If you build an ecommerce website for your furniture store, will customers really come? It depends on how much work you put into developing a sustainable customer acquisition strategy. After all, there’s quite a bit of content out there vying for online users’ attention—not to mention a plethora of competitors also operating in an online space. It’s up to you to do your products and overall brand justice by attracting new customers over time.
Here’s how to approach customer acquisition to sell furniture online.
Know Your Unique Selling Proposition
Why would customers choose to visit your furniture store over any other? If it’s difficult for you to give a succinct one-liner in response, it’s going to be even more difficult for new website visitors to assess your offerings. Coming up with a unique selling proposition (USP) will help you zero in on your main selling point so you can pass it along to customers.
When you’re narrowing down your USP, here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- What does your store do to fulfill customers’ wants and needs?
- What is your target audience and what motivates them?
- What do customers see as your strengths and weaknesses?
Optimize Your Website for Easy Use
The difference between a one-time visitor and a repeat customer may be as simple as your website’s user experience. For example, online users tend to scan webpages in a pattern resembling the letter F. This means your store should feature clear, prominent headers and an intuitive page layout for subsequent copy and/or images. A navigation bar linking to vital landing pages will also help customers understand your store and shop your product catalogue without a hiccup.
Go Organic with Search Engine Optimization
Showing up on a search engine results page will help sell your furniture online (without the price tag of paid advertisement attached). his is where the role of expert search optimization strategies becomes crucial. By integrating comprehensive search engine tactics, you can enhance your website’s visibility and relevance in search results. This goes beyond just keyword research; it involves understanding the nuances of search algorithms and user behavior. A holistic approach to optimizing your site can significantly impact your online presence and customer acquisition. As Moz writes, “It’s not always about getting visitors to your site, but about getting the right kind of visitors.” Therefore, you want to make your website’s landing pages and content visible to search engines based on targeted keywords.
Try Online Networking Strategies
Meeting potential customers where they are can help boost customer acquisition, hence the success of forum marketing. But sellers beware: If you drop into furniture, home design and décor-related forums with the single-minded intent to sell, you risk alienating potential customers. It’s more important to join the conversation, provide helpful advice and build up a rapport with fellow forum users than it is to overtly promote your brand. The most successful methods of promoting your products are both creative and useful.
As an example, let’s say a user in an active furniture forum posts a question to crowd source solutions for a wobbly chair. Your brand could link to your own how-to guide for rectifying chair wobble. First and foremost, the information is relevant. Users will likely be impressed with your helpfulness. The latent bonus is the uptick in SEO scores and visitors to your site after the fact.
Create Paid Advertisements
The last component of a well-rounded customer acquisition strategy is pay-per-click advertising (PPC). This necessitates writing concise advertisements emphasizing the price, value and features of your product offerings based on keyword research. Here’s where knowing your USP—and how it compares to competitors within your niche—will come in handy. Every PPC ad should include a strong call to action.
When you’re planning how to approach customer acquisition to sell furniture online, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t exist. But, narrowing your USP and paying attention to both organic SEO and paid search efforts is a good start.