How To Sell Online?

The purpose of online marketing is similar to traditional marketing strategies. The aim is to build brand awareness, gain visibility and reach your target customers. But at the same time, the process of executing online marketing is lot different than the conventional marketing techniques. Unlike a brick and mortar store, an online retailer cannot provide the benefit of direct human interaction and a touch & feel of the products. Online merchants have to make it easy for customers to search the website, quickly browse a product, review its features, purchase easily and finally receive it in time, and in a good condition. An online entrepreneur goes into a business to sell a product/service, to meet an unmet need or to grow a business further. But not every entrepreneur has a sales bone in his body. Don’t worry; you can still have a roaring online business if you follow online marketing tips!
Hippo gives you the tips to unlock your marketing potential and boost up your online sales…

Strategise

This is the age of cut throat competition with lot of options available for the customers. There are many e-commerce stores, so how do you stand out from the crowd? Highlight your USP to show how do you are different from the rest? Offer something that your competitors do not. Before building your e-store, define the purpose of your website- will it be used to showcase your products and services, to generate sales leads, to offer after-sales support or all of them.

Build an attractive website.

Your website is akin to a smart salesperson in an actual brick and mortar store.  Your customers view and analyse the products through your website. So, first and foremost you need to have a good website in place for your storefront with a high visual appeal. Beautiful themes with eye catchy visuals, clarity of content, zoom & browse features, detailed product descriptions, and convenient browsing are few of the star features. One of the easy ways would be to choose a highly scalable platform to create your online store which equips your e-store with a host of features.

Mobile Marketing

With the advent of Smartphones and tablets, Mobile e-commerce has arrived with a bang in the online world. Mobile commerce is the next big wave and you simply cannot survive without mobile marketing to stay ahead of your competitors.  Mobile marketing includes features like QR Codes, social media and text messaging marketing. Make your site mobile responsive and customized for mobile devices. Create Mobile Apps for your e-store and work wonders for your online business.
 
SEO and SEM
 
To reach your customers and tell them that you are there, online entrepreneurs can opt for search engine optimization (SEO) and Paid Search Advertising (PSA). SEO ranks your site higher in search engines and attracts more traffic while PSA gets traffic by paying for ads run over the web. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) gets you more visits, increased conversions and boosts up your sales. Don’t forget to send e-newsletters and go for pay-per-click advertising.
 
Social Media

In today’s digital age it is important that you include links like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and other well known social media links on your website. Social Media integration is a popular tool which lets you connect with your tech-savvy customers, know your customers and also take their feedback.

Marketplace Integration

This is a very useful tool to reach your customers all over the globe. Products listed on highly reputed global marketplaces, like Amazon and eBay, are like hot cakes which sell like anything! It will give a lot of visibility for your product, and people are more likely to complete a purchase from such reputed sites.

Secure Payment Gateway Providers

This is a primary need of any good online web store since a reputed payment gateway is a most secure and convenient way of selling products. If the customers find it easy to purchase products from your store, they are likely to complete the purchase and visit your site again. Remember, you need to retain an old customer too, besides attracting new ones.

Efficient Logistics Providers

Your customers expect a trouble free journey right from purchasing the product to its delivery.
A pre-integrated logistics provider will be a boon since it will ensure timely & efficient delivery of the products. A good logistics provider will also enable customers to track their order status. This creates a good impression on your customers and they repose more faith in your site.

Minimal clicks lead to maximum sales
 
Make surfing your web store easier and quicker. Case in point- try to keep a single-page checkout process with minimum fuss for the online buyer. The fewer the number of clicks, the better it is for your customer.
 
After-sales Customer Service
 
Simply selling your product is not enough. Have a good return and exchange policy in place on your website. Respond to a customer’s request immediately and maintain a good customer service staff for the same.

Blogging
 
Last but not the least, companies who maintain a blog posts actively are likely to do business better. Blogs are an effective way to tell about your product and company in an informal way and also to engage with the online buyers.
 
Final word from Hippo
You can certainly reach your aim and carve a niche for yourself in the online world by implementing the right marketing strategies. StoreHippo offers a wide array of web-friendly features to make your site attractive and accessible for your customers. If you wish to create your online store, StoreHippo is the right choice!