Print-on-demand services provide an opportunity to build a thriving online business that is low risk and low maintenance. However, in order to really have a successful business that is also sustainable you have to put in some effort to improve your store’s rate of conversions and sales. Although technically there is a slight difference between conversion and sales, for the purpose of this article we’ll focus on strategies that improve conversion and result in more sales. Having effective sales strategies will help long term growth of your print-on-demand online store as well as improve your customer lifetime value, a metric that defines your store’s financial health.

Improving conversions and sales  

The goal of your sales strategy is to make your customers spend more on each purchase or make more frequent purchases. You can do this by improving your customer retention and by increasing the average order value, which is the amount spent per order. It’s important to focus on improving your store’s relationship with your customers at every stage and create opportunities for them to come back to your store more often.

Encourage customers to spend more on each order

o   Set a clever pricing model

Your pricing strategy influences what products customers buy and how much they spend on them. This is especially relevant for higher value items. English speakers read from left to right so if you make the leftmost digit as low as possible it has a psychological impact of making the price seem smaller than it really is. For example, $299 seems much cheaper than $300 when there really isn’t much difference.

o   Make use of comparison

Customers like to be able to compare prices and justify their spending. If you have multiple styles in the same product or category, show them side by side along with their unique features. This will help customers make purchase decisions quicker.

o   Create Incentives through discount

Offering special incentives to your customers is an effective strategy for boosting sales. You can try offering discounts, personalized offers like birthday discounts, private sales, or free shipping.

–  Offer Time-sensitive discounts like a flash sale to encourage customers to act now and place larger orders.

–   You can set up Free Shipping or percentage discounts on certain items to promote them.

–   Share discount codes on social media to help bring in new customers.

–   Offer discounts in your emails and improve open rate by including something like “discount code limited offer” in your subject line.

o   Set a free shipping threshold

You can set a threshold for free shipping. For example, customers can avail free shipping if their order limit reaches $100. If their cart is already close to it, they’ll be more likely to add in an extra item to get free shipping.

• Cross sell

This will encourage customers to buy additional items and increase the average order value. If your customer is already interested in a product you can induce them to consider a complimentary product. You can add a section with text like “if you like this you’ll love this” on your product pages. You can also create bundle offers, with multiple products for a lower price than if bought separately. It offers more value for customers and results in your sales rising. 

Build engagement campaigns to keep your customer coming back more often

The purpose of your engagement campaign should be to maintain a connection with your customers, make them feel special, to keep your store at the top of their minds, visit your store more, and to shop more often. To help you achieve that it’s important to have customer segmentation. Grouping your customers by categories like buyer persona, demographics, or any other factor will help you create targeted messaging to drive traffic.

• Pretty packaging please

A memorable unboxing experience will delight your customers and keep them coming back for more. Put in some thought and care into shipping your products. You can add in personalized notes, a free gift, or coupon.

• Emails are effective

Email marketing is an effective engagement tool and you can use it to inform your customers on the latest products, restocks, exclusive deals, and upcoming sales.

• Social media magic

In this age it’s not possible to succeed with your digital business if you ignore social media. Build a strong online presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok. Keep your content fresh and reflect your store’s personality.

• Loyalty programs rule

A loyalty program indicates that you believe in your product and value your customers. Use a loyalty program to show your appreciation to your dedicated customers through exclusive offers and rewards. You can also offer bonus points on each purchase that they can collect for a free product.

• Subscriptions offer ease

If you offer a product that customers need regularly you can consider setting up a subscription program to hook customers for repeat purchase. It offers them convenience and value.

Create a smooth return process

It might seem counterintuitive at first to create a smooth return process. After all, you want to make more sales. But in reality creating a seamless return experience will actually build trust with your customers and they’re more likely to come back after the return. More people will give your store another chance if they had a smooth return process so it will actually be good for your business in the long term.

Focus on customer relations

The beauty of a print-on-demand business is that the boring logistical part of the business is already taken care of for you so you can focus on other aspects. One of the most important aspects is your customer service. Keeping your customers happy is a great way to keep them coming back and also recommend your store to others in their social circle. For a great customer service experience, be sure to always be accessible and responsive. Monitor your customer responses regularly and try to resolve issues quickly. You can use plugins for live chat, add contact forms, or a chatbot.

Make your store interesting

• Pictures speak louder than words

For a really attractive store you need to get creative and snap some appealing product photos. Display your products in the best light and angles. For 93% of consumers, visual appearance is a critical factor influencing their buying decisions. Your print-on-demand store already comes with realistic looking mockups of your products. If you want to stand out, you can order samples of products you want to highlight, and take photos of these products in use. You can also get your friends and family to model for you.

Another great idea is to use customer photos! A large number of consumers (77%) prefer to see customer photos over brand photos to make their purchase decisions. So how do you get customer photos? You ask them! Ask customers for reviews along with photos. You can mention in your order emails that you would love to see how they are using your products. Add hashtags in your marketing and encourage customers to use it to share their photos. You can also host a photo contest with a giveaway. 

• Write compelling product copy

A picture may well be worth a thousand words but your product copy also matters. Your photos can get customers interested and a well written product description can help 88% of them make the purchase decision. Most of your print-on-demand items come with product descriptions. But you can make some tweaks and add your own touch to the description to make the copy come alive. Your goal should be to reassure your customers that they are making the right choice by buying this product. 

• Use social proof to your advantage

Include your Instagram feed right on your main store product ages to show how others are using your products. This inspires your store visitor to buy and feel confident in their purchase.