FEBRUARY 2021 - MADE IN AFRICA ISSUE

More documents

Recommendations

Info

@SME360nigeria 12 SME360 Magazine www.sme360.ng HOW AFRICAN MANUFACTURING COMPANIES CAN INCREASE ONLINE SALES LINDA EGBUNA he African market, despite the political upheavals on the continent, is one of the most exciting and potentially dynamic markets in the world. African manufacturing companies are increasingly capturing the attention of the world’s largest businesses, and the continent's e-commerce landscape is booming. Every day, more younger businesses enter the continent's e-commerce industry, and with all the impressive e-payment innovations in our world today, it isn't difficult to predict that the growth of online shoppers in Africa will continue for years to come. Successful African companies understand the need to increase their online sales in today's digital age. Increased online sales translate directly to increased business cash flow, and your company needs money to pay its staff, its suppliers, buy stock and re-invest for a brighter future. If you’re hoping to increase sales, you’re on the right track. Increasing sales is the key to any successful business, not just for the spike in revenue but also because loyal shoppers are worth more than five times the first time shoppers. It’s critical to learn all the little ways you can boost your company's online sales because it is only by improving your sales channel that your business can truly grow. Here are six ways you can increase your company's online sales today: 1. INCLUDE DETAILED CONTACT INFORMATION If you’re a founder of a manufacturing company in Africa desirous of increasing your online sales, understand that the best tactic here might be a simple strategy that you would never have considered. You might not realise this, but customers find the absence of detailed contact information on the websites they shop highly frustrating. Even if they don't make use of the information provided; having the detailed contact information on your website endears your brand to your customers by making them trust you more. Have as much contact information as you’re comfortable with or at the very least, include a contact form that’s easy to access. For even more sales, consider including a phone number, full mailing address, and email address. 2. INCLUDE IMAGES WITH YOUR TESTIMONIALS More often than you realise, your customers make purchasing decisions based on what products other customers like or what is popular on your website. They want to make sure that other people love the product and give good reviews before they buy and when you think about it, this is quite natural. If you already make use of testimonials on your sales page, you are on the right track but to take this to the next level, include further verification of your social proof or testimonials. Also add pictures, social media handles or any other identifying information about the people who have endorsed your product or service. Images of these people with their endorsements captured are incredibly effective at influencing more sales because it proves that you haven’t made up the testimonials. When you provide some form of contact information, potential customers feel that they can reach out and verify if the testimonials are valid. You’re indicating that not only are your testimonials real, but you are happy to let curious visitors contact the people who’ve endorsed your product. For anyone still undecided about your work, this can be an incredibly powerful motivator to buy.
@SME360nigeria 13 SME360 Magazine www.sme360.ng 3. OFFER A FULL REFUND GUARANTEE For new and old customers alike, it is so necessary that you continually update your refund policy to provide a way to ensure that they end their transactions on your company's sales page as satisfied as possible. One of the most effective ways to do this is to offer a full refund guarantee, promising that your company will refund the purchase price in its entirety if a set of conditions are not fulfilled. Common conditions include customer satisfaction with the product, price match, or damaged products. You don't have to make a guarantee you can't deliver here but the more firm the promise, the more it will increase your online sales. In addition to the aforementioned benefits of such refund guarantee, only a handful of your customers will take advantage of it, even if they aren’t satisfied with the product. Even though it will make your customers trust you more, most of them would not have recourse to this guarantee because it can be quite the hassle. 4. USE LIVE CHAT APPS TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS Ideally, you (or your sales representatives) should answer every customer objection as quickly as they are raised. Every customer has a different question, and it's simply not realistic to imagine that you can continually answer all of them all the time. What’s the solution? Besides listing the FQAs on your website, installing a live chat app into your sales page is a gamechanger. Most customers won’t directly ask their questions through email or other means; this is a great way to increase conversions by responding to their concerns and needs. A live chat app allows customers to quickly interact with you and get an answer to their burning questions. It is a simple way to encourage discussion without pushing a product. It will help you drive more sales because it answers any questions your customers raise as soon as they ask it. 5. RETARGET YOUR ADVERTS TO GET TO MORE CUSTOMERS Retargeting is a paid advertising strategy that involves putting your ads in front of people who have visited your website after they have already left. It is advertising focused on people who are already familiar with your brand and have recently demonstrated interest. This technique is popular because a visitor's previous visit to your site often makes them more likely to convert faster than new users than someone who hasn't been to your sales page. If you want to increase your online sales, you need to retarget ads to your site visitors as often as possible. If a customer leaves your site, track them very quickly by placing a retargeted ad on the next website they visit. If they abandoned their cart, retarget them with the item that's still in there, giving them a little nudge to remind them to go back and complete their purchase. Retargeting ads keep your brand in front of visitors after they leave, giving you a second, third, or even fourth chance to bring them back after they leave. It offers better opportunities to convert website visitors, compared to traditional display advertising strategies. Hire an expert if you have to, retargeted ads are well worth the investment because they will drive a crazy amount of sales to your page. 6. OFFER FREE SHIPPING More shoppers than you realise abandon their shopping carts if they get to checkout and realise that free shipping wasn’t included. If you’re serious about increasing your online sales, you need to figure out a way to prevent customers from leaving due to your shipping policy. There are three main ways to incorporate this into your business model. For instance, you can cover the shipping costs if the total order is over a certain amount. You can discreetly include the shipping costs in the sale price, use the revenue to cover shipping costs while the allure of free shipping drives more traffic to your sales page. If you can’t offer free shipping, you could provide a flat-rate option from time to time. Finally, if you’re working to increase online sales, you need to invest in a well-designed website while trying out some of these suggestions. You need to continually think outside the box because only then will you come up with ideas your competitors haven’t even thought. Ask your customers for feedback and be open-minded enough to try something new. If it increases your conversions, keep it! If it doesn’t, move on to another way to boost the revenue on your site.
Page 1: www.sme360.ng FEBRUARY 2 0 2 1 STRA
Page 4 and 5: CONTRIBUTORS DR. MAYMUNAH YUSUF KAD
Page 6 and 7: @SME360nigeria 6 SME360 Magazine ww
Page 8 and 9: @SME360nigeria 8 SME360 Magazine ww
Page 10: @SME360nigeria 10 SME360 Magazine w
Page 15 and 16: @SME360nigeria 15 SME360 Magazine w
Page 22: @SME360nigeria 22 SME360 Magazine w
Page 29 and 30: MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
Page 36: COMING SOON ISSN 2384-5430 9 772384

FEBRUARY 2021 - MADE IN AFRICA ISSUE

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?