2020 has been an unprecedented year for all of us. Many brick-and-mortar businesses and various industries have suffered. But many have also adapted rather successfully to the online selling environment. It offers consumers shopping options during widespread lockdowns. It is crucial for most businesses to begin and continue to employ ecommerce optimization in order to get ahead in this economic environment.
The final quarter of 2020 was predicted to have seen the highest sales growth. It was even more so than during an ordinary year and holiday season. Ecommerce and online selling are right at the center of this sales growth. Businesses wishing to ramp up their sales need to focus their efforts on online sales. It will allow them to attract their consumers to their digital selling channels.
Here are our tips for a successful online selling strategy for your business in 2021!
Optimize your website to deliver a great user experience
First and foremost, your site is the primary stopping point for your consumers to engage with, and ultimately purchase, your products. Your site design needs to bring your brand to life, while making your products clearly and easily accessible. Additionally, the site needs to be easily navigable, with your products/services at the front and center. Features like the search and shopping cart buttons need to be clearly visible and accessible. It is also important to enable cart abandonment notifications. This reminds customers to return to purchase the items they left behind.
Consistent brand messaging across the board
The brand’s messaging needs to be relevant and consistent with the current economic and social realities. It is important to maintain consumer confidence in both your brand and company. That means all consumer (and employee) concerns and communications need to be regularly addressed and resolved. Consumers need to feel confident and convinced of product and brand quality when making purchasing decisions in this uncertain time.
This is a great opportunity to continue making your social media presence both visible and valuable. Positive outreach and engagement with your customers and potential customers will go a long way toward ensuring consumers of your brand’s quality. And your company’s commitment to both delivering a great product and an amazing customer experience will also be evident. In this uncertain time especially, it is crucial to build relationships with your audience. If you’re successful, it will help convert your followers into customers. It’s important to provide content that is relevant to your customers and also engages them in dialogue. Therefore, social media allows you to engage with your audience immediately and with no restrictions. This provides benefits and learning opportunities for both sides.
Employ personalized marketing content
Delivering personalized marketing content and offers to your consumers through the holiday season and into the new year will give you an edge over the competition in the vast online marketplace. Consumers need to feel like the offers that they are receiving are individually applicable to them and their needs and preferences. Most consumers don’t want to be lumped into a group based on an arbitrary target set by the brand.
Consumers that feel understood and valued by the brand, will become and remain loyal to that brand in future. It is therefore important for retailers to gather the relevant consumer data and use that resource of consumer knowledge to their advantage.
Final thoughts
Staying afloat and making profits have both been difficult for businesses in this challenging time. However, opportunities for success are plentiful for businesses willing and able to adapt to the vast online sales environment. Businesses can expect to be successful if they have an intimate knowledge of their consumers and their audience. This includes if they are willing to understand their consumers and engage with them as individuals. Personalized marketing content and a robust and personable social media strategy will both go a long way toward making your business stand out.
