8 Proven Methods to Increase Your Online Sales

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Offer Discounts and Coupons
3. Improve Site Search and Navigation
4. Curate Product Bundles and Gift Guides
5. Segment Marketing Campaigns
6. Show Social Proof
7. Offer Limited-Time Deals
8. Provide Multiple Payment Options
9. Retarget Website Visitors
10. Additional High Impact Methods

Why Growing Online Revenue Matters

For most businesses today, digital transformation is no longer optional - it's a competitive necessity. As buyer behavior shifts online, an effective digital marketing strategy delivers measurable sales impact.

Failure to digitize locks brands out of trillions in eCommerce spending. It also limits data-driven customer insights. Conversely, leaders reimagining processes and touchpoints using technology set themselves up for sustainable growth.

Customer experience (CX) is now the main differentiator. Research shows 80% of customers consider experience equally or more vital than products when making purchase decisions.

So as customer journeys increasingly move online, brands must perfect digital engagement Channels to attract, convert and retain buyers profitably.

This article outlines 8 powerful methods - backed by behavioral data and proven results - for increasing online sales. Combining multiple strategies creates an optimized, metrics-driven approach to acquire and retain high lifetime value customers.

Overview

Firstly, clearly define online sales goals aligned to overall business and revenue ambitions. Where does digital channel expansion fit into your broader growth objectives over the next 1 - 3 years? What share of total sales should shift online?

Setting specific, measurable targets for digital provides focus. It also informs priorities across processes, resource allocation and skills acquisition.

Next, build a compelling brand identity and value proposition focused on addressing customer needs better than competitors. Communicate what makes you truly special, different and worth buying from.

Illustrate the end-to-end buyer journey - from initial research and discovery through the sales funnel to purchase, delivery and beyond. Map messaging and interactions to guide users seamlessly between stages.

Throughout, balance emotional connections with rational proof points on quality, value and experience. Reduce risk and create preference to transition site visitors into customers.

Now let's explore 8 high impact, evidence-based techniques to convert more digital channel visitors into buyers

Offer Discounts and Coupons

Pricing incentivization encourages initial purchases, especially among first-time buyers. Common promotional formats include:

• Percentage discounts - e.g. 20% off items over $100
• Fixed dollar amount discounts - e.g. $10 off all purchases
• Free shipping or discounted delivery deals
• Buy-one-get-one free (BOGO) offers

Structure customizable deals and coupons for optimal impact using real-time artificial intelligence. Set dynamic rules around purchase value, profit margin impact, and customer targeting to balance acquisitions with long term value.

Promote personalized offers across multiple communication channels:

• Email campaigns and newsletter features
• Social media posts and paid advertisements
• Website banners, pop-ups and product recommendations
• Chatbots

Analyze performance to double down on your most effective campaign types, deals and target segments.

Improve Site Search and Navigation

Studies show over 50% of website visitors use internal search to find what they need. Ensuring a smooth, personalized search and navigation experience is vital for customer retention and sales conversion rate optimization (CRO).

Match indexed site pages with visitors' highest-frequency and highest-value search queries. This helps users instantly see the most relevant products, content and recommendations for their needs.

Implement search auto-suggestions and type-ahead recommendations to complete search terms or guide visitors to related items. This reduces hunting friction.

Structure main site navigation and catalog pages to funnel users towards high-performing categories or hero products. Show personalized suggestions based on search and browse history to encourage larger, higher-value orders.

For example, if someone searches for headphones, surface "Customers who viewed this product also bought" cables, device cases and Bluetooth speakers in follow-on pages.

Improving on-site search relevancy, navigation flows and personalized recommendations removes friction during the buyer journey. Visitors instantly find your most popular and profitable products while discovering complementary purchases.

Curate Product Bundles and Gift Guides

Curated groupings of complementary products in bundles or themed selections encourages larger order values and higher sales:

• Event or seasonal gift guides - e.g. Holiday Gift Ideas, Summer Road Trip Picks
• Use case ideas - e.g. Best Home Office Upgrades, Date Night Packages
• Pre-assembled kits - e.g. New Baker Kits, Yoga Studio Starter Sets

Benefits of curated product bundles include:

• Simplifies customer purchase decision-making
• Encourages bigger average order values
• Surfaces-related or overlooked products

Build dynamic, personalized recommendations using artificial Intelligence trained on:

• Frequently bought together products
• Items matching specified attributes or customer needs
• Complementary or higher-margin products

Refresh collections regularly and prominently showcase on high-value homepage placements:

• Category pages
• Shopping cart and checkout pages
• Hero banners and carousels
• Post-purchase confirmation pages

Curated product bundles boost cart values by over 30%. Optimize recommendations relevance to increase sales.

Segment Marketing Campaigns

The average email open rate hovers around 25%. However, hyper-targeted segmentation achieves 50 - 70% open rates by only reaching highly engaged subscribers guaranteed to convert.

Segmentation approaches include:

• Behavioral – Purchase history, browsing activity, cart abandonment
• Demographics – Age, gender, location, industry, job title
• Personal - Name, declared preferences and interests

Best practices:

• Limit overall sent campaigns to 3 – 5 per week per subscriber
• Vary featured segments and messaging every month
• Make offers time-bound to prompt action

Visitor Segment	Campaign Focus
Abandoned Cart	Win-back discounts
LaptopProduct Visitors	Related accessories
High-AOV Shoppers	Loyalty rewards
Deactivated Customers	Reactivation perks

Keep subscriber contacts sparing yet impactful. Send tailored communications and offers based on granular insights into individual habits and preferences.

Specializing outreach boosts engagement up to 5X over generalized messaging.

Show Social Proof

Displaying authentic third-party validation builds buyer trust and confidence by highlighting others’ satisfaction.

Effective types of social proof include:

• Customer photos and videos
• Video testimonials and reviews
• Product ratings distributions
• Best seller tags and sales counters
• Influencer promotions or endorsements

Guidelines for optimizing social proof:

• Refresh UGC and testimonials monthly
• Prominently showcase on high-value pages
• Feature influential personalities or brands
• Resolve any negative sentiment ASAP

According to surveys, over 70% of customers consider reviews and testimonials important when evaluating purchases. Positive social validation accelerates conversions by over 50% by reducing buying risk - particularly for higher price-point or reputation-reliant products and services.

Offer Limited-Time Deals

Imposing scarcity taps into emotional responses that prompt hurried action.

Time sensitivity promotion types include:

• Daily deals or flash sales
• Last chance discounts clearly ending soon
• Strictly limited product inventory alerts

To most effectively leverage fear of missing out (FOMO):

• Restrict to truly exclusive one-time offers
• Gradually intensify urgency messaging as expiration nears

However, take care not to fatigue customers with endless limited-time messaging. Occasional scarcity contrasts with stable discounts for different shopper segments.

Time-bound deals can lift conversion rates over 25%. Impose genuine exclusivity without overusing countdowns.

Provide Multiple Payment Options

Every extra locally-popular payment method offered at checkout lifts conversions:

• Digital Wallets - PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay
• Direct bank account transfers
• Major credit and debit cards
• Cryptocurrencies or NFTs
• Buy now pay later financing plans

Benefits of more payment choices include:

• Removes barriers to purchase with preferred types
• Appeals to diverse geographical customer preferences
• Increases checkout completion rate

However, weigh added payment provider and transaction fees against higher checkout yields, order values and global market reach.

Retarget Site Visitors

Retargeted advertisements chase website visitors who previously left without completing a purchase.

Retargeting tactics include:

• Emailing cart or browse abandonment reminders
• Serving behavioral social and search ads
• On-site alerts and pop-ups with special offers

For retargeting best practices:

• Limit contact frequency - e.g. maximum twice daily
• Test strategies and creative across visitor segments
• Evolve messaging and deals over time

Expect over 5X return on ad spend (ROAS) from tailored retargeting campaigns. But avoid oversaturating people.

Additional High Impact Methods

Other advanced tactics for increasing online sales conversion include:

• Free trials or demos - Allow prospects to test products and experience value before committing spend.
• Money-back guarantees - Reduce risk by backing purchases after delivery with financial reassurance.
• Simplify checkout - Each extra step hurts completion rates. Consider automated or AI-assisted flows.
• Community engagement - Share expertise on forums and social to nurture new relationships.
• Re-engagement emails - Encourage repeat purchases with special, personalized offers and content.
• Dynamic pricing - Fluctuate price points based on demand, seasonality and competition.

Combining multiple methods creates an AI-optimized, metric-driven customer acquisition and retention system. Continuously test new initiatives while refining existing techniques.

Wrap Up

This guide outlined 8 powerful strategies - validated by data and real-world results - for sustainably increasing online sales. Digital channel growth flows through refining on-site experiences, promotions, trust signals and data-driven customer targeting.

Determine the tactics best aligned to your eCommerce business model, tech stack capabilities and target audience preferences. Define key performance indicators to track progress.

Ultimately more higher-lifetime-value customers are won through optimized journeys.

As online competition and customer expectations intensify, brands embracing digital transformation arm themselves to lead markets. Center your offerings around continuously delighting people - not just transacting - and sustainable expansion follows.

Let me know if you would like me to refine, reduce or expand any sections further. I aimed to produce an engaging, reader-focused article structured around the outline you provided.