How to increase sales?

August 12 2022

Title image for an article about increasing sales

Many entrepreneurs ask themselves: how to increase sales in their online store. No wonder, after all, selling is the main business goal.


At the very beginning, however, make sure that your goals are measurable (e.g. selling all or selected products, gaining subscribers, etc.), and that your Google Analytics is properly set up and can track these goals.


Then let go of your opinions and beliefs. People often make decisions based on their own intuition, the more people the more opinions. Don’t make blind decisions, focus on evidence-based marketing.

What should be done to increase sales? In sequence:

Create personas

Persona is a model customer profile, a virtual representative of the target group. You define who your client can be. Try to pinpoint information such as age and gender, behaviors, activities, and trends and preferences. The idea is to know who you are selling to in order to best match individual activities.

An example of a marketing persona with details listed
The more you know about a potential customer, the easier it will be to make them want to make a purchase.

Bring the right traffic

Thanks to the fact that you already know who your customers are, you can more easily target them with content. Selling people things they don’t want or need is practically impossible.

Design a great website

What is pretty sells better than what is ugly. The rule is simple. If your website looks outdated and not very attractive – you have a problem. Customers may perceive your brand’s offer as out of date.


Your website design also plays an important communication role. The user has to know what is important and what steps should be followed in order to make a purchase. The visual hierarchy is responsible for this.

Don’t be influenced by the fact that you think the site looks good. It is supposed to please your recipients. You must always keep this rule at the back of your head. If you already have an online store, it is worth performing an external audit that will indicate its weakest points and set the direction of the necessary changes.

Create compelling value propositions

Value proposition is a promise, the reason why your customer is to buy from you. Potential customers need to know the benefits of your product / service if they are going to buy something.

The best value propositions are those that solve the user’s problem.
The value proposition should be the first thing users notice on the home page and all possible entry pages.

Understand the purchasing process

Customers are divided into 3 groups:
1. They have a problem, a need, but they don’t know it
2. They have a problem, a need, they know it, they explore various options – they compare purchase offers
3. They are determined to buy

The first group is the hardest because first you need to make them realize they have a problem. This process will take a relatively long time. Therefore, focus on the rest.

The second group of seekers is the largest. Whether or not you have unique value to beat the competition plays a big role here. If you don’t have one, customers will choose based on price. You need to present your benefits on the home page and product pages, gather all the user’s attention and clearly communicate this added value.

The third group is already determined and needs only proper guidance. Well-designed CTA (Call To Action) and UX does the job.

Words that are best suited for the so-called call to action
The right words can effectively motivate customers to do what you want.

Reduce friction

But what is it all about? Well, the point is that people are reluctant to spend their hard-earned money, and you need to minimize any hesitation, doubts, and fears.


The customer needs to know if it’s worth the money? Can he trust you as a seller? Are payments safe? Will he get the goods on time? Is it of high quality? You have to answer these and other questions on the pages of your store, place them in easily accessible places and communicate properly.

Focus on transparency

Everything must be clear and transparent. Not only navigation, but also content. Your customers need to understand you – you don’t need big words or flowery language at all. The customer should feel good with you and your brand. It is largely up to the copywriters to make this happen.

Eliminate distractions

The purchase path is a very delicate matter and should be designed taking into account the appropriate rules. Among other things, not to distract the user with unnecessary elements when he is already buying. After all, we want him to buy, not that in the meantime he would like to switch to facebook and lose his enthusiasm, or worse, buy from the competition …

A pop-up with information, is a great way to catch the customer's attention. Remember, however, that it must appear on the screen at the perfect time. It is certainly not the moment when your customer makes the payment.

Engage your visitors

Many users enter and exit your website without doing any additional activity. It happens that they browse and select products, but do not complete the purchase.

Percentage of abandoned baskets (according to Baymard Institute)
68.53%

Look at the buying phases, they haven’t made up their minds yet. So what can you do? Involve them and collect e-mail addresses so that you can talk to them and convince them to buy, make them like you.
As a rule, the more expensive the product, the more time the customer needs to make a decision.

Paradoxically, a customer who visited your store and left it without paying for the shopping cart is a very valuable lead. Find out what made him abandon his shopping cart, learn the lessons, and make him come back and finish shopping. It is possible!

Limitations

Nothing is more motivating than time, and more precisely the lack of it. Are you introducing a promotion? Indicate the time limits on how much is left until the end of the promotion. There are not many products? Please indicate that there are last 3 left! Time pressure and the feeling of inaccessibility are excellent mobilizers.

Screenshot of a banner with a counter on the website of an online store selling women's clothes
Purchasing motivator in the form of a timer until the end of the promotion.

Follow usability standards

Aside from the fact that your website should be pretty and eye-catching, it also needs to be useful. Do not try to force innovations, come up with solutions … Users do not want to learn how to use stores or websites anew.

If you have the impression that your store meets the above requirements and still does not sell, it may be worth consulting with a team of specialists. There are so many reasons for low sales that a comprehensive store audit may be the best solution.

Business portrait of a UX specialist from Click Leaders - Małgorzata Urbańczyk

Malgorzata Urbanczyk

UX specialist. She audits the websites of online stores. Carries out analyzes of user behavior with the help of qualitative data in order to optimize the conversion as much as possible.

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