The coronavirus pandemic is one of the worst crises of the last decade. It, and measures to prevent it, have hooked all niches of human activity, including trade. The pandemic has spurred online Commerce. Large companies and stores were forced to close their doors to visitors and think about creating an online store where they could continue to distribute their products and services. But everything was not smooth in the online sales market either. Do not think that since offline stores began to close, things were going great online. Many regular customers stopped buying services and products - in order to save personal money, not fully understanding what will happen next. Do not forget about the huge increase in competition, which was the result of the transition of most trading companies to online stores.

“But how can other companies not only not lose their established customer base, but also increase it-despite the pandemic?” In this article, we will look at several ways to increase the flow of customers that can help your business become even more profitable than before Covid-19-let's Start!

Digital advertising and marketing in General

Despite the fact that this topic is quite prosaic and simple, in fact, at the moment, it takes almost the first place in importance for the success of your business. This section is not about increasing the amount of money invested in online store advertising. the purpose of this section is to draw your attention to the recalculation of these funds in order to more accurately get into your target audience and then increase the indicators.

So, in fact, you first need to do a little research-to find your main target audience, understand its current pain and provide all the means to solve the problem  for the clients of your resource. If your product or service helps a potential customer get rid of an urgent problem, it will increase their interest rate and increase the chances of a positive outcome of the transaction with your online store. Special agencies and studios can help you analyze your target audience.

As an example of the correct redistribution of funds, invested, including on advertising, you can use large chains of fashionable restaurants. Having lost the ability to invite customers to their homes, and being able to save on staff, electricity, and physical advertising-such establishments redesigned their sites and instantly gave their customers the opportunity to receive orders at home. Thanks to the absence of the need to pay for service staff, restaurants were able to afford to cooperate with courier services, thus not only without losing money,but also opening up a new market for consumers. You don't need to increase your financial investment in advertising, you just need to adapt to the situation correctly. Your primary goal is to identify the positive aspects of the situation, such as the absence of the need to pay for the rental of premises, and use the saved funds to promote the online store in a new market.

Contact with the consumer, how to convince the customer of the need to make a purchase in your online store

The second point of our plan is the answer to the question " where to find buyers during the pandemic?". It is worth remembering that due to the pandemic, many people's working hours were shortened, or they were sent to isolation. This led to a decrease in their income, and therefore the ability to buy something. In this situation, you need to fully enter into the position of the buyer and provide them with the best possible offer. Despite the epidemic, the desire of many people to buy a particular product has not faded, and if you also provide them with an extremely favorable offer, sales figures will grow up, and you will feel an increase not only in the number of interested customers, but also in income.

Do your own research or contact the relevant companies that provide information about online store products and find out about the positions that your target audience is interested in at the moment. With this information, you can select products for yourself, for which you can provide discounts, and then it's a small matter. You need to connect all available channels of information and notify your audience about the appearance of such a favorable offer. Thanks to this tactic, you will not only be able to increase the number of customers, but also get specific data based on which it will be possible to fully adapt your online store to the current situation.

The perception of your brand is how the consumer sees it

Despite the desire to make a profit of the maximum possible size, you should also think about your name. Positive feedback about your company can play a key role, not right now, but in the long run. In order to improve your position in the market and at the same time get positive responses from potential customers, it is enough to provide the necessary service to a specific niche of people. Such promotion of online stores and projects is perfectly visible in companies of various plans, ranging from premium Four Seasons hotels that provide free housing for medical professionals to large retail chains and companies engaged in transportation. They provide health care workers with special conditions-thanks to which they are constantly being heard by people and thus receive effective advertising-literally out of thin air. If your online store receives a positive rating from consumers, it will inspire more confidence in them, which will significantly affect not only the number of future customers, but also the revenue in General.

Simplify the mechanics of purchasing a product or service-in your online store

Creating an online store is not easy and it is often better to contact special web studios, such as gloss. One of the main advantages of working with such studios is the ability to contact them at any time for help in re-equipment of the online store. This will save you from the need to find a new programmer, who doesn't yet know exactly how your resource was created, and will allow you to put the store in the hands of the people who created it initially.

The main message of re, equipment of an online store is to simplify the mechanics of making a deal or confirming a purchase. The ideal option is one in which the buyer needs to make as few actions as possible on the store page - and at the same time get the maximum feedback from the service. Buying a product with minimal time and cost for the client will benefit your online resource.
In a pandemic situation, although people have more time, it takes time to adapt to work remotely. That is why it is important that a potential customer can get absolutely all the information they need, including product characteristics and delivery methods-within a few clicks.

The same applies to the scheme of the proof of purchase, there shouldn't be many fields to fill out.The less time a purchase takes for consumers, the higher their loyalty rate will be and the more often consumers will think about making a purchase in your online store -because “ it's fast and convenient”.

Constant communication with clients, providing only verified information and General support for the community

Despite the fact that your store is primarily your business, do not forget about its information capabilities. To increase the number of interested customers, you need to create a positive idea on your resource that can support your customers during this difficult time.

It is the connection with your target audience that can have a great impact on its growth and the number of sales, because being isolated, people want not only to buy a product, but also to get some support “from the outside”. For example, the online store Zappos opened a hotline for customers, where they can talk about anything. During the first day, more than 1000 calls were received on a variety of topics, many people just wanted to talk to someone-being isolated, in order to destroy the illusion of complete loneliness in an “absolutely empty world”.
By building a trusting relationship and connecting with your potential customers, you can both improve your performance now and reap the benefits of your efforts after the end of the pandemic, because your customers will remember the help and understanding you provided and will respond to you in return.

This article is intended to help all online stores cope with the consequences of the still raging epidemic and get out of it with new strength. Using each of the points in the article, you can not only support your business, but also help those segments of the population-who are in dire need of it-by getting a new influx of interested customers after the pandemic.