Knowing how to sell online is not an easy task, but you have before you a great opportunity that you should not miss as online sales increase day after day.
Among other things, by opening your business to the online medium, you will expand it, reach a wider audience, and increase sales.
Thus, the first thing that should be clear to us is that sales on the Internet, as in a physical business, will not arrive as if by magic.
However, it is in our hands not to make certain mistakes and apply some basic rules to achieve our sales objective.
To start selling online, a lot of planning is necessary, and I tell you, as an Online Marketing consultant, that I am, and that has allowed me and allows me to collaborate on the most varied Ecommerce projects.
But beware, it is also necessary to put in a great deal of effort, work, work, and more. Yes, I’m sorry, you have to work a lot and very hard, but the reward will be achieving your goals.
The 8 essential keys to selling online
We are going to see the 8 basic points carefully that we must apply to sell online effectively.
1. Build trust among your users
It is important to establish a relationship or a link with users before wanting to take action. Without trust, there is no sale.
It is also very important that our website transmits a professional appearance since it is the first contact that potential clients will have with us, and we already know that “The first impression is what counts.”
In addition, another factor that we must not neglect is to offer a satisfactory user experience, and for this, we will do everything possible to improve web usability on our site.
To start a relationship of trust with our users, we must be able to create useful, quality content that adds value.
To do this, we will define our Content Marketing strategy and use our company blog as a link to maintain close contact with our audience.
2. Provide good customer service
If a client is unsatisfied with the attention you have provided, they will cease to be your client. That clear and that sad.
To avoid this, we will always be honest and use good manners and a lot of cordiality.
And not only that but also the answer to any doubt or question that arises, we must answer as soon as possible. Making a client or potential client wait is not a good idea.
It is as simple as thinking about the attention we would like to receive because that should be our starting point.
The concept “Customer Service” must be understood as a service that will help us boost our sales and covers before, during, and after each of them.
3. You have to use good images and videos to sell online
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, one of the main differences between selling on the Internet or in a physical store is that on the web, we cannot touch, try or handle the product.
Given this, there is no choice but to use very good images and videos that manage to convey the quality, usefulness, performance, and essence of the product.
You know how effective videos can be if you want potential buyers to know more about your product. You can make a good introduction video, tutorial video, or testimonial video for your product to make them place an order.
4. Add reviews and online sales ratings
It is known that the search and consultation of real sales opinions on the Internet have become one more step in the purchase process.
Undoubtedly, being honest and impartial opinions, they give credibility to the website and our products. This may be the definitive factor your user needs to be convinced that they will purchase in the right place.
Just as Google recognizes the importance of the reviews that customers can leave on the Google My Business page, we must give the same importance to the evaluations that customers leave on our website.
But beware, it is not only about getting reviews, but you also have to know how to manage them, answer them, thank them, and in case of negative reviews they have to help us to apply improvements, but never to enter into a dispute with a client.
To get reviews we can use different methods, one of the most effective is to invite our satisfied customers to leave their opinion.
5. Stand out from the competition
In principle, selling in a market niche with competition is a good sign since consumers demand the product or service.
Now, selling the same thing and in the same way that others do will make us one more.
Finding an element of differentiation from our competition, whether by offering a complete product or service, a better service, or more advantageous conditions, will be key to standing out in the market.
Of course, doing a SWOT analysis will be very useful.
Do you know this strategic tool?
It is a straightforward technique to apply and with which we can obtain precious information.
First, analyze your business and then apply the SWOT to your products or services.
As soon as you have everything captured in a matrix, you will clearly see what differentiates you from your competition and what aspects you should enhance or correct.
6. Show professionalism and security
To sell on the Internet, we must convey that our site is safe and, simultaneously, show that there are professional people behind the web.
For this, it is very important to provide data users with the maximum amount of useful data about us and our business, for example:
- About us
- Our origins and history as a business
- where is our company
- How can you contact us?
If our website is an e-commerce, it is essential to integrate an SSL secure purchase system since we will generate trust and provide security.
Another element that will give your Internet business a plus of transparency and credibility will be incorporating a seal of quality.
These badges allow users to show that they are in a place subject to control and that it meets standards in terms of quality and privacy.
7. Do not use false claims
I think there is no discussion that it is not a good idea to use claims that serve as a hook and that, in the end, we will not comply.
Nor do I recommend using confusing Internet advertising, which can be misleading or simply for the mere fact of attracting web traffic without quality or purchase potential.
I’m not going to deny that this method can generate many visits, but what use will it be if when the user reaches the checkout page, he sees reality, and if he doesn’t get too pissed off, he may end up paying, but the safest thing is that abandon the cart, and you have already lost not only a sale but a customer.
From the beginning, I recommend disclosing the product’s real costs and additions (VAT, shipping costs, etc.)
In addition, it is important that you have a good return policy in place and clearly communicate it to your consumers.
By offering a correct return policy, you will be providing an extra service with which you will achieve greater customer satisfaction, the possibility of loyalty, and good recommendations.
It is a reality that one of the main issues that concern us when making an online purchase is knowing the options we have to return the product it has a problem or simply that does not meet our needs.
8. Work on SEO positioning
If you want to receive quality visits to your website and that there be an impulse to increase your sales on the Internet, the implementation and continuous work of a correct SEO strategy will be a key point.
You have to be well positioned in the search results for the keywords that interest us and that are relevant to our website.
With a good SEO positioning, we will not only get constant visits, but these will be qualified visits that are more likely to culminate in a sale.
An organic visit starts with a search, and if a user searches for a certain product or service, it is because they are really interested in it.
In addition, we will be able to improve the visibility of our brand or business online, managing to appear ahead of our competition.
The work of an SEO strategy requires planning in the medium/long term, so we will not obtain immediate results but effective results after a few months.
Appearing in the first search results is an indicator of good work, and we will transmit confidence and professionalism.
Conclusion
I know that I have repeated many times during the article words such as honesty, security, professionalism, and transparency, but it is key to transmit all these values if we want users to place their trust in us because to sell online with guarantees it is essential to create a bond with our users.
And remember that it will always be easier and cheaper for us to sell to someone who has already bought from us and is satisfied with our product, attention, and service, hence the importance of customer loyalty.
My objective throughout this post has been to show you the basic keys to learning how to sell online. Now all that remains is to put them into practice, and let’s sell!
