When you have your online business website ready for launch, the focus will now shift to boosting sales and marketing online. Developing sales and marketing strategies will take some time to conceptualize and implement. When running the campaign, you should expect adjustments to be made before all parts will be running smoothly.
This means strategy design for sales and marketing should be initiated months before the launch of your online business website. The reason is to have the campaign running alongside the online business website when it is launched so it will gain traction faster. If you don’t have sales and marketing strategies in place, it will take you time to build up momentum for your online business website.
There is no secret on how to boost sales for your online business. If you want your online business to grow, you have to generate leads. This brings me to make an important distinction: sales and marketing are two very different disciplines.
Marketing is tasked with raising interest and awareness of your products and services. Sales strategies are designed with the primary purpose of converting the lead into a paying customer. Thus, marketing strategies generate the leads and sales strategies convert the leads.
Many online businesses make the mistake of assigning sales tasks to the market. In a sales funnel, marketing widens the opening by bringing in pre-qualified leads.
Marketing should be focused on acquisition. Sales come in to move the lead through the funnel until it becomes a verified sale. For the strategies to deliver results, sales and marketing have to remain focused on their distinct functions and responsibilities.
Here are a few tips to get you started on your sales and marketing campaigns:
1. Hire a Digital Marketer
Because lead generation determines the size of the sales funnel’s opening, the entire process begins with marketing. There are many online marketing tools, but these require experience and expertise. Even if you have experience using these tools, you will not have the time. As an entrepreneur, your primary focus is to manage your business. You should consider hiring a digital marketer who can design and implement your marketing campaign.
2. Put Together a Sales and Marketing Team
A digital marketing campaign includes any of the following processes:
- SEO or Search Engine Optimization
- Social Media Marketing
- Content Marketing Process
- Blogging / Article Writing
- Link Building
You do not have to hire one person per process. The Digital Marketer is usually proficient with SEO and Social Media then you may only need to hire a content writer. For sales, you can hire a person who can do the following:
- E-mail Marketing
- Customer Support Services
3. Schedule Process Improvement Systems
At least once a week, discuss the progress of your marketing campaign with your Digital Marketer.
The first one to two months is intended to create a groundswell of interest in your products and services.
At least one month before the launch, you should have people visiting your e-commerce website to check out the products and services you will offer. You could entice people with call-to-action via discounts or free items.
Lastly, even if marketing and sales will not be your area of direct responsibility you should learn about the different processes. After all, the campaign should reflect who you are and what your business is about. Eventually, you would be able to put in more valuable input for the campaign.