How to Build Your Online Sales
Your website is up and running and you’ve got a few sales trickling in. Now, it’s time for the next challenge: growing your sales.
At Watchman Advisors, we understand that digital marketing is at the center of any online business’s success strategy. Through marketing, you drive the traffic needed to increase sales through online channels.
Digital marketing is also great for honing your business strategy. With every click, you gain valuable data you can use to improve your business when you use marketing analytics tools like Google Analytics and SEMrush.
So where should you start? These digital marketing tactics nurture customers through the sales funnel to drive online sales.
How to Build Brand Awareness
Before you can convince customers to buy your product or service, they need to be aware of the value you have to offer them. Here are 5 ways to do that:
SEO
Search engine optimization drives organic web traffic by helping your website rank higher in search engines.
Google AdWords
Pay-per-click advertising via Google AdWords also boosts search engine visibility, but PPC does so through paid ads based on search keywords.
Paid social media
While it’s possible to raise brand awareness organically on social media using posts and stories, it’s an uphill battle. Social media advertising delivers targeted ads that increase visibility and followers faster than non-paid options.
Giveaways
Giveaways increase social follows, grow your email list, and build brand awareness. When running a giveaway, choose a prize that’s appealing enough to draw people in yet relevant to your niche. Bundling products with a high-tech gift like an iPhone or smartwatch is a sure way to boost engagement. Save money by buying a handful of items in bulk and tapping into year-round promotions.
Influencer marketing
Brands can also use influencer marketing to reach new audiences on social media. The most important part of influencer marketing is choosing your influencer carefully. The right influencer will share your target audience and have authority in your niche.
How to: Convert Leads
79% of marketing leads never convert. How can you be certain yours will?
Sales and promotions
Promotions are a quick way for online businesses to boost sales. While discounts aren’t a sustainable cash flow strategy, running a promotion is a smart way to convert first-time customers and collect email addresses.
Content marketing
Content marketing nurtures leads by providing more information about a brand’s products, services, and values. Content marketing is also valuable for SEO, although the primary purpose should be to engage and inform.
Reviews
Customers trust reviews. Make it as easy as possible for happy customers to leave online reviews and you may discover it gives warm leads the push they need.
How to: Nurture Customer Loyalty
Finding customers is the hard part. However, if you don’t market to existing customers as well, it won’t be long before you’re back where you started.
Email marketing
Low cost and highly effective, email marketing is one thing every online business should be doing. Email marketing remains a leading channel for B2B and B2C companies alike, particularly when it comes to nurturing and converting leads.
Rewards programs
Rewards programs incentivize customers to return to your business. Digital rewards programs have made this loyalty perk much easier to administer than in the past.
Community building
Companies that successfully build communities around their brand gain a network of loyal advocates. While building on- and offline communities is one of the most difficult digital marketing strategies to implement, it pays off. Private Facebook groups, user-generated content, and offline events are three strategies brands use to create community.
Are you overwhelmed by this digital marketing to-do list? Digital marketing is more complex than it seems. It’s also the engine that drives your business’s growth. Instead of scraping by with DIY digital marketing, leverage the services of Watchman Advisors to market your business the right way. With your digital marketing strategy in the hands of trusted professionals, you can focus on what you’re best at: running your business.