It’s not easy to win the eCommerce game.
Who can keep up with the ever-changing online environment? Each algorithm update probably means you’ll lose sales. Then marketers come out of the woodwork with the latest must-have tool that will miraculously make all your sales dreams come true.
It’s really tough to keep up. So instead of just winging it or investing your entire budget on a new tool, consider these three data-driven suggestions.
Add a Social Media Option
While there are some concerns about Facebook’s security and privacy, most people don’t think Facebook is irrelevant. In fact, adding social media to your online sales plan, not just your marketing approach, is an effective way to connect with customers who might not have checked out your website.
About 30% of online shoppers are likely to buy through social media. Facebook allows you to set up a store, but there are several options to think about. For instance, customers can browse your products and then leave Facebook to complete the checkout on your website. Best Self Co. displays their items on Facebook and provides a direct link to their checkout page.
You can also choose to have customers complete the sale on Facebook. The point is to give impulse buyers the chance to buy exactly when the mood hits them.
Offer a Bonus Pack
Sometimes it’s not a flaw in your sales process that hurts your profits, but a lack of incentives. Sometimes customers just want to believe they are getting a good deal. In fact, a study showed that you can sell up to 73% more simply by offering a bonus pack!
This is the same principle that movie theaters use when selling popcorn. You can get a regular for $6 and a large for a dollar more. It’s all about perception. It doesn’t matter that paying $6 for a fountain drink is completely insane. You’re getting a deal!
In Grove Collaboratives new customer trial, they offer a two free sponges worth $7.75. It doesn’t matter that their overhead on sponges is pretty low. You’re getting free sponges! So take a look at your inventory and come up with a few pricing scenarios. You may be able to offer a bonus of some kind without a huge investment.
Don’t Forget SEO
This statistic is perhaps the most surprising. Given everything we know about Google’s advertising machine and the prominence of paid advertising on search pages, it seems crazy that the first five organic results account for 67.60% of all clicks. Having strong organic results creates a sense of trust in consumers, and organic clicks are easier to convert than any lead.
Many online businesses are in extremely tough niches so they focus on pay per click (PPC) campaigns over search engine optimization (SEO) strategies. While this isn’t bad if you’re getting the results you want, you may be missing out on sales simply because you failed to realize just how important organic rankings are.
SEO is challenging and does not have the type of instant gratification of PPC. Yet, there are profitable low hanging keywords in every niche. It just takes a little time and effort to see your results.
Blah Sales? The Right Statistic May Be the Answer
These three statistics may not solve your sales issues. But they are great examples of the types of data available to online business owners. Sometimes the most surprising statistics are the ones we’ve never really considered before. Especially if we have a preconceived idea of what drives eCommerce.
Who hasn’t thought that PPC has incredible ROI because that’s what Google wants us to think? And PPC can have amazing ROI! The point is that it’s not your only option and you didn’t dig deep enough to realize the power of organic searches.
That’s the way data works. It’s surprising and uncovers things we never considered before. Perhaps none of these suggestions alone can improve your sales. But when you listen to the statistics and start tweaking a few things, you may find the sweet spot that may help you win the eCommerce game.