The growth of online sales has seen intense growth in India and worldwide. From 2019 to 2023, there was a 29% growth in the number of e-commerce customers, reaching 87.8 million. By 2026, the total could reach 100 million buyers.
To take advantage of the potential of this market — which, in 2023 alone, generated more than R$185 billion —, it is essential to have a good strategy. By knowing how to sell online, the brand can stand out and significantly expand its results.
Throughout this article, you will learn the 11 best tips for selling online. Enjoy reading!
What are online sales?
Online sales involve the offering and purchase of a product or service via the Internet. In this scenario, consumers access a wide variety of products and services through online stores, marketplaces, social networks and other channels.
Although this term is closely associated with e-commerce, it is not limited to this sales environment, did you know?
In practice, Internet sales can also encompass other possibilities, including sales by:
- Contact forms;
- Text messages;
- Voice messages;
- Links;
- Videoconferences;
- Lives.
And do you know what’s even cooler? Nowadays, we can close contracts online! This means you can buy and sell products and services without having to leave your home.
Additionally, online sales can be a complement to your business or even your main sales channel. This type of sales benefits companies of all sectors and sizes, bringing more flexibility and reach.
Imagine a small neighborhood store being able to sell to the entire country? It’s like opening a door to the world, without having to leave your city.
What are the phases of an Internet sale?
Especially in the online environment, purchasing doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye! Instead, it happens in stages, which need to be very well understood in order to influence people’s decision-making.
Understand the main phases of an online sale based on the journey and funnel:
The buying journey
The purchase journey represents the path a person takes until they actually become a customer. It is divided into four main stages:
- Learning and discovery: this is when the consumer seeks information to understand or identify a need or difficulty;
- Problem recognition: at this stage, the person understands that they have an issue that needs to be resolved and begins to look for ways to solve it;
- Consideration of the solution: the consumer begins to study and compare the available alternatives, looking for the one that best suits him;
- Purchase intention or decision: the person decides to buy a product or hire a service from a certain company.
For Marketing, it is essential to know each customer’s purchasing journey very well! Only then can you understand the customer’s point of view and make the purchase easier for them.
By changing the approach in this way, it is possible to apply a teaching from Peter Drucker: the goal of Marketing is to make selling unnecessary. The idea is to stop the company selling and start the customer buying.
The sales funnel
The sales funnel fits into the purchasing journey, serving as its reflection! Although people do not always follow this path in a linear fashion, the funnel can guide you on which strategies to adopt at each moment, increasing the chances of conversion.
The idea is, above all, to ensure that each interaction between a lead and the brand occurs at the right time — from the initial stages to after the purchase. In this sense, there are usually 5 main phases:
- Prospecting: at this initial stage, the focus is on attracting people who are still in the learning process so that they become leads;
- Qualification: at this stage, the characteristics of the leads are identified to understand which ones are more prepared (or qualified) to proceed with the purchase and which ones still need to be worked on;
- Negotiation: if the lead is qualified, they may receive a proposal from the sales team, considering their specific needs and characteristics;
- Closing the sale: at the bottom of the funnel, conversion occurs, when the lead becomes a customer by purchasing the product or hiring the service;
- After-sales: after closing, there is still this stage, which is focused on ensuring a positive experience and even customer loyalty.
What are the advantages of selling online?
Online sales offer several advantages that make this strategy irresistible, whether for those who want to invest solely in digital, or for those who want to expand physical sales.
Those who buy online have more convenience, practicality and ease in comparing offers.
And those who sell online make this choice because of the countless benefits that are often — literally — in the palm of their hand! Among the main ones, I can highlight:
- Low cost to start the operation;
- Reduction in operating costs associated with a physical store;
- Opportunity to reach a wider audience;
- Ease of management;
- Flexible schedule;
- Option to customize the shopping experience;
- Ability to analyze customer behavior data;
- Possibility of implementing Digital Marketing strategies to attract and convert customers.
Ultimately, selling online not only expands your business opportunities, but also offers tools and strategies to improve the customer experience and boost your sales!
It’s a smart way to grow and adapt to the modern market.
How to attract visitors when making online sales?
Adopting Digital Marketing strategies is essential to attract customers online consistently! But how do you choose the best ones for your business? The answer depends on your possibilities and goals.
Come take a look at some of the main strategies and how they can be used to sell more on the Internet:
- Content Marketing: Creating and sharing relevant content is an effective way to attract and engage your audience. You can write blogs, produce videos, or create infographics that answer your customers’ questions and interests. This not only attracts visitors to your website, but also establishes your brand as an authority in your niche.
- Inbound Marketing: This is a strategy focused on generating leads by attracting potential customers through relevant and valuable content. This can include e-books, webinars, and newsletters that capture information from visitors. From there, you nurture these leads with more content until they are ready to buy;
- SEO: This is the optimization of your website so that it appears in the first results of search engines, such as Google. This involves using relevant keywords, creating quality content and technical improvements to the website. With good SEO, you increase the visibility of your website and attract more organic visitors;
- Social media: Being present on social media is essential to connect with your audience and promote your products. Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn allow you to share news, interact with customers and build a community around your brand. In addition, social media is great for announcing promotions and launches;
- Online advertising: Investing in paid advertising, such as Google Ads and Meta Ads, can significantly boost your sales. These ads allow you to target a specific audience based on interests, location, behavior, and more. It’s a quick and effective way to attract visitors to your website.
Each of these strategies has the potential to attract more visitors and increase your online sales! The key is to test different approaches, measure the results, and adjust your tactics as needed.
After all, Digital Marketing is a dynamic area and what works for one company may not work for another. Experiment, learn and adapt to achieve success!
Formats and channels for making online sales
Just as there are many strategies that can be used, there are a variety of funnels and channels for selling online. Choosing the most suitable one for your business is essential to maximize your sales!
Some of the options include:
- Online stores;
- Marketplaces;
- Social media;
- Inbound Marketing Funnels.
It is recommended that each type of business analyze the pros and cons of each channel and format. Ask yourself where your target audience is most present, what your initial investment capacity is, and what is the best way to stand out from the competition.
It’s like choosing a stage for a show: you want to be where your audience is and where you can shine the brightest!
Regardless of the characteristics of your business, lead generation is essential for any online sale! Capturing your visitors’ contact information allows you to maintain an ongoing relationship, nurturing these leads until they are ready to buy.
Ultimately, online sales success comes from a combination of choosing the right channels, creating an effective marketing strategy, and focusing on lead generation and nurturing. With these pieces in place, you’ll be well-positioned to grow and thrive in the digital world!
11 tips for making sales online
Yes, I have over a dozen tips for you below, but I can’t help but highlight what I think is “tip #0”: understanding your target audience.
This is a step that must be present in every Marketing initiative! Understanding your potential customer, their pain points, needs and expectations.
Then, you should put the following tips into practice:
1. Make your content sell for you
To be successful in online sales, one of the tips is to create content that sells! One way to do this is to use Content Marketing to create relevant, valuable and useful materials that attract and engage the public.
This way, you can educate your potential customers about the benefits of your products or services. With content, it is easier to build trust and authority, making your brand a reference and facilitating the sales process!
2. Take care of your website, marketplace or landing page
Once you have chosen the channel to make sales, it is essential to ensure that your website, marketplace or landing page is visually appealing and easy to navigate. Above all, it must offer an intuitive shopping experience!
Just as a physical store needs a beautiful sign or a window display that attracts attention, your online sales environment must be well prepared.
In the case of direct sales, the User Experience in the channel needs to be of high quality. For consultative sales or via Inbound Marketing, the focus should be on offering agility and ensuring satisfaction!
3. Invest in SEO
As you have seen, SEO can help you better position your business and products. Therefore, it is a good idea to invest in optimizing your website content and structure to stand out in search engine results.
With higher positions, you can increase the visibility of your online store and achieve more sales online!
4. Use the right digital channels
To build your digital presence, it is also essential to identify the Digital Marketing channels that are most relevant to your target audience. This way, you can focus your efforts on these environments to reach the maximum number of potential customers!
This tip is important so that you don’t fall into the trap of trying to be on all channels at the same time. By prioritizing what really makes sense for your audience, you can optimize your results!
5. Provide an excellent shopping experience
When we talk about online sales, the purchasing journey and the sales funnel, the focus should be on making the process easier for the customer. Therefore, it is essential to provide a pleasant and frictionless shopping experience!
In practice, a fast and fluid experience reduces the likelihood of cart abandonment, for example, and increases the chances of conversion ! It is also possible to create good interaction when the content meets the expectations of the potential customer.
Therefore, the ideal is to worry about aspects that include everything from initial navigation to checkout or after-sales.
6. Track and analyze metrics
Using analytics tools to monitor the performance of your website or landing page is also essential. Through these tools, you can identify customer behavior patterns and make informed decisions to optimize your sales strategies!
In this sense, it is worth monitoring some metrics such as the conversion rate and revenue generation during the period. As for lead generation, it is worth monitoring the number of Marketing Qualified Leads (MQL), which are opportunities that are more prepared to purchase.
By measuring the conversion rate of MQLs to sales, it is even possible to understand the effectiveness of the integration between Marketing and Sales! This makes it easier to make the necessary changes to improve results.
7. Use automation and email marketing tools
To make the most of the opportunities generated, it is essential to have Marketing automation tools! With RD Station Marketing and RD Station CRM, for example, it is possible to manage and nurture leads as they are generated.
There is also automation of repetitive processes, such as sending promotional emails, monitoring abandoned carts and creating relationship rules.
With the help of technology, you can save time and increase the efficiency of your campaigns. Furthermore, this is a way to build an increasingly better and more personalized experience for your audience!
8. Encourage reviews and recommendations
User-generated content (UGC) can have a positive impact on sales. According to a survey conducted by The Bazaar Voice with more than 30,000 people, 88% of shoppers use reviews to discover and evaluate products when buying online.
Therefore, it is worth encouraging customers to leave positive reviews and recommendations. This is a way to increase consumer confidence and potentially influence their decision-making.
The intention, therefore, is to generate social proof that helps to strengthen trust in the brand and stimulate more online sales.
9. Advertise online
In addition to Inbound Marketing strategies, you can also use online advertising! With the help of paid ads on platforms such as Google Ads and Meta Ads, you can increase the visibility of your store and your brand.
The various configuration options also help to attract more qualified traffic. With more leads coming in, there are new opportunities to convert into sales!
10. Keep an eye on trends
Consumer behavior and market trends change very quickly. Therefore, it is essential to be aware of these changes in order to adjust strategies and remain relevant and competitive in the market!
Ignoring trends, on the other hand, tends to affect opportunity generation and lead quality. Therefore, it is necessary to anticipate potential changes to achieve good results.
11. Prioritize excellence in customer service
Even in the case of online sales, it is essential to offer excellent customer service! To achieve this, the ideal is to have customer support that is fast, efficient and personalized.
This makes it easier to ensure customer satisfaction and build lasting relationships. This increases the average customer spend with the company — the so-called lifetime value or LTV — and improves the revenue generated by the customer, in relation to their acquisition cost (CAC).
Furthermore, this is a way to obtain positive social proof, such as referrals from satisfied customers.
It’s good content that generates sales!
Enough with bad content. Good content generates sales!
This phrase, Enjoy Minder’s tagline, says it all. Content creation is the key to reaching the right audience and boosting your sales on the Internet!
At Enjoy Minder, we use our exclusive Content+Performance methodology, which is based on the production of original and valuable content to captivate leads at all stages of the purchasing journey.
Let me tell you how this works and how it can transform your Marketing strategies!
The market is full of companies and agencies that separate communication from performance. You may have seen communication agencies that do not connect with performance agencies, and content producers that operate in isolation.
Here at Enjoy Minder, we see it differently! We believe that relevant content is the central piece that unites all these parts.
Think about it: no one goes on social media, Google or YouTube just to see ads, right? People want content! They are looking for entertainment, education, tips to improve their professional performance or learn something new for their personal lives, and so on.
On the other hand, companies want performance — concrete results. And herein lies the magic of our Content+Performance methodology: uniting the customer’s desire (content) with the company’s objective (performance).
When we manage to connect a brand-conscious person who understands their needs and the differences in the product or service, we create the perfect scenario for sales!
The first step is to create content that truly adds value. We’re not talking about just any content, but rather content that informs, educates and entertains. This content is designed to attract and engage your audience, building a relationship based on trust and authority!
With quality content, we can monitor its impact throughout the purchasing journey. This allows us to adjust strategies based on concrete results, making our attraction and conversion initiatives more robust and effective!
We combine lifetime organic traffic, generated by relevant content, with online advertising strategies. This ensures predictability in sales, builds an ongoing dialogue with the public and strengthens the brand’s reputation!
With this approach, we not only attract more audience, but also build a solid and lasting relationship with them. Ultimately, that’s what makes the difference.
If you are interested in learning how Content+Performance can benefit your online sales, check out the talk I gave at the CMO Summit:
Is it worth making sales online?
So, after everything we’ve talked about, you may still be wondering: is it really worth selling online? By implementing the tips presented, it’s easier to achieve good results!
One of the keys to success in online sales is the ability to adapt. The market is always changing, and customer demands evolve quickly. That’s why it’s essential to review and adjust your strategies regularly.
Always be aware of new trends and technologies, and don’t be afraid to try new approaches!
If you are ready to take the next step and want personalized help, how about requesting our Digital Marketing Diagnosis + Consulting? With this consultancy, you will have a detailed plan tailored to the needs of your business, maximizing your chances of success in online sales.
Let’s transform your business together? We are here to help you navigate this digital world and continue to grow!
