So you have an e-commerce site but sales are down from previous years? If so, this post is for you.
Differentiate Your Spa Products!
Spa products can be very hard to sell on your website. Let’s face it, there’s a lot of competition out there. The online marketplace is so saturated with skin and body care products that it’s difficult for consumers to distinguish one from the other.
In order to get a consumer’s full attention, you’re going to have to focus on gaining trust. If you have an excellent product – then you need an excellent website and processes in place to sell those products.
Here are some tips to kick your sales into high gear this year.
1. Reduce prices. I start with this because it’s the most obvious. In today’s economy, everyone seeks value in their purchases. Competitive pricing keeps people in your online store longer; they put more items into their shopping cart; and they’re likely to come back more often. Besides, when people buy from you online, you don’t have to pay a commission to your therapists. That increases your margin – sometimes significantly.
2. Offer free shipping. This is a proven tactic to increase sales. Use it – at least on orders greater than $100.
3. Make your products claims believable. Skip the marketing hype. Today’s consumers are savvy and they don’t fall for ridiculous claims that aren’t substantiated. As the old saying goes, “if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is.” Your customers will trust their friends and online reviews before they believe proclamations that sound too good to be true.
4. Let someone else do your bragging. Use online reviews, endorsements, and testimonials to help sell your products. Why? Because people believe other people.
5.
Use security icons & logos plus other “credibility” links throughout your checkout process. The presence of a security/trust icon or a link to your security policy and/or return policy will reduce shopping cart abandonment. These two simple measures will improve your conversion rate and increase sales.
6. Simplify your checkout process. A simple checkout process reduces shopping cart abandonment. Do not require that shoppers create an account before buying.
7. Send out targeted emails to registered users who left items in their carts. This is a know tactic that big retailers use. Why not you? It works. Persuading shoppers to complete their order is not hard. You know they are interested in your products because they put it in the shopping cart. Depending on your margin, you may entice them with an additional discount…if not on this order, on a future order.
8. Use a well-placed up-sell. Depending on the number and types of items in their cart, you may want to offer a discount like “Buy two, get 20% off the second,” or something similar.
9. Test your offers. One of the most successful offers that I’ve seen for online spa retailers has been a simple one: “Sign up for our newsletter and get a coupon code for 10% off your first order.” Get creative. What worked previously, may not work today. The web is constantly evolving and you need to constantly test everything related to your online business.
10. Send out your newsletters regularly – and TEST them each time. Consumers are tired of receiving dull, boring emails. Who wouldn’t be? Make your newsletters entertaining with targeted offers to your subscribers. You’ll be surprised at the positive responses (opens and “click-thrus”) that you’ll receive. The key is in testing. Test your subject line. Test your images. Test short copy versus long copy. Test your discount. You get the picture. You’ll be rewarded with a more loyal subscriber base as well as increased product and service sales.
The above items are all proven to increase conversions and sales. Need help implementing them? Call Spa Marketing at 860-655-2283 to get started.
