Looking for practical ways on how to improve online sales? Top sales professionals recommend using online marketing tools to attract, engage, and convert potential leads into loyal, paying customers—especially for small businesses.
Many small business owners still rely heavily on face-to-face interactions, whether through a local storefront or direct service in the field. However, with more consumers turning to the internet for solutions, having a strong digital presence is no longer optional—it’s a necessity.
The good news? You don’t have to abandon your in-person business model to succeed online. Digital marketing strategies can actually complement your offline efforts. By leveraging tools like social media platforms and search engine optimization (SEO), you can expand your reach, generate more leads, and ultimately improve your online sales.
Social media and search engines are especially powerful when it comes to attracting the right audience and guiding them through your sales funnel—from first interaction to final purchase.
If generating online leads are a challenge for your small business, follow these expert tips and from top sales-focused pros.
Optimize Your Online Presence
Every small business should have a strong online presence, even if you don’t sell products online. Your potential customers use the internet every day to find local businesses, research products and reviews, and make purchase decisions.
Great places to start include:
- A user-friendly, mobile-friendly website;
- Active social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/or LinkedIn;
- A blog with great on page SEO;
- An email newsletter;
- Up-to-date Google My Business and business directory listings.
“These online touchpoints enable customers and prospects to engage with content, and sales teams to follow-up accordingly,”
Explore Targeted Digital Tools
Once you establish your basic online presence, get creative and strategic. Less traditional content like podcasts, niche sites like Pinterest or interactive events like webinars are all good ways to engage customers and share expertise with potential customers.
“Once an initial connection has been made, people on the sales team can easily follow up with them to understand their needs and how the company may be able to help,” Rodoni said. “Understanding a customer’s pain point and identifying the solution in an easy, quick and affordable way will help to transition a lead to a paying customer.”
Connect Before Closing
Content and context are key when marketing to sales leads. Tailor the message so it’s more engaging to the recipient, organize communication based on common needs and priorities. All sales and marketing should be educating and nurturing the customer along their journey.
The ways a business engages online will often look different at various points in the sales funnel. For instance, search engine optimization and social media marketing are effective for attracting new leads, while your website, marketing emails and CRM are typically more effective closing tools.
The engagement shouldn’t end once a lead becomes a customer however, surveys, social media monitoring and analytics as post-sales tools to learn more about how to keep customers delighted.
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