Know who you are
Transparency goes a long way on the Internet, where anybody can pretend to be anything. At some point, your petticoat shows if you are dishonest about who you are. If you are a small business offering local services to people, don’t pretend to be a multi-million Pound industry. What do we mean? Create copy and images that reflect your business accurately. Don’t use boardroom language to sell cleaning services to local clients. Take pride in the fact that you are small, and be upfront about it. You can offer more personalised services than multinationals, and there are various other benefits of being small and local that you can highlight.
Find a USP – Unique Selling Proposition
To get closer to your purpose, you need to take a few steps back and ask some pertinent questions. Here are just a few of them:
- Do I solve anybody’s problems, and are these problems worth solving?
- Do people derive value or benefit from what I offer?
- How do my products and services stand out from the competition?
- Does it fill a gap that nobody or nothing else can fill?
The answers to these questions will give you an informed view of your value proposition or USP. Once you’re comfortable with them, you can start fashioning marketing material that communicates the benefits of your products or services. Take a close look at all your communication, from your website to email and marketing campaigns, including social media. Do all your messages circle back to your benefits? If they don’t, change them. You will be amazed at what a difference this simple exercise can make to your bottom line.
Milk your testimonials
Satisfied customers are the biggest weapon in your marketing arsenal. They can provide testimonials singing your praises. Potential buyers value their opinions much more than the promises you make. Splash them on your landing,product and home page. Another powerful tool is trust signals. If you have any professional accreditations, list them on your site. They will contribute immensely to building trust with your audience.
Use AI to pinpoint and understand target markets and their behaviour
If you understand buying patterns and customer behaviour, you can predict them. You can sell products at critical points in the customer journey that answer needs customers don’t even know exists. AI and machine learning can help you achieve this. Gather information from your website, loyalty programmes, customer care lines, search data and social media accounts that provide in-depth insights into your customers.
Customer service is key
According to a report by Zendesk, 87% of customers cite customer service as a key factor when they make buying decisions. Make it simple for customers to contact you via a form on your website, phone number, email address and chat link. Provide a comprehensive FAQ page where customers can help themselves. Most importantly, when customers contact you, respond! When you get someone on the line, use the opportunity to build an in-person relationship. If that customer contacts you again, let them speak to the same customer service representative with a record of their interaction. It just makes life easier and saves time and frustration.
Shipping and returns
Nothing scares customers like a dodgy shipping policy or adding huge shipping fees at the end of the checkout process. Be upfront about what the customer can expect. Tell them how long they will wait for delivery, how they can return products, how refunds work and what everything costs. Transparency is key.
Offer less to get more
Option paralysis is a thing. The more choices there are, the more people get confused. It might sound counterintuitive, but it’s not. In many cases, a greater variety of options lead to indecision and lost sales. It comes down to simplicity. If you have a wide range of products on your ecommerce website, structure them in such a way that offers visitors as few choices as possible. Group your products into categories that make sense. It will help with navigation and keep your customer journey short.
Create a simple checkout process
Refrain from subjecting customers to long forms. The extra data might come in handy from your perspective. But you risk losing the customer altogether if you create a hurdle just before or while they check out. They are ready to buy. Make it as simple, fast and seamless as possible. They are not there to subscribe to your newsletter or qualify for future promotions. They are there to buy now! Use buttons that say exactly that; ‘Buy’, ‘Authenticate’ etc.
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