If you have an online branch of your business, is it doing as well as it could? If not, there are some things you can look at to improve your position and make more sales. Take a look at these marketing techniques and see if they can make a difference.
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Design is key
How well does your website work? If your customers are struggling to navigate around and find what they are looking for, they will just go somewhere else. There are many companies out there that pump an awful lot of money into SEO and online advertising. But, getting more traffic isn’t always the problem. Holding people on your website and convincing them to buy something is far more of an issue for most. So, start from the beginning – your website – and make sure it works. There’s a great guide to improving your visitor’s experience over at ConversionXL.
Email more, and better
Email is still the most valuable way of getting to your customers. Sign up for a service such as MailChimp and – most importantly – learn how to use email better. Get people to sign up for a newsletter and give them vital hints and tips about your industry. The, they will be more open to buying from you when that time comes. It’s not rocket science, but it does involve a lot of split testing to refine your message. Once you see something working, though, it should give you the inspiration to press on.
PPC
Again, a lot of companies use PPC – but most are just throwing away their money. This is because of two major factors. Firstly, they don’t know how to use it properly. And secondly, it’s because they don’t know how to judge a campaign’s success. So, you have two choices. You can hire a PPC management company with a great reputation to look after your account. Or, you can take yourself back to school and learn yourself. Again, there is no rocket science here, but if you can’t afford the time to learn, then it’s quicker and cheaper for you in the long run to outsource.
Concentrate on conversion
We have already mentioned convincing your customers to buy more from you. So, one of the biggest improvements you can make to your website is to concentrate on conversion. This is all about testing how things work on your site, and finding what people respond to. You might find that green button gets more clicks than a red button, for example. Or, you could reword something and notice that sales increase by 40%. But, whatever changes you make, you have to test them against the original. Check out this guide to online split-tests for more juicy details.
Be an expert
Finally, you can bluff and talk fluff about anything you like. But, ultimately, if you aren’t an expert in your field or your product isn’t great, you aren’t going to make as much money as you would otherwise. The web is a great place for starting a business, but it’s also a bit of a graveyard for failed companies. And, make no mistake, without a great product or service, there is only one place you are going to end up.