More Customers for Your Online Store: Quick Ways to Drive Traffic to Your E-Commerce Site
Creating an online business is easy, but what is truly hard is finding the customers you need to make it succeed. The sad fact of the matter is that 90 percent of startups fail and usually, it is because they have done a poor job or bringing traffic to their websites and, most importantly, converting that traffic into paying customers. If you want to succeed as an e-commerce website then you need to be smart about your marketing strategy. Simply throwing money at poorly thought out marketing efforts isn’t going to increase your sales and, sooner or later, it will mean your business’ survival will be in jeopardy. Below we will look at how you can increase your e-commerce site’s traffic and how you can turn that traffic into extra revenue.
Be Realistic
Dreaming big is definitely a good thing, but you need to be realistic about what your traffic and sales are likely to be if you are just starting out. The internet is full of stories about people who got rich overnight through their e-commerce websites, but what you don’t hear about are the countless others whose businesses went bust. E-commerce takes a lot of hard work. You probably won’t be making millions right away, but if you are smart about your marketing strategy then you will be able to steadily build up your business over time in order to become a success.
Create Your Brand
Having a brand is essential nowadays. In fact, before you even create a website you need to decide what your brand says about your products and your customers. Remember that many people nowadays buy products not simply because of how well they are manufactured, but because of what those products say about them. That means you have to identify who your potential customers are, what they are looking for, and what your product can give them. Most importantly, you need to be consistent with your brand. If you are targeting the high-end luxury market then promoting yourself as offering the cheapest products in town isn’t going to be very effective, for example.
Make Your Product Available
Consumers have a lot of choices nowadays not just in terms of products but also in terms of how they shop. They can choose to get the same item through a brick and mortar store, through an online store, or through a social media page. Your business needs to be present on all of these platforms and more. Multi-channel marketing means you will be able to compete for customers on sites such as Facebook, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Pinterest, and more, in addition to the products you offer through your own store and your own website.
Focus On Customers
However, just being present on as many platforms as possible doesn’t guarantee you success. In fact, investing in too many marketing strategies and accounts could see your business lose focus and vision, which at the end of the day is nothing but a waste of money. On Amazon, for example, you will be competing with dozens, even hundreds, of other businesses in order to sell one product. How Amazon chooses to rank you compared to those competitors, and whether you get the valuable Amazon Buy Box, will dramatically influence what your final sales figures are. Features such as that will help convert traffic into sales. Likewise, you need to utilize your social media accounts, such as Facebook and Instagram. Don’t just use these platforms to sell a certain product. Instead, offer your followers information that they may find useful and which could eventually turn into sales. If you sell cookware, for example, then you can use Facebook to share recipes. You can also use it to offer special discounts and promote in-store sales. Building your social media presence also allows you to target customers who are more likely to shop at your store and also helps you build a more loyal customer base.
Conclusion
Building an e-commerce site sounds simple, but if you want to be successful then it is going to require you to put in plenty of research and hard work. The main ingredient for success online is harnessing a marketing strategy that is effective at not only increasing traffic but finding people who are most likely to turn into customers. With the tips listed above, you will be well on your way to building an e-commerce site that can maintain a large customer base and increase your business’ revenue.
