We are all well aware of the potential the internet holds for launching otherwise small businesses into the commercial stratosphere – and yet, for many of us, the course of transitioning into online sales rarely yields that explosive, epoch-making boost to sales we felt we were promised.
This experience is all too common – but it does not mean that your business is not cut out to take on the burgeoning online markets you’ve heard about. In fact, that could not be further from the truth.
Rather, in order to find that high ROI, you simply need to know how to manage the ever increasing demands that operating an e-commerce business with a few tricks, tools and techniques of the trade. Doing so can, with time and commitment, ensure that you are prepared to meet with increasing demand, and handle the growth of the digital side of your business.
Read more below.
A Unified POS System
When it comes to the experiences our customers have, our physical and digital points of sale represent two entirely different ballgames to the business – but that doesn’t mean they should be treated as such.
In any business, it is all too easy to place an emphasis on one area – for many, this will be the in-store point of sale. For one thing, it is immediate; you interact with the customer, and get that all-important window of opportunity to upsell them on goods or services in a way that is unique to your encounter on any given day. For another, it feels as though you have more control over it.
But letting an imbalance form between the attention you give to in-store sales and online sales will only make it difficult to garner the same value from both sides of the business.
Industry leaders know this, and that’s why the ability to integrate both sides of the point of sale together so that a distinction no longer needs to be made. The custom website builder Wix, for instance, has expanded their integrated platform to include custom point of sale systems that enable their users to amalgamate ecommerce transactions and in-store sales within one system, thus centralising both aspects of the business in one place.
In this way, business owners needn’t feel as though their attention is being pulled in two separate directions, and, in automating much of the process, they can dedicate more time to honing the online shopping experience for their customers and, as a result, boosting sales.
Video Demonstrations
In times gone by, including a few high quality images that demonstrates your products features – whether fashion, décor, tech, or anything else for that matter – represented the ideal for anyone looking to garner success within their online storefront. Customers are all too aware of the potential pitfalls that come with shopping online, rather than in person, and images helped to dissuade them from taking their business offline.
Now, however, we have a wealth of ecommerce insights at our disposal, and we know that, increasingly, consumers want more from brands online – something that can bridge the gap more successfully between browsing ‘IRL’, and browsing from one’s phone, tablet or computer.
Videos offer the perfect way to bride that gap. When it comes to fashion, for instance, buyers can see the way the fabric drapes and moves – they can see it from all angles, in a way that is far more realistic and dynamic than a studio photograph.
When it comes to gadgetry and other products, buyers can be sure that the item in question really is as easy and convenient to use as the description claims.
It may seem like yet another step that needs to be taken in order to see a good ROI from your online shop, but it is certainly worthwhile. In fact, some research suggests that a video could increase the likelihood of customers buying your product by more than 70%.
A System for Managing Social Media Marketing
Marketing on social media is a complex enough beast on its own – but, with the majority of companies attempting to maintain a presence on more than one platform, navigating the changing tides of social media marketing can be incredibly trying.
The trouble is that the potential for seeing an incredible boost to sales following a strong social media marketing campaign is very strong indeed, and very few of us can afford to overlook these outlets – however demanding and time-consuming they may at times be. The extent to which you can – and should – utilise social media will, of course, depend on how much time and attention you have to lend to it. But, given the sheer scope of social media strategies for boosting sales, this should fall at the top of your list of priorities when you begin to feel as though your online sales could benefit from a boost.