How to sell online? There are several more or less advanced systems
for selling your products online. This post was born from the need to share the
experiences of many of our customers who, during the difficult period of the
lockdown caused by the coronavirus, found themselves having to manage sales in
some way, even though their companies were closed. The recurring question was:
“ I have a shop and I want to sell online: how can I start selling via the
internet? ".
Our response has always been the same: first of all we have provided
our customers with advice to try to exploit this period, transforming it , if
possible, into a constructive opportunity . In this article you can read our
tips.
We then tried to explain to them that the time has come when all
companies organize themselves to create an e-commerce site . The internet sales
channel must operate in parallel with traditional sales channels: they must
complement each other in a synergistic and harmonious manner.
The market is now mature and forced quarantine has broken down the
last barriers of distrust towards online shopping: this opportunity must be
exploited, even by small commercial realities.
With this guide we want to share our advice with you too, starting
from concrete cases.
Ok, but how do I sell online without an e-commerce? The problem is
just this: selling your products online requires organization, long-term
strategy, marketing actions and a certain budget to invest. Our advice,
especially for smaller businesses or otherwise not equipped for online sales,
is to approach this new sales channel gradually .
There is no magic recipe : therefore, even if you do not yet have a
structured e-commerce, we advise you to experiment gradually and proportionate
to your economic possibilities, always measuring them and evaluating them
objectively, to allow your company to gradually adapt to the new dynamics
related to online sales . Try, test, straighten the bar. The advantage of
smaller companies is linked to greater flexibility. Imagination, combined with
that touch of healthy entrepreneurial madness, can also be the key to success
for your business.
P make our advice as a starting point, which you will then have to
customize and develop according to the specificity of your business and your
experience. Each action requires different budgets and times: evaluate and
implement in the most useful way for your company. But do it strategically on
the basis of a medium-long time horizon, so that nothing goes to waste.
Now let's see how to start selling online in a very short time and, if
possible, with little budget . At the bottom of the article we also explain how
to manage deliveries.
1 - Sell by phone
Collecting orders over the phone is the oldest technique , certainly
not very modern, but always effective. If you have a good relationship with
your customers, let them know that they can call you and that you can collect
orders over the phone. It's free and, if you chat verbally, you will see that
you will be able to consolidate the relationship with them more.
How to let your customers know
they can order over the phone?
Communicate it on your site . If you have a consolidated community in
your social channels, communicate it there too.
If you have a mailing list, send an informative newsletter to all your
customers , always in compliance with the legislation on privacy, I recommend
(if you do not have a well organized and possibly segmented mailing list, the
time has come to build it: IMMEDIATELY!). Once the mechanism has run in, wait
for the first orders: when they arrive it will be a beautiful surprise.
Ah, a little detail: it's free!
2 - Sell by email
Let's take a small step forward
and start using technology.
Notify your customers that you can make home deliveries and regulars
to send you an email with the order . It is a small step forward compared to
the previous point, but much more comfortable for you, because you avoid
wasting time on the phone: the phone call interrupts the activity you are
carrying out at that moment, while you can organize yourself to manage emails
in certain time slots. The conversation is asynchronous, with all the
advantages that come with it.
Again, it's free.
3 - Sell with Whatsapp
Let's take another step forward. We all have Whatsapp and use it. Just
everyone.
Why not sell with Whatsapp and use it as an order collection system?
It is simple, immediate, intuitive. Whatsapp is also very useful for
strengthening relationships with your customers, by communicating with them
directly. If you have not yet used Whatsapp to build a relationship with your
customers, the time has come to start doing it: NOW!
News are always welcome. You will see what a pleasant surprise to find
that your loyal customers have missed your products and that they are very
happy to order from you, even with this new method.
Again the good news is that it's free!
How to let your customers know
they can order via Whatsapp
If you have one or more groups on Whatsapp in which you have inserted
your customers or, better still, specific groups of customers, use this tool to
communicate to them that they can send you orders via Whatsapp. If you don't
have active groups, communicate this new opportunity to your customers, through
the channels we have seen previously.
How to integrate Whatsapp into
your website
We give you an extra idea, which requires a little programming
intervention.
Why don't you integrate Whatsapp into your site to use the site as a
connection tool between you and your customers via mobile phone? in this way
the chat started by the user on the site arrives directly on your Whatsapp
account.
If your site was created with WordPress, it's very easy : there are
plug-ins that deal with integration. In most cases they are free and the
configuration is very simple. Here are some.
If you are not familiar with plug-ins and the cost for your agency is
too high, look for a consultant on freelance platforms such as Fiverr for a few
euros. At this link you can find some example results .
Integrate Whatsapp into social
channels
It is possible to integrate Whastapp with Facebook and Messenger, so
that users can automatically connect via a button with your Whatsapp account.
It can be a useful tool, it certainly deserves to be evaluated.
Whatsapp Business
Whatsapp Business is a free app designed for small business owners .
Facilitates customer relationship management thanks to some additional features
that make it unique and useful.
In fact, it is possible to enter the company's website, as well as
allowing the management of automatic replies, the analysis of usage data,
broadcasting lists and groups. The app can also be activated on a landline
number.
Whatsapp Business also allows the creation of a catalog, a sort of
virtual showcase through which to show products and services. For each product you
can enter photos, description, price and code.
Here the indications to create the catalog .
4 - Orders via Messenger
You can also use Messenger to collect orders with your customers . The
same considerations that we made in the previous point with respect to Whatsapp
apply.
Messenger is very popular because it is integrated with Facebook (and
like Whatsapp is owned by Facebook), so it is an excellent tool for collecting
orders.
Like Whatsapp, Messenger can also be easily integrated into your site
.
5 - Live chat systems on your
site
If your site is well done, it works, it has good traffic, your
customers are used to using it and maybe it has a good
SEO services optimization , you can consider integrating a web
chat system on the site.
These are systems of direct dialogue with customers very similar to
those seen in the previous points.
There are many technical solutions. We must evaluate the pros and cons
in advance, we must be sure that they are stable and with a good user
experience: if they are poorly designed, they are not fluid and they get stuck,
customers get nervous and we do not do a good service.
The technologically most reliable solutions are not free.
Here are some examples of WordPress solutions.
6 - Sale by video call
Imagine that your customers have already been informed that you are
available for remote sale. Let's imagine that you have already activated one of
the communication channels seen in the previous points. Now let's try to
imagine a more personalized and sensory sales experience .
We will tell you about the case of a friend of ours. He is the owner,
together with his brother, of a wine shop.
They do not have an active e-commerce on the site, but they did not
get caught up in the discomfort of the moment during the lockdown for the
Coronavirus. They communicated to all customers the willingness to collect
orders remotely and invented Drink @ Home, the sale with video call. By making
an appointment with the customer, through video call they welcome the customer
into the shop, talk to him as if he were physically close to them, accompany
him on the shelves, tell him about the characteristics of the wines and make
him live a new sensorial experience.
The operation was successful beyond expectations and have been
mentioned in the newspapers.
Why don't you try to imagine something similar for your shop?
7 - Facebook showcase
You can sell your products directly through Facebook , which is
perfect from this point of view.
There are two ways to sell products through Facebook: you can sell
them in the marketplace or you can create a virtual shop through a showcase on
your Facebook page .
Obviously you must have a company page.
8 - Sell with Instagram
Instagram is increasingly popular. It is visual and perfect for
selling online.
The platform is growing a lot from this point of view and new features
have recently been introduced aimed at promoting products and selling directly
via Instagram.
These options are valid if you already have an e-commerce developed.
Instagram integrates with Shopify and BigCommerce. You can read this guide for
Instagram.
To activate shopping on Instagram you must have an active showcase on
Facebook and many fans.
As we have seen for Facebook, Instagram also becomes an important
sales tool if combined with sponsored campaigns on specific targets.
But that's not what we wanted to talk to you about here: imagining
that you don't have an e-commerce already active and fully functional, you can
take advantage of Instagram to promote your products through posts and stories
and collect orders not via e-commerce, but via message, which you will manage
with the methods seen above.
We can tell you the example of Serendipity Aesthetics , also from
Turin. Maria Laura is not only a dear friend, but a great professional, who
impeccably manages Instagram and uses it regularly to collect orders and
dispense her "Serendipitine" with advice and useful information.
Here is his page:
