Running an online business has many advantages. You have access to customers anywhere in the world, you don’t need to rent a brick and mortar location and some costs are reduced. However, a significant amount of your spending probably goes towards driving traffic to your site. Undoubtedly, you want this traffic to translate into sales of your product or service. This means you need to keep track of several metrics as well as customer requests.
Communicate well
In order to get and retain customers, you need to communicate with them effectively and offer them assistance throughout the entire buying process. You need to engage with customers across a variety of digital platforms and across a range of devices include desktop computers, tablets and smartphone.
It is also imperative that you know what is drawing them to your site and also what may be preventing them from purchasing after browsing. You need to help them find what they’re looking for (even if they don’t know it yet}. You want customers to stay loyal to your brand. You can try to do all this yourself or utilise a platform like Moxie Concierge for assistance.
Focus on emails
The statistics are clear on why email is so important for business. The average return on investment for every dollar spent on email is $40. Email open rates are the highest they’ve been since 2007 and they keep growing. Email is also key in delivering good customer service. If your business operates solely in the digital sphere, the importance of effective email communication can’t be overestimated.
Know the stats
It is also important that you understand your e-commerce site’s traffic. Who are your customers and potential customers? How are they finding your site? How much time are they spending looking at your content? Which days are they most likely to visit and make purchases.
Which social media sites do they frequent? Knowing these details will help you to better target your spending and efforts and assist you with retaining customers. You wouldn’t spend money advertising primarily on weekends if the data shows your customers are more active during the week.
Convert, convert, convert!
Converting those website visitors into long-term customers should be your ultimate goal. It makes no sense sending traffic to site if those browsers never buy anything. It’s actually a waste of money and effort! You need to be sure your marketing efforts are aimed at the right audience. It may not profitable to target a home repair business at millennials who can’t afford a home.
Your site also needs to be easy to use. If potential customers can’t find what they need quickly, they will go elsewhere. There are lots of pages competing for their attention in the digital space. Use tools like Google Analytics to track how customers use the site. Your site should also be visually appealing with clear calls to action.
Online businesses can be quite profitable but you need to do your research and then target your marketing appropriately. Understanding your customers and making it as easy as possible for them to find and purchase your products or services will go a long way.