How To Translate Foot Traffic into Digital Sales

Introduction

There's a lot of talk about how customers are moving away from in-person retail and toward online shopping. And it's true that more consumers are shopping online than ever before. But what is less talked about is the fact that in-person customer engagement is still very important when it comes to making sales.

In fact, according to a recent survey by BrightLocal, 83% of Americans prefer face-to-face interaction with businesses when making purchasing decisions—a number which has gone up 6% since 2017! So if you're looking for ways to turn your foot traffic into digital sales, read on for some tips on how small business owners can ensure their customers are engaged across multiple channels:

Connect With Customers On All Channels

You can't rely on email alone to reach your customers, and you're probably already aware of that. But what if you were to stretch your thinking beyond email?

It's not enough to just connect with people through social media, either. You need to think of different ways in which you can use each channel to reach out (and keep in touch) with the people who are already interested in what you have to offer.

You also have a website, right? Well, then why not make sure that it's optimized for mobile? Most internet users now access the web from their smartphones or tablets instead of desktop computers, so making sure that your site works well on mobile devices is essential for anyone trying to sell anything online. Plus, having an optimized mobile version of your site helps with SEO because Google considers them more "mobile-friendly" than their desktop counterparts.

Send Automated Emails That Are Personalized For Each Customer

Email marketing is one of the best ways to stay in touch with your customers, but it can be time-consuming. To make sure you're getting the most out of your email outreach efforts, automate as much as possible by setting up a drip campaign and automating follow-up emails. Drip campaigns help make sure that customers are always seeing relevant content from you—no more sending out irrelevant offers after they've already bought from you!

Automated emails work best when there is personalization involved, whether it's showing something specific about their purchase or asking them for feedback on a product or service. This helps build trust between the customer and brand while giving them something useful (and not just an advertisement). If they're interested in what they've purchased from you before, this personalization will likely resonate better with them than any generic message ever could.

Use Social Media To Gather Insights About Your Customers

Social media is a great place to get information about your customers. You can learn what they like, and don't like. You can also use social media to find out about the competition, as well as what they are doing right or wrong.

Your Website Is Still Important For Retention

Your website is still a valuable tool for customer engagement. Even in the age of mobile and social, it's important to remember that most of your traffic will come from your website, so you need to make sure that you're using all of the data you collect on these pages to better engage with customers online and offline.

If you have an eCommerce site, these steps are especially important:

• Use Google Analytics to determine which pages are most popular with visitors (and which ones aren't). Then use this information as a guide when creating new assets like blog posts or product descriptions.
• Write blog posts with titles that encourage people to click through—not just "How It Works," but also something like "5 Things You Need To Know Before You Make A Decision." This helps increase the chance that people will stay on our page longer than they would have otherwise—especially if there's some kind of call-to-action button at the end!

Engage With Your Customers Online, And Offline

Now that you know what your customers are doing, it's time to start using that information. You can use this data to personalize your marketing, improve customer service and website functionality, and increase the effectiveness of your social media marketing.

You can also use your data to better engage with customers online by creating content tailored specifically for them based on their interests and previous purchases. You can then promote this content through ads or on social media channels where they're likely to see it.

You Need A Strategy To Integrate Online Marketing With In-Person Marketing

You can use almost any channel available to you in your marketing efforts: print, digital, and social media are all effective channels for reaching new customers. But at the end of the day, it’s still a numbers game: your goal is to get as many people through your front door as possible.

This is where in-person marketing comes in (pun intended). If you want to grow your business by attracting new customers, then you need to make sure that there's no disconnect between what they see online and what they experience when they arrive at the store or restaurant. In order to do this successfully, you need a strategy for integrating online marketing with in-person sales (and vice versa). For example:

• Create an event page on Facebook for every event held at your establishment—from happy hour specials to live music events—and encourage people to RSVP before attending so that you can ensure enough space is available for everyone who shows up. Then follow up with those same guests by asking them if they had a good time when they leave so that their next visit feels more personalized than just another transaction at “the store."
• Use social media posts and influencers' endorsements of products/services as promotional opportunities during store visits; this will increase brand exposure while also encouraging repeat purchases over time via referrals made by satisfied customers.

Conclusion

Digital marketing is an exciting way to reach customers, but it’s not always enough on its own. You need to be able to connect with your customers on all channels, and use the data you collect from them to make better decisions about how you market your business. It’s important not only for retention but also growth—and if you want any kind of long-term success then in-person interactions are key.