You’ve crossed your t’s. Dotted your i’s. Toiled away at your branding and website until they gleamed and glistened. Heck, you may have even locked down a logistics partner for seamless order fulfillment. But, as picture-perfect as your plan looks on paper, there’s one thing missing… customers!

Regardless of where you’re at in the eCommerce ecosystem, increasing your sales volume is always a priority. Luckily, we’re here to help you do just that! Grab your notebook (old school or digital) and peruse these ten tried-and-true tactics for customer acquisition and lead generation. Let’s begin!

#1. Define Your Demographic

Knowing who you’re selling to is a no-brainer, right? Not quite! In fact, one of the biggest mistakes novice business owners make is attempting to sell everything to everyone, which is essentially the same thing as selling nothing to no one. In a saturated market, specificity is key, so make sure that you’ve done your research and taken proactive steps to target your chosen demographic.

#2. Expand and Conquer

Quick, grab your basket! Are all of your eggs in there? If so, it’s time to get a new basket… or several. When it comes to eCommerce, it’s never a good idea to be solely reliant on a singular sales channel, no matter how awesome or user-friendly it is. In fact, among a plethora of other benefits, diversifying your platforms (a.k.a. multichannel eCommerce) is a foundational step to ensure maximum brand longevity and exposure. 

Bonus: Check out our roundup of shopping carts and marketplaces to scope potential candidates!

#3. Optimize Your Website Design

What do slow loading times, hard-to-find shopping carts, and poorly-lit product photography have in common? They’re all severely hindering your online store’s chances for success! 

While it’s harder for those of us who aren’t technically inclined, the good news is that most of the shopping carts and marketplaces we mentioned provide professional templates that take flawless design and formatting into consideration. 

Oh, and don’t forget about mobile! With mobile shopping driving as much as 50% of eCommerce sales in 2022, it’s time to get smart about smartphones. 🤓

#4. Create Kick-Ass Content

Content comes in all shapes and sizes — blog posts (like this one!), videos, podcasts, eBooks, infographics, case studies… the list goes on. Realistically speaking, becoming a content powerhouse takes time, skill, and, in all likelihood, a team of dedicated content marketers.

If you’re flying solo, however, you can still make the most out of content marketing, whether you choose to outsource to a talented whippersnapper or commit to a less prolific — but still impressive — schedule of engaging and educational material.

#5. Say Yes to SEO

SEO is alive, well, and as effective as ever! Sure, it’s a bit challenging nowadays to score crazy high rankings and dominate sought-after keywords, but, with a steady mix of creativity and dedication, the potential for growth is still there.

Feeling a little rusty on your SEO know-how? Revisit the basics and get actionable examples with our introductory guide!

#6. Consider Social Media

Ah, social media. Seemingly so simple, but so deceptively complicated. Whether you love it or hate it, most of us can agree that social media is an all-in-one customer acquisition and retention tool. You know what they say — hook ‘em in with memes, keep ‘em fed with more memes.

Okay, so that’s not an actual expression, but our point is that marrying fabulous content (#4, we’re looking at you!) with stunning visuals is a winning combo to grow your following and incentivize already-interested buyers. Start here if you’re feeling lost!

#7. Invest in Social Proof

Are you more willing to trust a new online store with bad or no reviews, or a well-established one with tons of adoring fans? If you’re like most people, it’s probably the latter, and for good reason! 

Social proof is the phenomenon wherein people are shaped by the thoughts and experiences of others under the assumption that those thoughts and experiences are correct. It works wonders as far as marketing is concerned, and you can take advantage of it by encouraging positive reviews, converting customers into brand ambassadors, and shooting for public recognition. Click here for inspo!

#8. Do Giveaways

Who doesn’t love free stuff? Aside from being a snazzy way to garner more attention for your business, giveaways are perfect if you’re happening to be suffering from a case of surplus inventory, either because you’ve ordered too much product or because you’re ready to rotate your inventory for something new. 

#9. Run Paid Ads

Don’t get us wrong — paid ads can be tricky, time-consuming, and, obviously, expensive. However, if you have the budget and the strategy for it, investing in paid ads can get the word out for your business like no other. Organic efforts are great, but bolstering those efforts doesn’t hurt! 

#10. Keep Track of KPIs

Of course, as you kickstart your customer acquisition endeavors, keeping track of KPIs (key performance indicators) is absolutely essential. Otherwise, how will you be able to celebrate the awesome job you’re doing?

Whew! That was quite the speed round, but we hope you enjoyed our tips! Think of customer acquisition as a process that is constantly changing and evolving, and always remember to keep the needs of your customers at the forefront. 

Questions? Comments? We’d love to hear from you! Shoot us a message here.

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