In the past few years, the world of retail business experienced significant changes. Clients went from shopping in-store to picking everything online. Local businesses of all sizes had to adapt and digitalise their customer journey to get with the times. Your retail business can do it too and we’re here to show you how.

The goals of online marketing include boosting your brand image, driving more traffic to your website, improving conversion rates, and increasing repeat sales. Before you get into the marketing side of things, it’s essential to invest in your website.

If your retail business has a dedicated website, it should be quick, responsive, and optimised for mobile. Loading times are usually a good indicator of quality and many clients wouldn’t have the patience to wait more than a few seconds while browsing. A customer leaving your website is a customer lost, so make sure everything is snappy.

Aside from speed, there’s also the importance of mobile optimisation. Most users will probably be coming from mobile devices and if the experience there is much worse than on PC, your traffic might suffer. Your website should look just as good on a smaller screen and be more responsive.

Without further ado, here are some of the best practices that you can utilise to reach these targets.

Improve your SEO standing

SEO stands for “search engine optimisation” and over the years, it has become the core of almost any marketing strategy. Why? Search engines such as Google will rank results based on their relevance to the search prompt and the algorithm. If you want your retail business to be on the first page of Google, you’ll have to research, find the best SEO words, and implement them everywhere. This includes adding keywords to the content on your website and using them in your messaging across your different platforms.

If your business is just starting out, it’d be best if you focus on local SEO first. Local SEO is more organic and focuses on a specific area where your retail business operates. You can start improving it by creating a Google Business Profile. Add details for your business such as an address, contacts, and a short description heavy on keywords that are common in search queries. This will put your business on the digital map and allow clients to organically find it without spending anything on advertising.

Expand to new communication channels

Speaking of communication platforms, email is no longer the one-trick pony it used to be. Many users have become allergic to emails and the response rates are there to prove it. But fret not as there are new ways to reach your clients.

• Facebook, Instagram, Twitter – Social platforms gather billions of people and remain the top choice for sending your message to a broader audience. Establish an online presence for your retail business on some of these platforms to greatly expand your reach.
• SMS marketing – Looking for a more personalised approach? Try out SMS marketing. While the technology has been around for nearly two decades, the principle is quite simple. Texting is more casual and clients don’t feel the formal pressure of communication with a business, leading to increased response rates.

Try to find the perfect balance between posting engaging content on social media to attract new clients and running dedicated campaigns for existing clients with SMS marketing.

Make it convenient

If there’s something we’ve learned during the pandemic, it’s that convenience is king. Customer loyalty is no longer dictated by price and brand image but by the user experience offered by your retail business. So, how can you make it better for your clients?

Mobile phone usage is at an all-time high and you can use that to your advantage. Streamline the user experience by offering clients the option to browse your products and services directly from social apps. Make it possible for clients to pay directly through social apps and over text messages and you’ll be seeing results.

Promote with influencers

 

If you’re looking to expand rapidly, there are a few ways to go about it. Traditional paid ads on social platforms are a popular method but there is an alternative that is often much better. Influencers have an established social presence and a dedicated community behind them. By utilising influencer marketing, your retail business can reach a targeted audience and get a much better ROI when compared to traditional marketing channels.

One of the main factors contributing to the effectiveness of influencer marketing is that consumers consider social media as the primary source of information when making purchases.

How Magic can help

Magic helps local businesses grow. Thousands of local businesses use Magic to get more online reviews, win new customers, easily manage customer conversations and grow sales. Magic offers these features:

• Reviews: Get more reviews with easy review requests for popular review sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, TrustPilot, and more. Rank high on local search and enhance your visibility on Google. 
• Inbox: Keep track of customer conversations across channels in one inbox, including SMS, Facebook, Instagram, and Gmail. Manage conversations better as a team and do more with industry specific templates. 
• Text Marketing: Drive more sales with instant text campaigns and reach your customers at the right moment with automation. Use prebuilt templates to send out text campaigns in minutes. 
• Webchat: Turn website visitors into customers with SMS powered Webchat. Chat to website visitors directly through SMS so you won’t miss a lead, even when they leave your website. 

Looking to grow your local business? Book in a demo call now. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook