Leverage on Digital Marketing Techniques this Christmas season.

Sales during Christmas season is crucial. For your local businesses, Christmas sales comprise of the large chunk of your annual revenue. The overwhelming question in everyone’s mind then is- How to make more sales?

With customers increasingly making decisions online and the younger shoppers making online transactions, it is vital you target your customers effectively on their chosen platforms.

Statistics reveal that the online sales juggernaut is continuing its upward trajectory with 7,630,000 Australians aged 14+ buying one or more products via the internet in an average four weeks. This number witnesses a sizable increase during Christmas season, every year.

Certainly, it takes a bit of digital marketing know-how to send your product or service message to your customers through the right online channels. Below is a roundup of online tools and techniques which can give your business that extra boost.

Cash in on the Social Media Power:

If you are looking for a quick piece of action from your customer base, this is the platform to go to. With 13 million Australian social media users, this is a powerful and practically free marketing tool is for anyone to exploit its potential.

It is important to note however that social media is to build meaningful relations directly with your customers. Being transparent and humanising your brand is key.

And tapping on social media power by having a dedicated marketing strategy goes a long way in building your brand. Engage your best prospects and customers using Social Media. Leveraging on referrals, you can also measure your brand’s popularity by the number of followers, page visits and conversions.

Capitalise on Email Marketing:

Seen as a leading channel to get the best ROI, it gives results only when done right. While you can always update them with special offerings in store or online, these are the simple things you should keep in mind:

1. Each customer is unique hence a generic email doesn’t work.
2. Give your customer time and space- It’s true that the customers want to hear from you but there is such a thing as overkill. Do not pass on your panic and sales pressure to your customers as it might just upset them.
3. Recognise a thin line between automation and personalisation:
   Your customers are as hard pressed for time as you are. Automation does help while sending to a large body of emails but it cannot replace a personal mail/ greeting sent personally.

Win sales through good Web Design:

Converting a visitor to your customer is not easy. In the digital age, a professionally designed website, helps your brand put the best foot forward for population online.

While there is no study to outline which design works best to get more sales, the good news is that designing a website for conversion and testing it for fast loading on different platforms is a scientific process.

Also think of the 10-second rule, where a new visitor spending the first 5-10 seconds decides to stay or to go. A fast loading, easy to use design with a crisp call to action is crucial. Having a seamless and effective design and clear call to actions has a direct impact on the number of sales conversion you achieve.

Sell with Effective SEO:

In the age of information overload, your customers are looking for authenticity in your website’s content and visuals. With around 74 percent of online users searching for local services, it makes as much sense for local businesses to explore this digital tool.

An Effective Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) effort not only works on your original content and stunning visuals to tell a genuine story, to engage your customers but it also helps your business get impressive rank in search engines.

Investing in a professional digital marketer, who is on top of the latest updates and changes in the search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo and Yandex, will help you capture a wide customer base. A steady approach, this is a time-tested tool for successful branding.

Now is the time to be Mobile Responsive:

In the “on-the-go” economy, if your website doesn’t look or work good on your customer’s device, your branding suffers. With more and more people using smartphones and tablets, having a mobile optimised website and app for your business makes a significant difference in the number of respondents.

Google estimates that around 90 percent of the users alternate between their mobile devices to complete their online task which is mostly to make a purchase. The websites which provide seamless online experience across all platforms create more customer engagement, brand sentiments and eventually sales.

Control your advertising cost with Adwords:

If you are looking for a fast engagement with your audience with a little bit of money right away, then Adwords or Pay per Click (PPC) as they are known is your go-to digital marketing solution. They are the alternatives to the cumbersome banner ads and now widely used for generating leads and traffic.

Used extensively by small and big online businesses, Adwords are measurable and flexible. The key advantage of using AdWords is that it gives you instant metrics to measure what works and what doesn’t work for you.