15 marketing tactics to boost your sales instantly

Looking for ways to market your products or services online?

Take advantage of some of the many options available today - some are free, some are cheap, some take up a lot of time but some are even fun! So, what do you need to know before you start?

Read on to learn more about the tips and tricks that are commonly used, so you can go ahead and assess the pros and cons before deciding on the best way to thrust your sales up on Shopify.

Photo Credit: Tiger Lily from Pexels

Across hundreds and thousands of colorful photos and videos advertised daily, small businesses need to be creative and resourceful with their marketing efforts in order to stand out from the crowd, attract new customers and boost sales for e-commerce.

There are many different marketing tactics you can use, but it’s important to tailor your approach to your specific business and target market. Here are some important strategies to boost your online sales:

1. Create a strong branding strategy

How many advertisements do you think we see each day?

According to Forbes, most of us encounter around 4,000 to 10,000 ads per day. To compete with all these other brands on the market, your brand has to be something unique and what sets you apart from your competitors. This is why it’s crucial to create a strong branding strategy that reflects your unique selling proposition. 

A quick tip is to make sure that your logo, website, marketing materials, and social media profiles are all consistent and standardized across platforms, reflecting your company’s values and mission with clarity and precision.

2. Develop a niche market focus

When you target a specific niche market, you can better understand their needs and desires and create marketing messages that resonate with them. For example, a beauty salon like EVRbeauty has a niche market of women aged 35 to 55, taking into consideration aspects such as price point, consumer taste and quality preferences.

Think about your own business. Ask questions and explore in depth the core ideas of your establishment. Discovering your niche market will definitely help you attract more customers and boost sales.

3. Engage in social media marketing

Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have become part of our daily lives. They are the perfect places to advertise your business as they have a huge follower base for the generation of both existing and potential customer leads.

Photo credit: fauxels from Pexels

As of 2021, there are 4.7 billion social media users worldwide. There is no doubt that the number has been increasing and will continue to surge throughout the following years.

Managing social media accounts for our business can be challenging, but it is absolutely one of the greatest ways to connect with your target market and build relationships with customers.

By incorporating interesting content using appropriate graphics, videos, and captions, capturing people’s attention and engaging your audience will no longer be a problem.

Need a hand with social media management? Read more and master social media management from our blog.

4. Invest in online advertising

If you have the money for it, online advertising is another practical and efficient method to reach potential customers who are already interested in what you have to offer.

Photo credit: Finances Online

Since there are currently about 4.66 billion internet users worldwide, it makes great sense for businesses to spread their wings through online advertisements. Results derived from online advertising are also detailed and conclusive as the data provided will be built on specific terms as below:

• Cost Per Thousand (CPM) - paid based on the amount of exposure

• Cost Per Click (CPC) - paid based on the number of clicks

• Cost Per Action (CPA) - paid based on the number of conversions completed actions (e.g. registration, tutorial completion, purchases)

Invest in targeted ads that will reach your target market,  track the results, and voila--- you can see how well they’re performing all at once with your own eyes.

Learn how to generate leads with Facebook Lead Ads.

5. Use SMS mobile marketing

SMS mobile marketing is a great way to reach customers who are on the go. Send short, attention-grabbing messages that promote your products or services, and simply monitor the performance.

Not only that text marketing is a lot cheaper and more direct than other means of promotion, most people check their texts wherever they go, even when they don’t have the time to surf through web.

Apart from SMS, other instant messaging tools such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Instagram also allow businesses to engage customers in real-time. By merging multiple channels into one place using an omnichannel messaging software like SleekFlow, businesses can message a large number of potential customers instantly.

6. Host online events and workshops

Hosting events and workshops is a great way to connect with your audience and increase the exposure of your products or services. This gives people the opportunity to learn more about what you have to offer, and it even saves you the costs and effort of looking for a physical venue or preparing hardcopy materials.

As your brand awareness improves on the market, your products or services will be the first thing that pops into people’s minds when the necessity arises. You may not see the benefits right away, but it sure can help boost sales in the long run.

7. Network with other businesses

Surviving in the field of business can be made much easier with relationships and connections. Networking with other businesses is a fantastic way to build relationships and get referrals.

The public gains confidence and trust in your business when the brilliance of your products or services are obtained from the mouth of others. Attend local business events and connect with potential clients, and be sure to thank them whenever you get referrals from them!

Don’t burn bridges!

Many make the mistake of cutting neglecting or ignoring certain connections that were not required at that moment, only to find out the importance of these connections when they’re gone. In some worse cases, professionalism was compromised out of spite or loss of control.

However, with the power of chatbots and automated messaging services, you can minimize the risk of making impulsive mistakes when in a rush, reduce your stress of attending to customers immediately and amplify your work efficiency.

8. Advertise with referrals

Many, if not all, should be more than familiar with referral discounts and coupons. Giving out discount coupons or free samples to your customers offers great incentive and motivation for them to promote your business.

Customers who have experienced the impressive quality of your products or services are also more likely to share it with their loved ones, or even post it on their social media accounts, making this another simple way of advertising without spending money on ads.

Learn from the renowned fashion retailer, bossini, who utilized exclusive coupon books to increase sales by 15%.

9. Use lead generation strategies

Email marketing, social media marketing, and content marketing are some of the common lead-generation tactics. With email marketing, the eDM is crafted to attract a targeted audience and is often sent in the form of a drip to nurture the prospects over time. For social media ads, many businesses collaborate with influencers for brand awareness. On the other hand, for campaignlanding pages, professionals such as Due North suggest including compelling content and clear call-to-actions (CTAs) to entice visitors to share their information. A well-placed CTA, in this case, will act as a navigational beacon, helping visitors take the next step in their customer journey. 

Once the visitors are convinced that the content or software will bring value to their business, they are more likely to fill up the lead generation forms that you’ve strategically placed on websites or within content for social media, webinars, blogs, and other marketing content

10. Utilize social media monitoring tools

We are so blessed in the world of technology.

Social media monitoring tools allow you to track what people are saying about your brand online, including both good and bad reviews.

This is a productive means of acquiring feedback for improvements and addressing any issues in a timely and appropriate manner. Make sure to respond to these customers and act upon their feedback for constant improvement of your business.

If you're worried about having not enough time to attend to these comments or reviews, try getting free resources to automate the replies. The results can be significant.

11. Manage SEO for your website

SEO, which means Search Engine Optimization, is a long-term strategy that can help you rank higher in search engine result pages. Its purpose is to bring more website traffic and higher conversions for your business.

The higher the rank of your company website is, the higher the click-through rate (CTR) will be. In other words, the number of online visitors rises for web pages that appear on the first page of search engines.

Photo credit: ReliableSoft

By optimizing your website through keyword research and publishing high-quality content, you can improve your SEO ranking and attract more customers. Because SEO is such an expansive and sometimes complex world to navigate, many businesses turn to SEO agencies who can help them get their website up at the top of search engine results pages. This way, they find there’s more time to focus on other aspects of their business such as product or service improvements, customer relationship management, and lots more.

Save up and experiment SEO management yourself with our 5 SEO Tips for e-commerce businesses. 

12. Partner with other businesses

Similar to networking, partnering with other businesses also creates links and bridges to more clients. The extra exposure developed throughout the process can then subsequently bring forth extended business opportunities. 

For instance, a store selling smartphones can establish collaborations with mobile network companies while an event management enterprise can form a long-term partnership with events spaces or hotels. 

Two is always better than one. Find businesses that are complementary to yours, and collaborate on marketing campaigns or events that will introduce potential customers to both of your businesses.

Did you know that we also have a dedicated partnership program? There's always a little to learn from one another!

13. Start a blog

Contents build relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue. - Andrew Davis

Sharing content on a blog is a great way to contribute your thoughts and insights about your industry. By focusing on the niche market of your business, topics of interest can be explored through blogging, and even communicated to a wider audience on social media platforms.

Don’t be afraid to share what you know, as the advantages of bringing benefits to others can be more favorable than you think.

15. Provide excellent customer service

Excellent customer service delivers customer retention, which prompts for an escalation in profit for your business. Happy clients are more likely to return for your products or services, and also provide testimonials to attract more prospective customers.

Attend to your client's requests. Go the extra mile. Respond to their queries as soon as possible to avoid dissatisfaction or complaints.

If you feel like there’s too much to handle, it’s time to learn about Customer Relationship Management (CRM). SleekFlow uses the most advanced skills and technology to provide comprehensive assistance in managing the customers’ needs with top-notch productivity, backing your business with an efficient conversational commerce strategy.

With analytics and insights from a systematic social CRM service, you will be able to:

• Categorize contacts for refined targeting

• Target customers with automated messaging

• Strategize with data compilation and analysis

• Track your customers’ activities

• Measure your team’s performance

Using SleekFlow has reduced our “drop-offs”, improved the response time, and solved niggling issues with CRM integration.

Jovan Lin

AVP Marketing & Corporate Communications at PSB Academy

See how PSB Academy succeed at CRM via SleekFlow.

Digital marketing – the highway to business success

Marketing, especially digital marketing, is one of the most important things an entrepreneur should master in today’s world. We believe that the ultimate goal of all businesses is to consistently gain new customers and boost sales, and nothing should get in the way of that.  Let’s gear up with these 15 tactics and thrive in your sales through digital marketing!

Further readings:

• What is retargeting for marketing and how to build a killer strategy

• Shortening the sales cycle with the Salesforce CRM integration