Online selling can be a great way to launch your business. If you’re still brand new, don’t rely solely on farmer’s markets and trade shows. When you don’t have enough money for a retail store, focus on an online store. If you learn how to sell online, you can be successful by implementing a few key strategies.
1. Make it Easy for People to Get to Your Website
There’s no telling how people will get to your website. Maybe they found a flyer…maybe they saw your vehicle driving down the street…or maybe they got to it through a Google search.
Regardless of how people are learning of your website, make it easy. Use QR codes on flyers and print material so people can scan them to get to your website. Make your website easy to remember (and spell and say).
Remember, you don’t have to depend on the .com domain extension anymore. You need to be creative without accepting just any website that is recommended. You’ve given your website name some thought – so you should be able to get it. A .ONLINE or a .STORE extension can be just what you need to make your website memorable.
Plus, as you market yourself more, you can ensure that people get to your website just by following a link – whether it’s from a Google-sponsored ad, a social media ad, or even a link inside of a blog.
2. Highlight the Products That You’re Selling
You don’t want consumers looking at the products only to have countless questions.
What is it?
What does it do?
How big is it?
What does it look like?
These are just some of the questions that consumers will have when they shop online. Since people are online instead of a physical storefront, you have to tell them everything they need to know to make a decision. If you can’t answer all of their questions within the product description, they won’t buy. And, if you’re not honest about the product descriptions, you’ll have countless requests for refunds – and that can break your business.
Product descriptions are important. They have to be descriptive. Powerful words can spark emotion, making it easier for people to confidently place items into their shopping carts.
Use photos or videos to share more details about a product, too. If your product is a common product, simply use photos so people know what to expect. If your product is new and unique, consider a video that provides a demonstration. It can be a great selling tool so that people have more confidence when they buy.
3. Simplify the Checkout Process
One of the worst things that you can do with selling online is going through all of the hard work only for people to abandon their shopping cart. It’s a common problem and one you have to figure out how to overcome. Otherwise, you’ll never be successful.
Why are people abandoning their shopping carts? One of the most common reasons is because the checkout process is too complicated.
Think about what would cause you to leave a store without buying. The lines might be too long, there are multiple things you have to do to complete your purchase, and the store might not accept the payment that you want to use for your purchase.
Many of these same issues translate to online selling, too.
The technology is out there to simplify the checkout process, so use it. Let an online shopping platform help you with the checkout process by making it no more than one page. Collect as little information as possible. Then, if people want to create an account after the purchase has gone through or they want to sign up for your newsletter, they can.
There are a few other things that can help. If you have a slow-to-load site, people may be anxiously waiting for a page to load so that they can enter their credit card info. If they have to wait too long, they’ll lose patience and visit another site that can load faster.
The reality is that successful online selling is all about putting yourself in the user’s shoes. Identify what you want out of an online store and give it to your customers.
