If your business sells products to consumers, then technology has changed the way that this happens immensely in recent years. While the traditional ways of selling via physical stores still work for many, selling online is rapidly becoming how people like to shop. 2017 saw over $2tn in online retail sales, and this is likely to increase more by the end of this year.
What does this mean for business though? For most organizations with something to sell to consumers, it means getting online to take advantage of the huge number of potential customers there. If you are thinking of doing this, then it is certainly worthwhile for the extra revenue that it will generate. It can, however, seem a little daunting, especially if you are not overly tech savvy.
Effective ways to get your product online
If you have never sold online before or gone through the process of being able to do so, do not worry – it is not that hard! The tips below are some of the best around to get you started and get you selling:
- Choose the right e-commerce software – if you are starting from scratch, then you will first need to set up your online store. This will allow people to not only find you on the internet when they search but will also enable them to browse your stock and buy items electronically. For most businesses starting out selling online, this will mean a popular off-the-shelf solution such as Shopify.
- Sell through marketplaces – as well as enabling consumers to buy direct from your own website, it is essential to list your products at the popular online marketplaces. Amazon is probably the best one as it has literally millions of people who use it to buy things every day. These types of online marketplaces give you exposure to many more consumers than you would get from only selling through your own website.
- Think cross-device – many people will advise focusing on making your website optimized for mobile use. While this is very important, you should really be thinking about making it work well on any device someone may use. Many people will also view your online store through a PC, laptop or tablet, so it must work for all of them. This needs to be thought about in the design stage and also tested for when the website is complete.
- Provide amazing customer service – taking a product online still requires superb customer service from your brand to succeed. Do not make the mistake of thinking that you can offer less in this area because it is an online process. Selling online can actually throw up more pain points for customers with technology being involved, so be sure to look after them when they do shop with you.
- Iron out common problems – many people think that once their store is set up and they have marketed it to their core audience, the job is done. This would be another huge mistake though, as very often improvements that need to be made will come to light as you go along. One major one is abandoned shopping carts – this is where people put items in their online cart but then do not actually buy the stuff before leaving. It is thought that around 69% of carts are abandoned within e-commerce – the main cause being an overly complex checkout system. Make sure that common issues like this do not affect your online store.
- Digital marketing – of course, you will still need to tell people that you have taken your product online and where they can find you on the web to buy it. Many online businesses use digital marketing via popular mediums such as social media, email marketing and pay-per-click advertising.
Using an Amazon seller consultant can help
As well as the above tips, many will also use a professional consultant to help sell through Amazon – Digital Brandworks Amazon consulting for sellers is one such service that is popular here. Using a professional external selling consultant will make sure that your Amazon listing is fully optimized to show up higher when people search for your product. In turn, this will generate more sales and more revenue for your company.
Taking your product online makes sense
If you are wanting to really increase sales, revenue and build a larger customer base, then taking your product online is a must. The internet will give you a truly global reach to engage with consumers around the world and sell more of your product as a result. The above tips are great ways to go about it and get started with online sales.
