You could have the best set up online ordering platform with beautiful branding, a quick and easy checkout process for customers and delicious products for them to buy. But if you’re not generating enough traffic, it won’t make a difference.
Traffic is the number of visitors a website or web page gets. You can track where the ‘traffic’ has come from i.e. did they just google your name? Or maybe they came from a link or an ad on one of your social media platforms.
Regardless of how they got there, (although this is important when looking at growth) the main thing you need to know is that in order to increase your sales, you need to be generating enough visits to your website. So here are five things you need to do to increase your traffic…
We talk about this one a lot but it’s for a reason. How do you expect anyone to order from you if they can’t find your online store? Priority number one should be making sure you have multiple buttons on your website and links on your social media that send customers directly to your shopping page. Make sure these are in easy to find places i.e. link in bio or at the top of your homepage. It’s also worth keeping the CTA (call to action) something clear like “Order Now”.
Just because pretty much everything is digital now does not mean print & physical collateral no longer has a place in your marketing strategy. In fact things like flyering are a low cost, high return activity, with 89% of people remembering receiving a flyer, more than any other form of advertising.
Connect your in-person customers with your online platform using QR codes that provide a direct link to your website. You can print them onto flyers, loyalty cards and even window decals, so customers can scan and instantly start browsing.
If you’re going to do one thing with print, make sure you pair it with some kind of incentive. Flyers that include a discount code are 50% more likely to be kept for at least a week and are more likely to drive sales.
Similarly to our first point, how do you expect customers to order from you if you don’t tell them they can? Email and SMS continue to be incredibly effective methods of communication, for the best results we recommend the following:
This doesn’t even have to be a discount, it could be a quick message to let customers know about your new menu or a limited edition product.
Putting a time limit on an offer, creates a sense of urgency and fear of missing out, encouraging customers to commit to buying.
In the case of communications they are really best done in tandem. One of our partners saw a 190% increase in revenue when they used email, SMS and push notifications simultaneously.
We know what you’re thinking, apps are very expensive, but you’d be wrong. With Slerp you can have your own branded ordering app for as little as £25pm. There are so many pros to having an app, it’s a really smooth ordering process for your customers, goes hand in hand with digital loyalty and when done properly is the perfect way to display your brand and own a spot on your customers phone. We won’t go on too much but if you’re interested in an ordering app you can read more here.
Back to driving traffic… if you already have your own ordering app or are getting one, make sure you’re utilising app/push notifications. If you’re not sure what this is, they’re the notifications that pop up on your phone home screen from various apps and they’re FREE to send. Unlike SMS and email that can feel a little spammy at times, push notifications are an ‘official’ looking way to communicate an update or promotion.
Last but not least, social media. Whilst this is a pretty obvious one, it’s still worth mentioning. To see results you need to be posting regular and consistent content reminding your customers that they can order from your online store.
Try utilising features like story links where you can edit CTAs and send customers directly to your store. Paired with an enticing image of your food and posted just before lunch or dinner time, this can be a great way to boost traffic and orders.