How to Appeal to Your Customers in an Online Marketplace Appealing to an online customer base can be a difficult task. You have the opportun...
How to Appeal to Your Customers in an Online Marketplace
Appealing to an online customer base can be a difficult task. You have the opportunity to appeal to a large audience, which makes it an attractive option for many advertisers. But the vastness of the world wide web is a double-edged sword. It can make you very successful, or it can become a nightmare to navigate.
Setting yourself up for success and standing out against competitors is key. But how do you do this and ultimately increase your sales? Here are five tips for appealing to your customers in an online marketplace.
Make Online Transactions Simple
There’s a good chance that a large number of people have already noticed your online ads. Heck, they might’ve even looked at your products or services and liked what they saw. Best case scenario: they actually purchased something from you. But what happens when you get to a point where you’re overwhelmed with all the orders? You’ll feel the stress, but more importantly, you’ll have trouble retaining customers and finding new ones.
Growth is a good thing, but it comes with growing pains. As your business grows, adaptation will be key. For online businesses that are experiencing high volumes of orders, 3PL (third-party logistics) is an excellent consideration. Outsourcing warehousing, inventory management, and your fulfillment process has numerous benefits for your growing online business. It can save time and money, while allowing you to focus on more strategic business initiatives.
Design a Website That Will Wow Visitors
The process of placing an order should be easy for a customer, but first, you have to get them there. If a potential customer visits your website and doesn’t like what they see, they won’t be staying long. And they certainly won’t be hitting the ‘add to cart’ button. They’re likely to end up leaving your website, which is the last thing you want.
If you want to remain competitive, attract customers, and create a recognizable brand, a great website is a must. A lot of elements go into the making of a great website. First, you want to work on the overall appearance and design. Make sure your website is eye-catching and matches the look and feel of your brand. Also, an easy-to-navigate website is essential. Users should be able to easily understand what you do and what you offer.
Beyond appearance and navigation, there are also aspects like imagery and optimized copy. Most importantly, you just want to make the user experience a good one. As your business grows, it may not be a terrible idea to engage with a web design agency to help you level up your site.
Develop a Marketing Strategy and Run Ads
Your website is finished, and you’ve worked hard to make the online ordering process seamless. Now what? While a superb website is definitely something to be proud of, it won’t be any good if no one can ever find it. And you can’t rely on word-of-mouth to bring you thousands of visitors per month.
This is where a killer marketing strategy comes into play. This will involve leveraging social media and paid ads. Optimizing your content for search engines can also help users find you more easily online. Email marketing campaigns are another great tactic. You can even tap into newer trends like influencer marketing. As long as you do your research and know what’s working in your market, you’re bound to see success.
Optimize Your Product Listings
The way you list your products or services can be a make or break for a potential customer. If it’s difficult for them to find what they need, they’ll simply stop trying. This is why optimized product listings are so important to an online business’ success. Everything that a customer can purchase on your website should have its own page. Make sure these pages are easy to find and navigate.
As you’re building out your e-commerce website, keep these optimization tips in mind for product listings. One, optimize titles and descriptions. You should include the brand name but also key details about the product — size, color, function, etc. This will make it easier for users to search for products and find what they’re looking for.
Shipping information and costs as well as customer reviews should also be easy to find from a product page. Make sure the page is designed in such a way that this important information is clearly visible to the customer. They’ll appreciate a smooth experience and any details that help them make a more informed decision.
Provide Stellar Customer Service and Support
One bad experience is all it takes for you to lose what might have been a lifelong customer. Even worse, that unhappy customer could start bad-mouthing your business to other people. Next thing you know, you have a bad reputation that’s going to be tough to rebuild. Here’s something you should know ahead of time: great customer service can help you avoid this entire mess.
Customers who order products online expect 24/7 support every day of the year. They don’t want to wait hours for someone to attend to their questions or concerns. A customer support telephone line or live chatbot is a great way to show customers how much you care. Also, don’t forget about returns and shipping. Small things like offering free shipping or hassle-free returns can go a long way.
Standing out and increasing sales is what every business hopes for. In an online marketplace, this can prove to be very difficult. But it’s not impossible to have success online. If you want to appeal to your customers, it’ll just take work. Be smart about how you run your online business, and you and your customers will be happy with the results.
