Tag: small business marketing blog

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.

5 Ways to Promote Your Business at Popular Summer Events

June 1, 2015 / Gail Oliver, Online Small Business Consultant

Summer is almost here and it provides a ton of opportunities to promote your business at every type of popular, well attended event. This is a great time to use your friends and family members to get the word out about your business, and it won’t take much of an investment but could offer big returns.

For example, every city and town has some sort of big race – a 5k, 10k, half marathon, full marathon, Spartan race, triathlon, bike race, walk – you name it. These events typically have a high attendance (and media coverage) and gives you a chance to get your business seen by your local market.

5 Ways To Get Your Business Noticed at a Major Event

If you know anyone (or even yourself) who is participating in a race, it is a chance to get your business name and website url seen on a t-shirt they wear, a headband, a hat, the side of a baby jogger – so many possibilities!
Think about parking your car in a spot where the majority of spectators will be walking, both towards and away from the finish line (so get there early) and make sure it has a large windshield sun visor that displays your company name and website url.
Have a friend or family member that lives close to the finish line? Ask it they will display a lawn sign, window sign or banner promoting your business. Get creative!
If taking public transit to the big race (along with crowds of other people), wear your t-shirt or even carry a large canvas bag that has your business logo on it.
If the race is getting covered by the local news, be sure to have someone wearing your company t-shirt standing behind the reporter when reporting.