How to use marketing to drive sales online

Marketing to drive online-sales has never been more important for brands.

I have recently received my requests from organisations asking how they use marketing to drive online sales.

Here are a few ideas.

Improve your brand message

Is your brand claim and what you stand clear and compelling? Does it need to be refined and or updated? Brands evolve, as do your customers, and the consumer climate has certainly changed within the last fifteen months. So ask yourself, and the people you work with, and your customers, and the people outside of your sphere too - is your brand message strong enough?

Improve your product relevance

People can buy anything online, so why should they buy your products? Does your product beat the competition? How is it different? How is it new? How is it the smart choice? What makes it unique? Who would buy it? Why? Give your products an apparent reason to be. And a real clear reason why people buy. And how it fits into their lives and does something they want.

Be premium or show your point of difference.

People want to believe that what they’re buying is the best. Or the best for them. If they want the cheapest, they’ll buy on Amazon. The majority of brands then play somewhere in the middle, and some stand out as the premium choice or the specialist choice. This is where your brand, products, service, or simply your language and design feel can stand out and elevate the emotional response and the appeal you generate in your target audience.

Improve your website navigation

To encourage sales, your site has to be clean, clear, and well laid-out to allow for the optimal user experience. Scrutinise your site to see if your products are easy to overview, understand, and buy. Use clear and simple imagery, words, flow and call to actions throughout your site to ensure no one is put off when they are close to purchasing.

Build trust with visitors to your site

Face-to-face trust feels like a thing of the past, while online sales are soaring. The way to create that necessary level of trust is firstly to talk in more depth with your interested (or in-market) audience by creating new content online, such as new landing pages to introduce new products or services. Newsletters or blogs to explain the work you are doing (or the way you think and serve customers) and social media content to reinforce your brand ethos and image (as well as to interact with your followers daily). And secondly, get others to advocate for you: accreditations, reviews, testimonials, case studies.

Create partnerships and PR

Your brand is like a person; the more it connects with others, works with others, gets known, and gets recognised and spoken about, the more it will sell. Look into creating brand partnerships that are mutually beneficial to create something new and exciting. Or partner with specialists or influencers representing what you stand for and use this for social media and site content. And try to get headlines in newspapers or industry press – what can you shout about? As a company, a brand, a commitment, a plan for the future. What can you say or do to stand out amongst the crowd?

Create offers

Online sales are boosted by innovative activations that convert those considering into customers. January sales are for failing retail stores; online, you can decide how and when to offer your customers an incentive, with short-term or flash deal offers and loyalty incentives or rewards, to draw in new customers and retain current ones.

Keep giving

Give your customers and prospects something new. Keep their interest and attention fresh by coming out with new things. This can be anything from a rebrand, new products, new services, new partnerships, new content, further advice, new platforms, or simply a unique point of view or a pledge, such as a social or sustainable goal. Tell them something new to excite them, and give them reasons to click towards purchase.

Know whom you’re selling to

Find out from your analytics data which you are selling to, and tailor your content to them. If customers are younger or older, you might want to steer your content to suit. Also, ask them for feedback. Run surveys and offer incentives in exchange for their insights.

Be human

Feature real people. Talk about real life and how you care about it and are part of it. A human element on any e-commerce website builds trust. Show photography, video, staff, partners, customers, or tell their stories. Connect with emotions we can all relate to. Show that you’re about people and not just profit, and communicate how you and your people make your brand and what you offer different, and on some level, pleasing.

Be clear

In online sales, in saturated markets, clarity is essential. It’s the most critical factor. Follow all of the above, or as much as you can, advertise as smartly as you can on the channels relevant to your audience and available to you. Still, above all else, you need to be crystal clear to yourself, your staff, and your audience about what you offer and why they should care. If that’s clear and concise, and compelling, then you’ll be halfway to your sales target.

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