I’ve seen it, you’ve seen you, at this point, the whole world has seen it. The retailers are struggling. It is no surprise to anyone really, online shopping has slowly been taking over in the past decade, and the pandemic has sped up the process tenfold. Throughout the UK if you want to buy something rather than need to buy something, you have to head online. Even some supermarkets don’t have anything other than essential items for sale.
COVID has hit retailers hard, and many companies have closed both small and large. So all the surviving stores have had to switch over to online shopping. But it isn’t enough to just make a website and hope for the best.
So, here are a couple of ideas to help boost sales during the crisis.
Use The Giants
Even if you have your own website through which you can sell your products, not everyone is going to see you. If you are particularly new to advertising and getting your name out there, one way to increase sales is to utilise sites such as eBay and Amazon. If you have a store on such platforms then you can be selling even if people don’t realise it’s from you. It isn’t the most efficient way to get your name out there, but it can certainly bring in more sales for retailers.
Socialise To Advertise
You could have no advertising budget, (however that isn’t recommended) and still get your name out there. There are countless social media platforms and you can make business and company pages on almost all of them. With the right hashtags and using suitable language and posting styles to your industry, you can create a lot of interest in a short amount of time.
If you already have a loyal customer base it should be easy enough to get some great reviews and recommendations, so when people do notice you, they know you are a brand that they can trust. Word of mouth spreads like wildfire both online and outside, use it to make not break your business.
Another great tool on social media is the ability to message people easily. Retailers, don’t be afraid to take full advantage of this. It is such an easy way to build rapport with customers and once again build up that trust. If someone has a question, for example, don’t leave them waiting hours and hours for a response. They will appreciate you getting back to them in a timely manner.
To further build engagement, why not try a competition? Prizes don’t have to be anything too crazy, but if the only rules are to like, follow and share, then all of a sudden your page will be showing up all over the place. The more you do, the more people will see it.
Don’t forget too to make use of Intent data and predictive analytics.
Maximise the sale
When you have got a bit more traffic, here are a few ways to increase the likeliness of a sale or a larger sale.
Tell your story, let the customer know your background as a company and what you stand for. If you are a retailer in a clothing company and use sustainable fashion, that is something people want to know and would probably be even more likely to support. You are your own best asset.
Have an AI-powered search option, this will help customers find not only the items they are looking for but similar ones that might also be of interest.
Make interaction possible, and not only interaction between you and the customer. Buying guides, a ‘recommended for you’ section. Anything that helps the customer, but makes them feel like they are helping themself too.
At the end of the day, when you have the customer base, you want to treat them with the same attitude and respect you would if they were in store. Online shopping doesn’t need to be a bland and boring experience.
Spice it up a little.
