How to Get Small Business Customers From Shop to Website 

How often do you direct people from your physical store to your website? This can have a proven impact on sales, as it increases the touchpoints you have with a customer. In fact, with so many online ads, speaking to people in person is one of the best ways to cut through the noise of online ads and direct people there.

Read on as we give an essential guide on how to get small business customers from your shop to your website.   

Offer Bonuses and Incentives

The first step is to consider offering bonuses and incentives for those who go online. The easiest way to do this is through discounts. If someone purchases in the store, you may give them a code to get money off when they buy online. You could get them to go online and sign up for a mailing list, described in more detail by Maropost, in exchange for rewards such as free shipping.   

Plenty of industries have used the online bonus method as a very successful form of marketing. Online casino websites are one example. Websites like KingCasinoBonus rank them based on their bonuses, which can include matched deposits and free spins. With so many of them doing this, it has attracted new customers to the realm of online gaming. This has had a reciprocal approach, increasing traffic to physical casinos. This technique can be adapted to retail environments and your business.   

Provide Website-Only Products  

Another idea is to have products that can only be bought from your website. This directs people there and incentivises them to make a purchase.   

The type of items you keep online and not in your store should not be the most sold items. It can be tiring to keep directing customers, and at some point, it will hurt your shop footfall. However, keeping lesser-bought items on your website also frees up inventory space in the store.   

One idea is to combine it with a click-and-collect style approach. People can buy online from the comfort of their home and then pick it up from your shop. This helps you keep the footfall and web traffic fluid. 

Bridge the Gap With an App

A fantastic way to link your store and the website is with an app. They do take some setting up and may require an initial financial outlay, as covered by Crowdbotics. However, the benefits are huge.   

Applications reside on a person’s mobile device, which travels everywhere with them. Thus, this gives you a connection to them and an opportunity to send notifications regarding discounts and new products at any time. You can even enable facilities that allow them to make online purchases immediately, so they don’t have to type in the website address and navigate through it to find what they need.   

Moving customers from the shop to your website is just one facet of increasing your web traffic. It should also be combined with a strong SEO and digital marketing campaign. With a healthy plan in place, you will soon find sales increase in both digital and physical locations.