All a marketer or business owner ever thinks about is how they’ll be attracting more customers to their business. Loosely interpreted as more traffic in the digital quarters, the more people you’re able to direct to your ecommerce store the more sales and revenue you’re able to clock.
After all, having a great site with a measly amount of traffic defeats the very purpose of owning an amazing ecommerce store in the first place. You want people to visit the site and be motivated enough to take action for it to serve its intended purpose. Otherwise, what you have wouldn’t be very much different from a nicely designed money pit.
Luckily for you, this post covers five timeless ideas for attracting online customers to your ecommerce store. These strategies have been tested and found to work. So if worked right, with the consistency they deserve, you can bet your entire home that they’ll actually generate the expected results, unless otherwise.
The Site Aesthetics
Online users are known to make snap judgements. They simply glance over your site, and based on what they’re able to see within a second or two, formulate an opinion on whether or NOT the site is to be trusted.
That’s what’s meant when someone talks about the first impression your site creates. Does it give its visitors more reasons to hang around or make return trips to the content well?
This statement is meant in reference to the site structure, colour spacing, fonts, amount of text, symmetry, and so much more. Read this bearing in mind that online customers judge you based on what they’re able to see.
Starting with the first impression, if the look of your site turns them off, then don’t expect them to hang around long enough to be convinced to buy. They’ll simply hit the exit button and continue with their search elsewhere.
A great site design strives to strike a balance between professionalism and aesthetics. You don’t want to lean more on a playful tone. The same way you don’t want to come off as too professional.
The point is to work on making your site visually appealing by working on the images you post and improving on the overall site structure and core features. Once you’re able to achieve that modern look and beat all your competitors in terms of aesthetics, then you’ll have an easy time getting your customers to trust you and your brand.
Be Active on Social Media
Almost every single one of the prospects you’re targeting can be found on social media. So start by working for a strong social media presence.
You can publish your ads on the various social media networks, boost the posts you make, and gradually grow your followers by making regular posts and running a series of social media campaigns. Whatever you do, social media is rife with benefits.
What’s even more important is to focus on coming up with really great content. That is, the kind of content a great majority of your followers would want to share or be enamoured enough to follow you.
That being said, here’s a list of things you can do to direct customers to your online store via social media:
– Be consistent with the posts you make. Try to create a habit of updating your social media pages and accounts at least once a day. And don’t just posts for the sake of it; instead, make sure the content you post is interesting and valuable enough to those reading it.
– Engage with your users. It’s important that you try to personalize your online interactions with prospects. Ask relevant questions where applicable. Respond to their questions and make your posts captivating enough for them to engage you.
– Choose proper channels. There are so many social media channels that you can use to communicate with your prospects. While it’s important that you pick on a number of them, it’s NOT necessarily a must that you sign up with every social media channel out there.
However, it’s important that you never miss signing up with the top social media channels including Facebook (accounting for about 83% of the Singapore population), Twitter, and Instagram.
– Use Graphics. Images are a sure-fire way to ensure your posts enjoy better engagement. Want your posts to attract comments and likes from different types of prospects? Well, use images to make them even more attractive to potential customers.
Good Customer Relation
Customers want to be sure that they can trust you for support should there arise a need for it. They want to be sure that just in case they’re dissatisfied with the product they purchased or the services rendered that they can still reach out to you and be accorded the necessary help.
The point is to make sure every single one of the customers is satisfied with the services they receive.
According to a recent finding, as conducted by Forrester Research, nearly half of potential customers will opt out of a transaction should their questions or concerns fail to be addressed.
Goes to show that customers warm to your business the more you respond to their queries and comments. Even better is to work on delivering timely responses — when potential customers are still excited about your business or products.
Adding to the research finding is another study by McKinsey, which goes on to reveal that customers care more about how they’re treated than even the product or services being offered to them.
Keep in mind that any negative impression you attract will be shared even more than the positive impressions you make. According to the study, it takes approximately 12 positive experiences to offset a negative.
Meaning, if there’s one thing you’d want to protect with your life, then it’s your online reputation and how you interact with your prospects on the various social media platforms.
Run Promotions and Offers Discounts
Promotions and discounts have a way of appealing to a prospect’s heart. You want them to have a change of heart so they can consider making a purchase with you. Then why NOT offer them something for free or give them a cut they can’t resist. Do this and you’d be surprised by the sheer number of customers that warm up to your business.
Another approach would be to offer free shipping to clients near you. Works even better when you’re shipping a large number of products to a group of buyers within the same locality, as this allows you to split the shipping charges among them for a reduced cost.
Customers have also been found to baulk at the idea of making online purchases simply because they can’t afford the shipping charges. So by taking it off the customer’s budget, there’s a fair chance a good number of them may be motivated enough to take action.
Another solid trick would be to introduce a coupon code. You can come up with a number of different coupons, including a welcoming one to new clients. This basically aims to give first time buyers a reasonable discount on their first purchase should they decide to go ahead and buy.
That way, the customers who get to make the decision to buy will be enthused to stay loyal to you and, in some instances, find it fit to invite some of their friends and family to buy from you.
Email Marketing
Lastly you have email marketing as your ace in the hole. While you’ll be running the other marketing strategies on a humble, one tactic you can be sure will work is email marketing.
That’s because online customers have been found to be more receptive towards email messages as opposed to any other form of online interactions. All you have to do is come up with a list of qualified customers that you’ll be frequently targeting with creative pieces of content and messages.
Here’s a list of ideas on what you can email your customers:
- Emails about a new product you’re introducing.
- Emails on sales and promotions.
- After-purchase emails thanking the client for making the decision to buy a product you’re selling and recommending the other products you also happen to be selling.
- Emails send to inactive prospects and past clients.
- Tips on how to use or maintain any one of your products.
It’s a Wrap
This post is a clear proof that you don’t need to break the bank to attract potential customers and clients to your site. You just need to be smart with the approach you undertake and the rest will automatically fall in place.
For more information regarding online promotions and marketing strategies, make a point to reach out to MediaOne today for a free ecommerce store promotion consultation.
