As more and more consumers look online to shop, find entertainment, and socialize, many companies are starting to see this trend as an opportunity to reach their potential buyers and also offer education and courses online. Being able to find your target audience where they are — surfing and searching the web — you become more likely to “sell” them on services and products in a more holistic, natural way.

Smart transformation

Shopping online is nothing new for consumers, but it’s becoming even more important for businesses to bring their offline sales tactics and reconfigure them for online audiences. From house plants to furniture to fresh produce, people are buying everything online, so you don’t have to worry if there is an online audience for your services or products — there definitely is. But the work is to bring your sales funnel online, and correctly target the right people. Plus, if you offer any kind of education, whether it’s B2B or B2C, now is a great time to offer it virtually, as many people are becoming more interested and open to online learning.

Locate your ideal audience

You probably know your ideal customer, but do you know where they are online, or how they behave? Online behavior helps bring light to people’s buying habits, and there are many tools available to help businesses get insight into what people are doing and where they are spending money. You might learn that your ideal customer makes online purchases after seeing ads on social media, or that some customers love to share information with friends, which leads them to make a buying decision.

Use your website as a sales tool

After finding where your customers are, the goal is to bring them back to your website to continue the buying cycle. Your website is not just a place where they can get information, it’s also a sales tool. It should be easy to navigate, provide testimonials (if applicable), clear information on a service or product, contact information, and give some background on the company & team. Ideally, a person will navigate to your website and find all the information necessary to feel confident in making a purchase or reaching out with additional questions. In essence, your website is an online billboard —always working for you, even during your off-hours.

Make offline services available online

Getting online means also shifting your services so that you can work with your prospects completely virtually. If you’re a personal trainer or fitness instructor, maybe you can offer virtual workouts, either live or pre-recorded. If you tend to meet with clients in person, offer video calls and online presentations. Creating content that your customers can continue to purchase or setting up an e-commerce platform so you can ship items are other ways to move your business online. If your business offers a service that must be in person, consider creating content that your clients can purchase that will teach them skills and provide tools. for example, a dog walker would create content on how to train and occupy their dogs themselves.

Offer Education

Offering online learning doesn’t take away the need for a customer to work with your business, instead, it gives them another opportunity to count on you as the expert. There are tons of courses that can be offered online either as a standalone session or a weekly series. This holds true for both the B2B and the B2C customers. Plus, many people who enjoy online learning will want to continue to work with you either by purchasing products or services for continued support. Courses can be offered live or can be pre-recorded ahead of time and sold on a rolling basis.

Getting your customers to start making buying decisions online won’t be too hard since it’s not a new concept. The challenge is finding them and ensuring their experience is seamless and easy. Taking these steps as you move your sales process online will keep you from hitting blocks and help create a new stream of revenue.