For any type of small business, competing online with larger competitors with greater resources can be a daunting task. These larger brands have much more robust websites, larger marketing budgets, and aggressive sales efforts.
Brands that have created successful online retailing models tend to have several things in common. In other words, given that the product sold is of quality, many of the brand’s efforts to successful online retailing are the same or similar. There are common practices that even smaller brands and start-ups can do to ensure better chances at success online.
To successfully retail online, here are 5 tips for businesses and entrepreneurs who want to improve brand awareness, increase online sales, and website search rankings and traffic.
5 Tips For Successful Online Retailing
1. Ensure e-commerce website is mobile-friendly.
Since Google’s latest algorithm change on April 21, all websites that are not mobile-friendly (Responsive Design) will start to loose rankings in Google search results, while Responsive websites will start ranking higher. In addition, over 60% of people who access the Internet, do so through mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones. To successfully retail online, brands and businesses have to operate mobile-friendly e-commerce websites and shopping carts.
2. Use proper e-commerce applications and design.
To improve conversion rates and increase online sales, companies and brands should only use proper e-commerce applications and design. Website applications such as WordPress are great CMS (Content Management Systems) systems for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Much thought should go into what system to use and what kind of design will work with the desired target audience. The quality of the website design is a critical aspect for conversion rates of shopping carts.
3. Give the right incentives and promote them correctly.
To sell online, consumers have to be given a reason. Most shoppers go online to find deals, specials, and certain offers. Getting a deal is almost expected by the online consumer. Retailers and brands must give the right incentives to their target market and promote those incentives correctly to drive sales and increase revenue. There are many incentives promoted by e-commerce retailers such as “Free Shipping”, “Percentage Discounts”, “Bundled Products”, and other type of deals.
4. Create and publish content properly and frequently.
To stimulate online sales, e-commerce websites must produce, publish, and distribute unique, quality, and relevant content frequently. Content is considered everything from website text, blog articles, white papers, eBooks, press releases, images, and videos. When content is created and published properly as frequently, an e-commerce website can quickly rise in search rankings and online sales.
5. Get active online and with social media channels.
With the amount of time the average person is spending on social media channels these days, it is no surprise that brands and companies are forced to do the same to attract those potential customers. E-commerce website owners and companies that want to increase online sales, have to get active online with these social media channels. They have to be properly setup and managed to produce results. Consumers, often see brands without a strong social media presence, as less trustworthy.
To ensure best results, brands and e-commerce website owners can always work with professionals and experts to improve their website operations and online sales. Professionals can quickly identify areas that can be improved and what should be done to create the desired change. Professional marketing services can address these things and working through consulting services will do so as well. Companies that want to improve their online sales should take advantage of professionals who can quickly give advice and assistance.
