Building your online presence to help manage peak trading periods

To avoid the rush of peak trading periods, customers often visit web stores and business websites to shop for gifts and seasonal essentials in advance. A clear digital marketing strategy helps you increase your online presence so you can serve your customers better.

If you run a business, you're likely aware of the rise in popularity of online shopping. With more customers than ever purchasing goods and booking services in the digital landscape, it's important that your business has a strong online presence.

According to Australia’s Online Shopping Behaviour Report – 2022 by Savvy, Australia’s online shopping industry is worth over $47 billion dollars. The market size has grown by 8.9% in 2022, proving that more consumers are choosing online shopping over bricks and mortar.

To help your business get found online during peak trading periods and beyond, here are three steps you can take to boost your online presence.

Make search engine optimisation a priority

To help more customers find your business website, it’s wise to make search engine optimisation (SEO) a part of your digital strategy.

Not only does a strong SEO strategy help you connect with new markets, it also helps to give your business a competitive edge. The best part? Improving your SEO doesn’t have to take a lot of time.

Three quick ways to improve your business’s SEO

• Use SEO keywords on all pages including in your web store, not just on your blog. If you aren’t focusing on the small details of your website, search engines may rank it lower.
• Create social media accounts for your business so you can promote your products and services to a large audience. Creating accounts on platforms like Facebook and Instagram also helps greatly with the SEO for your business.
• Search engines take into account the reviews your business receives online. So, it's a good idea to ask loyal customers to submit reviews on sites such as Google, Trustpilot and Yelp. And when you receive feedback always remember to respond professionally.

Keep your business information up to date

During peak trading periods, customers will want to find information about your business quickly and easily online. To avoid potential customers having to hunt for critical information, make sure you regularly update the information you share with customers online so that they’re kept up to date on what you have to offer.

Details customers often search for include:

• Opening hours
• Shipping times
• Postage fees
• Product and/or service information
• Your phone number and/or email

To help improve your customer service and avoid online shoppers taking their business elsewhere, make sure the information listed above is easy to find online. Including on your business website and across social media platforms.

How making regular updates online can help your business

Australian Native Food Co., a small batch manufacturing business and South Australia’s Winner in the Building Communities category of the Telstra Best of Business Awards, successfully balance their user-friendly web store with a bricks-and-mortar store.

Founder and managing director Rebecca Paris says regularly updating their website and social media is a huge support through busy periods, and helps to keep their customers and suppliers in the loop. From highlighting new and popular products to announcing their store relocation, the team ensure their information remains up to date.

“We rehashed our website in the last few months,” Rebecca says. “But we’re also doing more regular updates on our social media.”

[How we market is] about us breaking the mould, building the bridge and getting customers to come over and see what we do.

- Rebecca Paris, founder and managing director of Australian Native Food Co.

Promote offers, products and services online

Your business may not be as big as some brands, but you can still adopt the digital marketing strategies used by large retailers. To help you stay competitive, consider promoting sales and products ahead of time via newsletters and social media posts, just like big brands do.

Examples of promotional information you can share with customers online

• Details on upcoming sales
• Descriptions of products and/or services that may appeal to specific audiences
• Delivery information including shipping costs and timeframes

By sharing these details via your business website and across social media platforms, you can boost your online presence which in turn may help to attract more customers. Such digital marketing strategies come in handy during peak trading periods and beyond.

How Australia Native Food Co. promote their offers online

Rebecca Paris says that calling attention to your sales is all about innovative thinking. “Every week in-store, we have a product that we choose for 50% off. That way we can get the consumer engaging with us and into the store,” she says. “From there, it’s about converting them to purchase other products that are available.”

Last holiday season, Australian Native Food Co. also engaged paid social media marketing to help increase their sales, likes and follows. Ahead of the holiday season, the business also developed a new, informative video series to educate and connect with their customers.

Summary of steps that will help to improve your online presence

• Invest in search engine optimisation on your business website
• Include updating your social media platforms in your digital marketing strategy
• Update your business information regularly
• Promote offers on products and services in your web store

Whether you’re an exclusively eCommerce business or you trade on-premises, following these steps will help give you a competitive edge by boosting your online presence.