10 things every retailer should do when selling online (2)

05/09/2019
  • Second issue of the series of posts on 10 things every retailer should do when selling online. Let´s see the last five tips!

  • Today we continue with our tips on what to do if you are a retailer and want to start selling online. We already tell you what you should know about selling online to avoid surprises, but now we are going to focus on what you should do if you have already decided to enter the online channel and do not know where to start from. 

    A few days ago, we reviewed 5 key elements without which it is difficult to sell online successfully. Today, we go over 5 more, maybe even more important than those mentioned above. Take note and get to work, nobody said selling online was easy! 
  • #1 – Online acquisition is different

  • If you have been working on acquisition from the retail channel, one of the first things you will notice when you start selling online is that both media and strategy and, above all, acquisition tactics, are very different:

    • Price: From the beginning, online acquisition is more affordable . In contrast, advertising in an offline environment represents rates that are usually average or high for the investment capacity of a small or medium company. 

  • Online you can start from very little money and with a small scope, although strategies are scalable and can make you invest the same as in a spot during the Superbowl, if this is what you need and you can afford it. 
    • Segmentation: The strongest point of online campaigns is the ability to segment they offer. Forget to be guided by the time a program is broadcasted, the characteristics of the audience of a newspaper or similar variables. 
  • Online you address the customer or potential buyer according to a much more accurate knowledge of their motivations, interests and previous behavior. Segmentation through digital platforms can reach a level of depth that is not conceived in the offline world. 
  • #2 – Everything is measured

  • This is something that grabs attention at first. Thanks to the traceability of the actions that take place on the web, we can have really accurate and exhaustive reports. 

    Web analytics is a discipline that allows us to define KPIS(key performance indicators). Thanks to them, you have controlled, in real time, how your business is working: You can know how many visits your website has, from which devices, geographical location, channel, how much you sell and to whom... if you are a person with analytical profile, you can reach levels of incredible depth and detail. 

    Of course, Google analytics is often the tool par excellence in most websites , but on any platform like Facebook, Twitter or Google Ads you have their own configurable reports. We recommend you to centralice that data on dashboards for your monthly reports. 
  • #3 – Personalize is key to selling

  • If we put together the possibility of knowing exactly who is our goal with a great precision, and we add the analysis that we are applying, we have a specific profile very concrete of each peson we are impacting. 

    Either through advertising display with the corresponding banners or creating an email marketing campaign, we have tools that enable us to serve an advertisement of a product visited in our store (the famous remarketing or retargeting) or addressing by name, surname and offer an article based on his/her shopping history

    The customer values personalization as very positively, which is noticed directly in sales. 
  • #4 –People hates spam

  • It is very easy to "get excited" by social networks or email marketing, for example. But on too many occasions an excess of enthusiasm means going at full speed and saturating customers. 

    If you consider creating a newsletter (highly recommended even if you are a beginner), you should keep in mind that it is not enough with adding value to your content: Keeping a logical periodicity is also very important. If you send 5 emails a week, you will see how your churn rate shoots up and users unsubscribe en masse

    This can also be applied to social networks, where an excessively commercial character does not work well at all. Something similar happens to the blog: If all the content you share is excessively commercial, the contribution of value is minimal and the feeling of being in a blog 100% sponsored is not pleasant. 
  • #5 – Trust is key

  • When someone visits your store, there are many aspects that generate trust, some of them you have do not realise.

    First, a physical space and a person who speaks to you face to face create an interaction we feel comfortable with. Somehow, we understand we can go back to the store and we will find a person who is going to listen to us at the other side of the counter. 

    Although users are more and more accustomed to buy on the Internet, there are still certain brakes and reticence when it comes to doing so. If we do not know the website, we need arguments to reinforce our decision to place an order. Elements like:
    • Other clients´opinions: Use the social proof as a distinguishing advantage.
    • Have a robust page: Sometimes it is very scary to buy on a page that crashes, has errors or even that does not work at all on certain devices. Watch your eCommerce. 
    • Use references that users know: online security seals or logos of banks that have that reassuring effect on the buyer. 
    • With these 5 tips you know the 10 things every retailer should do when selling online. Are you going to start your eCommerce? Do you have any questions we can solve? Do not hesitate, go ahead.

    • Read the complete series here:


      Images | Fotolia. 

    Miguel Nicolás


    Miguel Nicolás O'Shea is a life-long copywriter (more than 15 years working in agencies) and a specialist in Search Marketing (SEO and PPC). From now on, he will contribute with his online marketing experience to Oleoshop, publishing regularly.

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