Increase the reach of your online store by making strategic business and customer experience decisions.
Want more customers?
Here's how to get them
Here's how to get them
©Somewhere Else
Proud owner of a new e-store but sales aren’t pouring in?
As the world changes rapidly, there’s been a mad scramble to get on board the digital wave. But creating an online store is only step one. If you’re struggling to gain traction, here’s some tips for you.
Unsure where you’re going wrong? Luckily, customer behaviours are the biggest clue. Think about which of these applies to you, and start plugging the gaps:
As the world changes rapidly, there’s been a mad scramble to get on board the digital wave. But creating an online store is only step one. If you’re struggling to gain traction, here’s some tips for you.
Unsure where you’re going wrong? Luckily, customer behaviours are the biggest clue. Think about which of these applies to you, and start plugging the gaps:
Customers want me, but:
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If you have social media channels like Facebook or Instagram. Use them!!! Talk to your customers regularly about things that matter to them, or share content that’s timely and relevant.
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Partner with popular delivery or retail partners to place your product in places where customers already are. Give people something new to discover.
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If you’re fresh in the market, paying Google to help you make a first impression can go a long way.
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You know when you see a picture of decadent, fudgey brownies, and you suddenly get a craving? If you don’t pop in to say hello from time to time, no one’s going to remember you. Keep customers in the loop by sharing updates on what you’re up to.
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Want to get even more personal? WhatsApp or Telegram chat groups aren’t just for your family, and can be a great way to excite with exclusive offers.
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Speak to your many customers personally, just like you would in your store. Build relationships online using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools, so your customers get the same warm experience they’re used to.
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If they’re not coming to you, find ways to get in front of them! Engage customers and share your expertise by holding live product demos, classes, chats or creating other useful content.
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“Buy Now” or “Find Out More” doesn’t make customers click with delight. Get creative and write more intriguing or attention-grabbing call-to-actions!
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Limited time offers or special deals really work because the fear of losing out is real. Make promotions so appealing that customers will rush to check out.
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For a retailer, there’s nothing sadder than an overflowing abandoned cart. Maybe customers were just browsing, they don’t need the product right now, or the exorbitant shipping fee put them off. Timed discounts can give customers with abandoned carts that little push over the edge they need.
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Have you been tracking your website’s Google Analytics? You may discover that certain pages seem to have a high drop-out rate, take note of these.
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Ask some friends to use your site. Was it easy to find what they want and check out on both mobile and desktop? If the answer is no, having a website with tons of errors is as good as pushing your customers away. Fix these first.
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While you don’t have the time to make your store beautiful, an unusable site won’t do anything for you. Rework your layout until it’s clear what’s most important on each page and everything has space to breathe.
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Are you still in touch with what your customers expect or need? If you haven’t asked them recently, the answer is no.
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Once you have this juicy information, quickly brainstorm solutions and test them.
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Think about how you can use what you already have in different ways that match current needs, for example combos, and family packs help people see a reason to purchase.
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10% off the next purchase? Including coupons in orders is a classic that gives customers a reason to buy from you again.
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Lock in sales by selling discounted gift vouchers. Everybody wins.
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Too busy to keep up with customers? Make your emails work for you by automating them to follow up on purchases, show appreciation and get feedback.
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Your loyal customers make up 80% of your sales. Reward returning customers to build fans who’ll help you spread the word, free of charge.
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What’s holding up your business operations? Take a moment to breathe and find any pain points your employees may have with all the new roles they’ve suddenly had to step up and fill.
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Lack of manpower but can’t hire? Give your workers opportunities to up-skill, or outsource work for flexibility.
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Create a more efficient and streamlined work-flow, fixed bundles or packages can save time and increase output.
Customers don’t choose me because:
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Constantly survey your customers to find out their expectations, needs and pain points along their journey, as these may change suddenly and quickly. Don’t wait till the gap is too wide to fill.
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Tweak your product and services to reflect these needs. Get feedback.
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Help people form a reason to purchase by communicating benefits, not just features. Context is everything.
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Your customers are real people with complex emotions and lives, not faceless consumers. Be sensitive to what they’re experiencing and feeling, and avoid being tone deaf in your communications.
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Instead of casting a giant net, identify who your core audience is and spend effort reaching out to them. Trying to attract everyone is as good as attracting no one.
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You can’t say the same thing across all your channels. Think about why people are on that platform and connect appropriately. Your customers aren’t on Facebook or Linkedin to shop.
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If your offering is currently not useful to anyone, figure out how to adapt it for new uses. Otherwise, keep educating people about your products.
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Uh oh. If you’re not adding value to customers, why’d they bother with you? Make a list of your brand’s weaknesses by asking around, and get suggestions from employees and past customers on what you can do about it.
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Make the improvements and keep getting more feedback. Repeat until your customers are happy with the brand new you.
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If it’s a service issue, spend more time and effort training and guiding your employees. Get everyone on the same service standards. 1 bad review goes a long way to hurt your business.
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If the above fails, go back to the core. Ask yourself “Why does my business exist?” Drill deep to arrive at the true answer, then run with it and see where it brings you.
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Make a list of you and your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses to find out where you stand. What makes you different and better from all the rest? If you have a tough time answering this, go back to the point above and fix that first.
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Strengthen your point of difference by writing it down clearly so you can use in your communications. Knowing what makes you great is good, but not if your customers are kept in dark.
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There will always be customers who are blatantly unreasonable, just because. But not all criticisms should be tossed aside. Take a closer look at past reviews your customers have given you more objectively and use their feedback as a tool for growth and improvement,
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Ensure customers feel heard. Always be open to listening to their needs, and respond in a personal and kind manner. It may be tempting to retort back when they start a shouting match, but this will just flush your reputation down the drain.
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Reach out to unhappy customers and offer them compensation or a second chance for a better experience, especially if your brand was the one in the wrong.
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Be honest with customers and manage their expectations so they don’t end up disappointed. Overpromising and underdelivering will do more harm than good.
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You may not think that the relationship your employees have with your brand matters that much, but when you care for your people strongly, they’ll be ambassadors of your brand and their pride will reflect in the work they do.
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Give employees the chance to share feedback and suggestions on how the business can do better, they may not know the full workings of your business but they might know customers better than you do.
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Be socially responsible and ethical as a business, if you can leverage your resources to help those in need or show appreciation to heroes in society, do it! Give your staff reasons to feel proud of the brand and share about it with others.
The recession is here, but we can choose to be proactive and positive in our approach and use this cutthroat competition as an opportunity to make our businesses even better.
As small businesses, we’re all in this together.