12 Ways to Increase Online Sales Quickly

12 Ways to Increase Online Sales Quickly Are you looking for marketing strategies you can easily employ at relatively low costs to boost your online sales and influence consumer behavior? Then yes â€" you have made the right stop.Are you probably thinking this is another scheme to get some easy online views from unsuspecting readers?But, no â€" this is not just another business or marketing article you have to skim through or ignore.Instead, these are the steps you were looking for to ensure the return on your e-commerce investment is greater than planned.Information is the roadmap to transformation. The elite of our society are not just elite because they inherited it, but because of the endless search for information to revolutionize their business approach, style and customer relations.Here are 12 ways you can easily implement for your online business and make a mouthwatering wave of sales in your online store. Quality information that will totally enhance customer behavior and guarantee increase your online sales if put to use accordingly.OUTLINEAlways post quality content  Upsell cross-sellImportance of personalized product recommendation to unveil product discoveryShow off buyers’ testimonials and indications of trustCreate a sense of urgencyInvest in quality product imagesUse pop-up offersTalk to your prospects on social mediaRemarketing closes more deals than you imagineUsing the personalized call-to-actionFocus on your audience’s favorite platformsReduce friction in the checkout processLet’s get started!1. ALWAYS POST QUALITY CONTENTOne of the first and major things to consider when you want to increase your sales is the quality of content you publish.The quality of the content you post on your webpages and your social media platforms will determine the way customers will perceive your store.So what exactly do you publish on your pages?Are your write-ups on the pages of your store, text, emails, pictures, thumbnails, and adverts average, good or exceptional content?Posting a lot of var iety of information does not necessarily mean you are impressing.Your posts must be tailored to your brand, and your business’ philosophy.Do not just post adverts all the time. You can post resourceful information such as research or manufacturer’s note on a product. This will greatly affect the interests and behavior of customers towards your online store.Your clients are intelligent people and like to be valued as such.Share more useful content, such as product demonstration videos on YouTube, interesting facts on Instagram, and list of gift ideas on Twitter and Facebook.Do not rest on past reputation. Increase the quality of your e-commerce marketing content. Robert Allen notes in Smart Insights’ 2017 E-Commerce Trends, “Good e-commerce marketers will need to produce exceptional content to manage to stand out in 2017.”Therefore, in order to increase sales especially for a long-term, do pay attention and take care of the information that is posted online.2. UPSELL CROSS -SELL  One vital way of quickly increasing online sales is through Upselling and Cross-selling strategies.These two ideas are accountable for an average of 10 â€" 30% of eCommerce revenue. Upselling and Cross-selling are interchangeable terms but actually, they mean different things.Upsell means offering a higher-grade alternative. For example, a customer planning to buy a brown handbag may get an offer to buy a white leather handbag of a higher grade that is cool and much more mature in its look. The new option must correlate with the one she is intending to buy already otherwise; it cannot be regarded as an alternative.Cross-selling means offering a package of complementary items that match the already existing option. For example, two additional offers of a face cap and footwear to match an order in the cart for a T-shirt.These tactics explained here are great and quick ways to increase sales as it encourages customers to buy more than they originally planned.First, you have to i dentify products for which you can create either Upsell or Cross-selling offers.Some ideas should probably be coming up in your mind already.For example, phone accessories go well along with orders of phones.One good tip is that whatever your Upsell or Cross-sell offer is, make sure they are not overly expensive. You can quickly implement this and boost average order value of each customer in your online store.3. IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALIZED PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION TO UNVEIL PRODUCT DISCOVERY  Perhaps, you are looking for a way to influence customer behavior towards certain products and get more sales for others; personalized product recommendation is a great way to go.A couple of years ago, Amazon revealed that 35% of their revenue was from product recommendations. This technological idea now dominates e-commerce. Until now, product suggestion blocks cover 70% of Amazon’s homepage.One thing to note is that these recommendations are generated and shaped by each shoppers interests and buying behavior.By creating product suggestion blocks that are relevant to the buyers’ searches, you are also creating more chances of increasing your conversion rates.This tactic is powered by the idea of preventing visitors from leaving empty-handed and encourages customers to add more items to cart.You can create product suggestion blocks maybe at the foot of your pages or vertically at one side of the pages. You can also create a scrolling facility to enable purchasers to check out more of the available options. You can add it to any page, even the cart page.The idea is to keep selling until the customer has left your online store. Amazon even suggests more items after checkout to increase chances of repeat purchases.This strategy will be more effective when it is more specific.For example, the suggestion blocks should tailor to a category of customers or category of products. This can be achieved by using a Personalized Recommendation App. The application uses built-in algor ithms to collect and analyze customer’s data to generate tailored suggestions each customer is most likely to buy.Data for such specific development may also be extracted from the cookies on your site, previous searches from the customer via his account or current searches linked to matching orders (for example: a click on the category of women jewelry should bring up suggestion blocks on other fancy jewelry or hair accessories).Please do not forget to add images of suggested products. It will also provide direction to users who do not know the exact names of the product they want. 4. SHOW OFF BUYERS’ TESTIMONIALS AND INDICATIONS OF TRUSTNothing works on an intending customer than proofs of satisfaction of quality from other customers. It works like magic.Let me give you a scenario. I never wanted to watch the popular movie series, “Game of Thrones”. I just did not fancy watching what everyone was crazy about.But my friends would not just keep quiet about the hype. Fast forw ard to a few days later, I bought the first two seasons. I could not get over it until I finished watching the last episode in Season 7!It was that serious.So, you may have high-quality products in your store and not have a matching record of purchases but I tell you, testimonials and recommendations truly work like magic and get visitors addicted to your store after their first purchases.A survey from BrightLocal found that 85-percent of consumers trust an online review as much as a personal recommendation. However, there are a few things you must get in place to get this working perfectly for you.Do you have customers who have been pleased with products from your store?Then you can start from there.You need to develop a feedback system on your page to enable customers to give their responses in their own words. You can reinforce the goodwill and reputation of your store as slides on your pages.This may include testimonials (short quotes), industry awards, personal recommendations and so on.Another way of doing this is showing how you reward loyalty with testimonials of customers who got discounts, bonus or free shipping on their orders as a result of regularly patronizing your online store.This would make customers feel not only their money’s worth is being given to them but a value return for searching for your store every time they have an order to check first with your store.Generally, this is a very good way to increase online sales.As a new business, this is one of the best ways to go to get better conversion rates. The more positive reviews your products get, the higher the conversion rates. Already existing and reputable online stores who already use this strategy can upgrade by making such testimonials more visible. It is obviously a sign of trust and growing influence.It is also important to note this: you are not perfect. Your site is not perfect too, so on it include testimonials that speak about how you responded to customers who had technical problems and how they are satisfied with your fast response and resolution.This will incredibly impress visitors and give customers who you already enjoy their trust to encourage more people to visit your store.It is also a subtle way to advertise products on your store as customers will definitely pick out products to comment on.Remember, the more reviews, the higher the conversion rates. You can also include photos of customers who are now enjoying their products. You may also have to monitor comments to avoid abusive comments on your pages.In the long run, I can assure and reassure that you will thank yourself for employing this strategy.5. CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCYHave you ever participated in any product auction before?If yes, do you remember the way your heart must have kept racing as the time trickled down.Or maybe it was a product you always wanted to buy and you logged on to the store only to find out that it would be out of stock in the next few minutes and you did all you could to purchase it?Well, the online store owners put up that ploy to make you anxious and create a real sense of urgency in you that you had to increase their sales that day with one more.Can you imagine how many people like you could have ordered from the same store under the same circumstance and pressure?Bottom line is the store had more sales within those hours on such products because they were able to create a sense of urgency. You can also employ this master art to increase sales in your online store or business.Another fact about people is that they love competition. The private joy and fulfillment they have beaten others to a thing. It is a win-win situation.A purchaser naturally feels smart and like a winner when he/she is able to pull of his/her order within the timeframe. If they lose out due to time or higher bidders, you can be sure it will keep them on their toes to check up your store regularly so they do not miss out.I really cannot see any way this strategy will backfire.This is because it is a situation of which you are in charge as you determine the time the product will be in store, the number of stock and when the bonus will run out. You can renew, modify or create the new such situation all over again.So, it is time to create a sense of urgency about specific products in your store, you can start with averagely purchased products so as to increase sales on them. Incentives prove to be of help in creating such circumstances.For example, offers with time lapse, limited editions of a product, exclusive editions, etc.6. INVEST IN QUALITY PRODUCT IMAGES  Your mind must have wondered, “Do I have to do this too?”Just before you skip this point, this might be the step that proves to be the turnaround for your store.Let me explain this in simple everyday terms.How do you like food being presented to you? Which would you really prefer: a shabby presentation as in most local restaurants or in an exquisite package like a well-topped pizza or yummy drumstick from Kentucky Fried Chicken?The basic difference between these two modes of presentation is actually the philosophy, efforts, and discipline that goes into a presentation that later reflects hugely in the price and turnover for the respective seller.The same actually goes for the pictures of products you put up in your store. You have to invest in quality product images and not just poorly taken pictures.The impression you get when you are served in a local restaurant and in a hotel restaurant (executive treatment) will be exactly the same impression users of your store will get when they see your product images.This will ultimately affect purchases, unplanned purchases and repeat purchases positively. Regardless of the products you sell, the way your customers view your store by reason of images will greatly affect conversion rates.Perception is key (and reality).7. USE POP-UP OFFERSYes, the word “pop-up” easily sounds notorious and annoying at first thought but it is an employable strategy when it comes to special offers and bonuses.Think of this as a chess game and pop-up offers as pawns.You can employ them sparingly in a well-managed manner to increase sales at your store and drastically reduce shopping cart abandonment.On average, pop-up offers have a 3.1-percent conversion rate. A company that provides lead capture solutions, Sumo, found that on average, pop-ups had a 3-percent conversion rate. But the top 10-percent highest performing pop-ups had an average conversion rate three times higher.Do you have a mouth-watering offer, bonus offers or discount products? Maybe it is a product that you are offering free shipping for or a popular product that is topping the sales charts for the week, then you can effectively deploy a pop-up as a useful tool.Only the relevant information should be included on it. This way, pop-ups on your online store would be seen as gifts and not unwanted distractions.Nonetheless you can ask for customers’ ac tions in exchange for the discount or bonus offers. For example, ask customers to share your content on their social media page in exchange for a free shipping offer.Beat this: Kutoa, a company that sells health bars online, recorded 187-percent increase in their sales conversion rate by employing discount pop-up offers. It is that simple! 8. TALK TO YOUR PROSPECTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA  Have you ever felt like you talked to the best customer care agent ever? Or felt like suing the company for hiring a very annoying and/or unpolite agent?Your customers also get these feelings when you either ignore them, respond badly to their queries or treat them as special.There is need to establish actual communication with your prospects on social media. Do not just post pictures, videos or long posts for them to like and share â€" there are laws of social media marketing you must abide by.It is important for every online brand to take their customer relations very seriously.It is the fine line betwe en the trending stores and the unknown or forgotten stores.In this social media age, the creation of social media outlets to engage customers on these social platforms cannot be overemphasized. On this platform, prospective purchasers are watching or communicating their interests and curiosity, purchasers are seeking clarifications and the next steps to take while loyal customers are waiting for your next rewards, offers and so on.You cannot afford to lose out over a possible million purchasers across these categories by refusing to actually and actively talk with them.Social media houses more than millions of prospective purchasers and the more popular your brand is, the more likely your rates of conversion will increase in a flash of time.All you need is to devote time to these numerous clients.Engage them in meaningful conversations and give honest advice on how they can shop best. Then, you will begin to see your posts being shared, your pictures getting tremendous number of lik es and so on. You create brand awareness, satisfaction and increase in sales altogether in one shot.Just imagine that you just retweeted a big companys post or picture or inquired about their services and the giant brand actually took the time to thank you specifically or attend to your inquiries or complaints almost immediately.You will be feeling valued and special and you can do the same for your customers â€" even if it means hiring a social media expert.9. REMARKETING CLOSES MORE DEALS THAN YOU IMAGINEHave you considered the importance and role of remarketing in increasing sales of products in your store?If you are not into remarketing products, then you are relying on prospective buyers to increase your conversion rates.Well, that is not likely to work as great as you will need it to if it actually ever works. Remarketing can change the whole outlook of your sales on a product.You can choose to remarket a product or a specific time-sensitive sale offer (as discussed in this ar ticle on how to create a sense of urgency). This will undoubtedly increase sales online.Apart from increasing sales, remarketing provides you with the opportunity to establish your brand as a top priority for your customers and gives prospective customers numerous choices to pick from. You can easily remarket with paid search or paid social media campaigns.Check out The Ultimate Guide to AdWords Remarketing and The Ridiculously Awesome Guide to Facebook Remarketing.10. USING THE PERSONALIZED CALL-TO-ACTIONSince measuring conversion rates is essential to increasing sales, it is important to optimize where that conversion takes place: Your calls-to-action.A call-to-action (CTA) can be referred to as a tool on a page that tells a reader or customer to take a specific step.For example, it could be a button labeled “Order Now” or “Add to Cart.” CTAs are important in calling your customers to carry out steps to further their transactions on your page. CTAs can tell readers to take other steps such as clicking a link or button to “Like”, “Share”, subscribe to the mailing list or follow on a social media page.So, what does it mean to have a “Personalized” Call-To-Action? This is to have a CTA customized to an individual or customer. This is important to make your customers feel at home when visiting your store.They are not worried about having unnecessary CTAs while on your site. They get the feeling of visiting a physical store where a store attendant knows how to treat their needs and walk them over the all store based on whether they are first-timers or loyal customers.To get results from taking this step will rely on how you maximize or deploy CTAs effectively on your site. First, you have to add your users into different segments to cater for this.For example, you can develop different email campaigns for direct paying clients and unconverted leads (have different email lists). The direct paying customers get a link to a different landing page and the leads get another link where they can be persuaded into making purchases.However, you should note that it does not necessarily address each individual visitor separately. Rather, it takes into account where they are in your sales funnel. While studying the use of over 93000 CTAs, HubSpot found that personalizing the CTA text based on whether users are visitors, leads, or paying customers increased conversion rates.This study and business decision resulted in converting 42-percent more visitors into leads for HubSpot.So, if you are thinking of increasing the pace of your online conversion rates, you can consider implementing personalized CTAs as it increases leads and subsequently results in more sales. 11. FOCUS ON YOUR AUDIENCE’S FAVORITE PLATFORMS  Are your social media activities not existing? If yes, then wake-up â€" this is the Social Media Century. If your brand is not yet very active on social media, I can categorically tell that you are missing a whole lot of sale s. A whole lot.But you could get started immediately by amassing data on the sites your customers visit and concentrate on reaching out.There are over hundreds of social media platforms and it is most likely that your clients would be spread across. Do not dissipate your energy and resources trying to play catch up with them all.Focus on where your strongest customer signal is. You need to get your brand, image imprinted on the sands of that platform. So strong that it is almost impossible for them not to notice each day they log on.For instance, you can focus on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter if you deliver products like jewelry, handbags, cakes etc. Social Media Strategist Peg Fitzpatrick says,“It’s better to be amazing at one or two social platforms than suck on five or six.”Perform a short survey of which platforms host the highest concentration of your clients. Establish your content marketing and target advertisement on these identified platforms and you are good to go !Below are additional tips to make this work effectively.Use the same hashtag across different platformsCreate flash salesOffer couponsPin a contestGenerate leads through giveawaysPromote free shippingGo mobileIncrease exposure of your social media sites on your pagesPost pictures12. REDUCE FRICTION IN THE CHECKOUT PROCESS  I once visited an online store to order jewelry for someone dear to me.The checkout process was so tedious that I had to abandon the cart and move to another online store where I got my product easily.A difficult checkout process is arguably one of the easiest ways to lose sales. According to Business Insider, approximately $4 TRILLION worth of online merchandise was abandoned in incomplete shopping carts in 2015, of which 63% was potentially recoverable. I can guarantee that you do not want to be a major shareholder in such statistic.Your check out process is crucial for user experience.Do you have a direct and easy to comprehend check out process?Once there are glitches, unwanted links, site errors on a purchaser’s check out process, it creates impatience and subsequent abandonment. Unlike a physical store where the attendant may plead with the customer to stay back or quickly sort out the issues with check out, this is not the case with online stores.If your check out process is complicated nobody gains, nobody wins â€" except the next online store that was wise enough to simplify theirs.What are your payment options? Do you have a wide variety of payment choices?If not, you need to implement this ASAP.Add all on one page like a form and once the customer fills the option he/she desires, the details of the account appear immediately, so they can make the payment and log out with ease. We all want ease when shopping.Research by the Baymard Institute showed that 28% of the cases of cart abandonment are due to a complicated or extended checkout process.To eliminate unnecessary steps in your check out process and make it seamless include o nly necessary steps and clicks. That way you can be assured you have avoided the risk of cart abandonment because of your checkout process.CONCLUDING REMARKSIf you have already implemented some of the tips above, you can still expend them or try new ones, as there is plenty of rooms for improvement.Most giant online stores have already implemented these approaches and continue to do so until today. You can be the next giant online store to emerge with an increase in your sales.Also, remember not to focus on just the short-term approaches and results. Plan, prepare and implement.  If you had the guts to start up an online store, you definitely have what it takes to make your online business a mega online shop. Get on with these tips and enjoy your dream becoming true.