You've nailed down a marketing strategy, consulted with an expert, and you've been making solid conversions for the past month, year, or however long you've had your store up and running.
Things are great, but what if you were to implement a different strategy? How could integrating a new and exciting method of marketing boost your sales?
This article seeks to answer and address any concerns, fears, or queries you might have about boosting your Shopify sales numbers using techniques that may seem ineffective or unfamiliar to you.
Without further talk, our 10 ideas.
Get to Know Instagram & Social Media
Instagram is not just for personal use; it's for businesses offering goods, services, or something in between.
There are hundreds of millions of active users each day on Instagram. And the numbers just keep on climbing!
If you or somebody on your team has a knack for photography, understands how to use hashtags effectively, and knows about ideal times to post, you could easily grow a big following on Instagram of those that demonstrate an interest in your products.
It's also an excellent platform on which to do contests or show off your production process.
Remember, some of the most successful companies, utilise all of the social media platforms, form TikTok to Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook.
Don’t Underestimate Email
Email may seem like a thing of the past. After all, we have newer messaging apps like Kik, Whatsapp, and more on which to share stuff.
The truth? It's very much alive and well! Send regular, and value-add emails to your email list that you know will be opened.
The second a customer makes a purchase, get a welcome email to their inbox ASAP.
Next, send along “insider emails” that have promo codes and freebies.
Newsletters are another great strategy: You can include product ideas and advice, company news, and warnings of upcoming discounts or sales.
These are great to use during the holidays- especially Black Friday and Cyber Monday- as you can really sweeten the deals (50% off, free shipping, BOGOs, etc.).
Email Responders such as GetResponse give you the ability to create follow up automation, designed to help increase your shopify sales.
Design with Care
Ever been to a site that was hard on the eyes? A site where you just wanted to look at the menu? A site where you could not find what you wanted?
These sites are marked by large bounce rates and unsatisfied clientele. Your job?
Make sure your site is designed in a no-nonsense, polished way. Make sure navigation is on point, fonts are readable, and the value proposition of your site is clear.
Shopify's themes are wonderful, and when presented in a clean, easy-to-read manner, you can almost always count on increased sales.
If a potential customer can go from Sales page to Checkout, with the least number of steps, or in a simple fashion, then you have a higher chance of actually buying that product. If you hinder that process, they may leave.
Embrace the Upsell
If you’ve worked in just about ANY retail or foodservice setting- even in some services like cable TV, for example, you know that upselling is a part of what you do on a daily basis.
Upselling is great because it educates customers about a product they may not know about. Or, it’s a chance to educate them on a better deal that could suit their needs better.
For example, does your deluxe photography package include a few prints after the event as compared to your intermediate package? Make sure your consumers are aware of the difference and ask them if they would be interested in upgrading.
Platforms such as ClickFunnels or GrooveFunnel are designed to provide your customers with an easy to follow path, that can incorporate simple upsells, or even cros-selling without annoying your customer.
Clickfunnels can be incorporated into Shopify, allowing you to display your products within the ClickFunnels environment, and then check out within Shopify. This style is brilliant for single product or small product stores, looking to increase the basket value.
No Cart Left Behind
Did you know every time a customer leaves behind a cart, you are losing out on profit?
It's true! Over 68% of carts are abandoned, according to Baymard Institute.
The primary reason is that the extra costs such as taxes, fees, and shipping were too high when all was said and done.
That being said, you can offer a discount to customers like free shipping or a percentage off the order as a means of completing the purchase.
You should also consider an email recovery method, where you email your customers and ask them to complete their purchase.
Help your customers by creating an email that entices them to finish up their purchase. Remind them of why they initially wanted your item or service!
Check out services such as PicReel to initiate abandon cart processes, capture people as they leave, or a variety of other ways to bring back those customers.
Anticipate Demand in The Future
Are you thinking about expanding your product line? Do it via evaluating the demand for the items you wish to sell and see if it's worth doing.
You can do this in a number of different ways. You could use geographic validation, do some keyword research, or see what's trending on social media.
You can also allow customers to do pre-orders and see how the demand is for your product.
Another way to test demand is to stage the products accordingly (using great photographs and great descriptions) and put them as being out of stock. The items that get the most requests of, “Hey, are you getting this back in stock?” should be the one that you begin selling.
You can also send an email to customers when their item of choice is back in stock- a great way to capture another email address, too!
Get into Content Marketing
Every store should be doing something to connect with consumers. Plus, it will help improve your ranking for various search engines. Make sure your blog, or social media pages, are easy to access via your online store.
There are many ways you can do this:
- You can blog
- You can make a long content or guide about how your products can be used
- You can do guest posts on other blogs or websites, create backlinks, and thus generate traffic while simultaneously improving SEO
Offering a guide on whatever it is you sell is not only a way to demonstrate expertise in your field, but also a way to capture and retain more customers.
One Size Does Not Fit All: Why Personalisation Matters
You can use behavioural data to market to your visitors. You can make use of preferences and actions completed in the past to market to them.
For example, you can use what’s popular in a shopper’s area to tailor their experience to them. Ever been shopping and it will say, for instance, “What’s popular in Cambridge, UK” or whatever city you happen to be near? That’s personalisation!
It can help boost your sales, and only a relatively small percentage of companies are doing this right now.
Make Sure You Are Mobile-Ready
Heaps of shopping is done online now, especially with current world events making brick and mortar shopping impossible in some cases.
Thus, you need to make sure your online shop is optimised for mobile. You have to make it easy on your mobile shoppers from beginning to end.
For example, size everything so the customer doesn’t have to peck hopelessly before zooming in to make a purchase or browse. You can also improve the logistics of your site by placing the cart button at the bottom of a page of listings. Thus, the customer doesn't have to scroll to the top again to add a product to their cart.
Use Your Users
No, not in a bad way! User-generated content is what we mean. If you’re not sure about a cocktail dress or dress shirt, but you see a normal, everyday person wearing said item and looking good, you are more confident in your decision to buy.
Remember, many people peruse online reviews before buying anything. Providing photos of customers wearing or using or items is a great way to do this. At least have product reviews- these do count as user-generated content. You might offer a reward for customers who send in photos of themselves wearing your item.
Getting people to share their purchases on Instagram or Facebook, with Hastags or by tagging your social media accounts in their posts can really start to increase the number of visitors.
Referrals from past customers usually convert better than fresh visitors, as they have seen friends or family enjoy your products.
How To Increase Shopify Sales - Wrap Up
Making your Shopify store the best it can be isn’t hard, but it will take a bit of leg work on your end. Making small changes today will result in a more profitable tomorrow, especially when it comes to simple tweaks or installation of apps to increase basket value, bring back lost customers or making a customers journey more simple.
I started this blog around 2017, after realising that I wanted to let people know about all the different ways someone could make money online. From DropShipping, Affiliate Marketing, Network Marketing and more.
This blog has now grown to review and explain a variety of different tools and platforms, in the bid to help you.
This blog contains affiliate links, and I will get a commission for purchases made through these links. It doesn’t change anything for you and will on occasion save you money! Enjoy, James.