
While some of these statements ring true, they will not work across every single website. That’s why we recommend that you stop making cookie-cutter adjustments to your website inspired by generalised advice.
Rather, we recommend having a CRO (conversion rate optimisation) audit performed by a company like Convertica. This kind of test will generate specialised solutions to specific issues with your website. You will no longer have to rely on guesswork when it comes to making updates to your site. A CRO audit’s main goal is to offer tailored ways to help you improve online sales. A CRO audit can help your business with:
- Website Pages: A CRO audit determines which pages need optimising. In most cases, you will want to place emphasis on your landing pages
- Goals: A CRO audit will help your business
- Demographics: Unsure about who’s looking at your website and how to target your audience properly? Learn the demographics of your website’s visitors through a CRO audit
Overall, a CRO audit will guide you on how to improve your website’s user experience. You’ll learn who your customers are and what they do and don’t like. You will discover unappealing aspects of your website and learn the reason why visitors aren’t converting.
With the right CRO audit conducted, you’ll be able to implement personalised changes that significantly drive up your online sales.
2. Create Effective Ways to Capture Email Addresses
Increasing your online sales can actually occur outside of your website. We recommend starting an email marketing campaign to invite more people to your website.
When visitors return to your website, you have the chance to close more sales and even perform successful upselling. When you’re consistently in customers’ inboxes, you’ll always be in the back of their minds. As a result, they’ll be more likely to recommend you to friends or turn to you when they need something that you offer.
In a world that revolves around social media, some companies are hesitant to contribute resources towards building an email marketing campaign and collecting emails. However, a study by McKinsey & Company found that email marketing is much more successful than social media at acquiring customers.
To maximize your reach, you need to collect as many relevant email addresses as possible. Here are some ways to do so:
- Host Contests: In exchange for an email address, allow visitors to enter a contest. However, make the prize something that relates to your company, rather than something general like an Amazon gift card. This way, only people who are truly interested in your company and may buy your products in the future will enter
- Offer a Free Information Guide: Offer a free information guide if a visitor supplies their email address. Make it relevant to your business. For example, if you sell landscaping tools, offer a guide called “10 Landscaping Trends You Need to Try in 2020”
- Keep It Simple: When collecting email addresses, keep your signup form simple. Ask for minimal information that engages your visitor. By keeping the signup form short, you’ll be less likely to lose the interest of your visitors. And, explain the value that the user will receive by providing their personal information
3. Install Live Chat
Consider integrating a live chat system onto your website to generate more online sales. A live chat offers answers to curious visitors in real-time. When you have enough team members standing by on a live chat, customers don’t have to wait for a representative to pick up the phone or respond to an email. Rather, a live chat can solve a problem or answer an inquiry in one session. Some other ways a live chat can be helpful:
- It is a future resource for customer: Whatever information a customer service representative gives to a customer can be referenced in the future. This will be helpful to a customer as they continue to browse your site on their own and determine if your product is right for them.
- It allows for multitasking: If all of your representatives are helping other customers, your visitors can browse your website while they wait to be helped.
A study by Emarketer found that more than 60% of customers would return to a website because it offered a large chat. With this high percentage of visitors returning to your website, they become more familiar with what you offer. Once your visitors know the benefits that your products provide, your business will be more likely to close online sales.
Bottom Line
Growing your online sales is a process that requires experimentation. You have to capture users’ interest and retain engagement, which is becoming difficult to do in our fast-paced world.
However, by understanding your customer base, connecting with them through effective CRO tactics, and addressing their concerns in real-time, you will be able to improve sales on your website.
Don’t expect results within the first couple of days. However, with persistence, you will notice a dramatic increase in your Internet sales.