Businesses have always relied on advertising and marketing to bring in new customers as well as hang on to the regulars. Newspapers, radio, and television are the old standbys and they can still be effective. However, in today’s internet-driven world, any business needs an online presence to compete.
This includes music stores. Most owners of this type of business are musicians themselves and have a passion for providing instruments, gear, and other music-related products to their customers. This includes online selling as well as in a brick-and-mortar establishment. Marketing on the web and through social media is essential. For those music store owners who are not tech-savvy, there are great ways to get started.
Ecommerce
The internet allows businesses to reach millions of potential customers all over the world. This is done by setting up a music ecommerce website. Your website should be well-designed, attractive to the eye, and easy to navigate. Visitors should be able to search for and find the products they seek and information about those products should be prominent.
Easy checkout is a feature customers will appreciate as is having your email, phone number, and all other contact information available on one page. The ability to chat with an online sales agent also is helpful to customers with questions.
Building a website requires skill and experience. Hiring a good web design firm is vital to building a site that customers can find and enjoy visiting. Choose one with a solid POS system.
Defining Your Market
In order to reach people who would be interested in your musical products, you must define the group you are targeting. You can do this by creating buyer personas for customers who make purchases.
These are profiles that include information such as name, age, what instruments they play, and preferences for brands. Any information that can help you better serve these customers in the future should be included in their personas. Know what they want and need and you can then provide it.
Use the Right Social Media Platforms
Social media is a marketing tool that can be enormously effective. You do have to make sure you are using the platforms that your target customers use. Instagram is one you should definitely have a presence on. It is used by many professional and amateur musicians. If they buy a piece of gear from you that they really like, they will tell all of their followers.
Facebook can also be useful for older customers who play or have children who do. YouTube allows you to demonstrate products and is popular with people of all ages.
Whichever platforms you choose, be sure to keep track of engagement metrics. You want to have plenty of clicks, likes, and shares. If they are low, you will know you need to make some adjustments.
Use a Social Media Calendar
Posting regularly about sales and special deals will help keep your followers engaged and drive them to your sight. Once a week, plan out your posting calendar for that week and then follow through. Posting certain content on a particular day gets followers in the habit of checking you out each week. For example, there is an online music store that offers an incredible discount on a different product each day. You could also have contests and other promotions that spark interest.
Make Good Use of Calls to Action
Old-school sales people talk about closing the deal. In the online world, this is known as a call to action. You should have a CTA on every social media post or at the end of any blog on your site. The CTA is simply asking your followers to visit your website for more information or to purchase the product advertised. Make sure to include a link. People will be much more likely to heed the call to action if all they have to do is click.
Get Help
Your business is running a music store. That is where your expertise lies. You may not have great marketing skills but that’s OK. You can hire a marketing firm to help you set up a solid online presence.
Running a music store can be fun and rewarding. It is a lot of work and a part of that is marketing online. Make good use of internet sales and you can crush the competition.
