Tag: marketing roundup

The Best Day to Sell Online

February 20, 2020 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

According to a new study, Tuesday is the best selling day of the week with the highest online sales conversion rate (2.5%), followed by Monday (2.25%). The overall average conversion rate of 2.2% drops as the week progresses, falling to 2.1% on the weekend.

© 2020 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

This is the Average Sales Conversion Rate for E-Commerce

February 7, 2020 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

HubSpot indicates that the average e-commerce industry conversion rate is 2.04%. If your business is not getting this, it could be a variety of factors, and it might be an easy fix.

Order my phone consultation and I can quickly determine why your conversion rate is low and how to fix it. Remember, the higher your conversion rate, the less traffic you need.

©2020 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

5 Ideas to Give Your Business a Boost in January

January 10, 2020 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

A new year is always a great opportunity to try new ways to market your business!

If you sell art, wedding rings, wine products or pet products, then take advantage of upcoming editorial opportunities such as National Inspire Your Heart with Art (Jan 31), National Wedding Ring Day (Feb 3), National Drink Wine Day (Feb 18) and National Love Your Pet Day (Feb 20) to get free publicity for your products (or you can have me write a publicity pitch for you!).
Google ads (formerly Google Adwords) are a better alternative for small businesses than Google Shopping ads. You cannot set the bid rates for Google Shopping ads, so unless you are selling $2,000 rings, not many sellers can afford a high cost per click, because the revenue return on the ad will not justify the ad cost. However, you can set the bid rate for a Google ad, and you can even localize it to just appear in searches from specific geographic regions, making it even more affordable.
January is typically all about sales, so have a HUGE one. I am not talking 20% or 25%, I’m talking 50 to 70% if you want success. It does not have to be on everything, just a select group of products or services. If it leads to acquiring new customers who might then become repeat customers, it is worth it.
If you sell higher priced products, offering a dollar amount off will tend to have a higher conversion rate than a percentage off offer. For example, if you are selling a $200 ring and ran a campaign for $50 off and a second campaign for 25% off (both arrive at the same amount) the $50 off will do better, mainly because buyers are attracted to the larger number, assuming it is a better deal. This does not hold true if you are selling lower priced items. If you have a $15 product and you are offering campaigns of either 25% off or $3.75 off, the 25% campaign will do better.
While it is not a good idea to email customers who did not opt in, there is nothing stopping you from sending snail mail (a fairly minimal cost, and they have already bought from you, so conversion rates should be high). Therefore, consider mailing all customers who purchased from you in October, November and December a thank you note with a special discount offer; but tie it to a quantity to make it worthwhile and give it a deadline i.e. As a thank you, purchase any 3 items (before February 1st, 2020) and get 25% off.

Do you need a custom marketing or business strategy plan tailored just for your business? Contact me with your issues at attentiongetting[@]gmail.com and I will happy give you a non obligation quote (or consider my phone consultations).

Try This “Discount on Discount” Sales Trick

December 13, 2019 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

An online retailer had an interesting sales promotion this week. The offer was another 25% off their already 40% off sale. I have to be honest, I jumped on it. It made it seem like I was getting 65% off, but if you do the math it was more like 55%, which is still good, don’t get me wrong.

But there was something about a discount on a discount that made it feel like it was too good to pass up. Plus, it was one-day only and they indicated certain items would sell out. All of these things together got me to act quickly.

So give it a try on some of your sales merchandise that you are really trying to liquidate (if your profit margins allow for this deep a discount).

©2019 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Why Trader Joe’s is a Marketing Star

November 2, 2019 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Trader Joes is a marketing powerhouse food store. This article from Vox shows how Trader Joe’s knows how to take advantage of the biggest food purchases of the year, which is fall through to early February.

They start by stocking the largest and most diverse products featuring the hottest fall food trend: pumpkin spice. They follow this with foods tailored for all of the big holidays: back-to-school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s. Holidays sell!

©2019 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Easy Local Publicity Opportunity

October 4, 2019 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

If you are not approaching your local newspaper’s business writer NOW with a story pitch on how to include your small business in any articles they are planning for Small Business Saturday (November 30th) you are missing out on a huge opportunity – so do this TODAY !

If you are a new business, you could pitch a story about how you are trying to get the business off the ground. If you are an established business, you could pitch a story about how things have changed since you started. Maybe you just want to pitch a story about a major special you will be offering that day, or an event you will be hosting.

Just find an interesting angle, and pitch the story.

Also to Read:

©2019 Gail Oliver. All rights reserved.

Sunday Marketing Blast

September 13, 2019 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

My tip of the week …If you are running online ads, such as Google or Microsoft ads, always make sure to consistently check and eliminate any negative keywords. You don’t want to pay for clicks that are completely irrelevant.

Ad tip … Google Shopping Ads have a 2% conversion rate, which is a pretty good return. Wordstream has a very informative post on how to maximize these ad campaigns.

Hot trend ... interesting news for fashion businesses as Google released data this week that found that, from the U.S. to India, searches for comfortable attire like loafers and oversized garments are on the rise while searches for clothing like high heels and anything slim fitting are on the decline.

Sales opp … consider selling on Amazon’s Bargain Finds if you have low priced items, where everything is under $20.

Need to know … interesting article about Etsy’s sellers growing frustrations with the marketplace on Vox.

Must read … Small Business Saturday (November 30th) is a huge opportunity for small businesses, so start preparing now with my extensive SBS tips, advice and ideas.

Remember to sign up for my emails so that you never miss a post!

Sunday Marketing Blast

August 23, 2019 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Another Sunday Marketing Blast with ideas and inspiration for small business owners.

Hot trend … mystery boxes are the hot item on Etsy and eBay.

Top sellers … diamond jewelry is in big demand with millennials, particularly single women. If you sell diamond jewelry, you need to read the De Beers’ Insight Report. One key fact is that millennials account for 60% of the demand for diamond jewelry in the US and almost 80% in China, and there is significant growth of single women buying diamonds for themselves.

Marketing tip … step up your video marketing. ImpactBND states that 70% of consumers say that they have shared a brand’s video, 72% of businesses say video has improved their conversion rate, and 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in online purchase decisions.

Sales channels … retail is not dead, just youth-oriented. According to a recent survey by Bronto, 98 percent of Gen Zers (born 1995 and later) shop in stores at least once per week, compared to 56 percent of millennials, 44 percent of Gen Xers and 27 percent of baby boomers.