Are you an owner of an offline business?
Need to increase more sales?
Going online is the best option. With businesses like yours taking a huge hit because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, you need more opportunities to sell.
You’ll find five excellent opportunities in this post (and we won’t be talking just about websites, promise). Besides online stores, there are many other, low-cost ways you can try to get more customers today.
Okay, so, without further ado, let’s get to it.
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Claim & Optimize Google My Business Listing
Does your company have a profile on Google My Business?
It’s a free listing service that displays your business on Maps and other Google’s services. A profile contains your operating information, customer reviews, location, content like photos of the interior, address, and more.
This business, for example, doesn’t have a website. Yet, the place is popular with clients, as suggested by a 4+ rating.
So, how does a business like this one get clients a listing on Google?
First, the fact that it has the listing already helps. People increasingly use smartphones to find local businesses, and Google helps by displaying the profiles.
In fact, the so-called “near me” local searches (like “find a coffee house near me”) have increased over 500 per cent over the last two years, says Google.
Local offline businesses are the first to benefit. For example, there were 200 per cent and 600 per cent increases in car dealer- and dress-related “near me” mobile searches.
Source: Google
For you as a business owner, this means you need:
- Claim your Google My Business profile (it’s free)
- Fill it with all the necessary data (it’s totally fine if you don’t have a website, so you can skip this requirement during registration)
- Regularly update the listing to reflect any changes that occur in your business (different opening hours, etc.)
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Make A Loyalty Card App
Physical loyalty cards are a thing of the past. People lose them, damage them, and offer very limited features. Besides, many get frustrated if they don’t have the card with them at the cash register, which means they can’t get discounts and loyalty points.
If you have a paper customer loyalty card, you have probably noticed that, too. You need to get that fixed because returning customers spend more and are easier to retain. On top of that, customer loyalty programs can increase your profits by up to 20 per cent.
That is if you find a way to make it super easy to use your own program.
So what do customers carry around with them all the time?... What could you use as a loyalty card?...
Smartphones!
Apps hold much more information than paper loyalty cards and offer tons of features. You could do a full-scale loyalty program with bonuses, points, coupons, everything. Loyalty mobile app development today is fast, so you should have a loyalty program much quicker than you think.
Promoting this app would also be easy. One way is to make an announcement on your social media profiles.
Source: Facebook
Another way is to design a promotional banner to place in your store. It would inform people coming to your location about the new app and invite them to download it.
Source: Starbucks
These two ways alone could raise a lot of awareness of your loyalty program. This means more sign-ups, long-term customers, therefore, sales.
So, consider making a digital loyalty program with an app. It’s definitely the best way to get more regular customers without having them worry about losing the card.
Related: Why Your Business Needs a Mobile App in 2020.
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Make Ad Campaigns on Facebook
Does your business have a Facebook page?
If yes, you should do Facebook ad campaigns. That’s a great opportunity to drive traffic to your page. You create an ad using the built-in editor on Facebook and share it with audiences.
Source: Facebook
You have complete control over defining the target audience’s characteristics as well as their location. So, your ad will definitely reach people who are likely to be interested in buying from you.
One huge advantage of Facebook ads is that you define the budget. It means that you can invest as much as you want in them. According to Facebook, you can run numerous ads for as low as $7 per day, but the reach they provide is truly unmatched.
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Offer Gift Cards
Gift cards are great because you can offer them both in-store and on the website. You can quickly design a gift card - or use a pre-made template - in a free online tool like Canva, so you can start for completely free.
Print them out to display at your store but put them on sale to get people to buy. Also, take a photo of the brand new gift cards and publish an announcement on your social media or other online sources to spread the news.
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Get That Website
This list will be incomplete without this one. With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and pressing competition, getting a website for your business isn’t just a good idea, but a must.
If you have a website, you can share it on your social media or in-store and start raising some serious awareness of your business or product/service.
Despite what many people think, eCommerce website development is quick and affordable, even for small businesses. Developers now offer fast services with payment limited to features requested by clients, which reduces the overall cost.
So, should we list all the great advantages of having a website? It can be your online store where you can promote everything you sell, so it’s definitely worth doing.
Besides, you can get ahead of many of your competitors. With 36 per cent of small businesses still lacking a website, there’s a great opportunity to become a go-to business in your local niche.
Final Thoughts
The time to sell online is now.
Besides websites, which are the best sales tool, there are many free or low-cost strategies to get more clients. You’ve just read about some of the best, so consider giving them a try to increase your sales.
So hopefully, this list showed how to start building your online presence without investing big bucks. Over to you now, fingers crossed for your success!