Live shopping: Do I need a new marketing strategy?

Building a personal relationship with customers

If increasing online sales is your primary aim and your present marketing approach has reached its limits, there are other avenues you can explore before devoting more of your valuable resources to the advertisement and other expensive activities.

One option is live video shopping. It can help you reach additional clients, but most importantly, it can improve your sales conversion rates. It is a marketing approach that combines online shopping with live videos. Live shopping contains all the qualities of good modern-day marketing but provides more than just marketing, as you will see below. It also complements other marketing activities, allowing you to maximize your investment.

Another powerful alternative is consultative sales. Consultative selling is a sales approach that focuses on building relationships with customers and addressing their needs through open dialogue. Consultative salespeople, also known as needs-based sellers or advisors, act more like guides than salespeople, asking questions and recommending solutions based on the customer's unique requirements and pain points. The goal is to create value and trust with the customer, rather than simply trying to sell them a product.

One plus one sometimes can equal three

However, to increase your sales considerably, you need to combine these two approaches, place them at the core of your marketing strategy, and integrate them into your business processes. Using conventional marketing tools in combination with video marketing, you can bring shoppers to your website. From this point on, live shopping and consultative sales are what will drive your sales conversion.

Using engaging video content, including influencers, live shopping can encourage your visitors to interact with the sales reps in real time to learn about products, ask questions, and make purchases. A sales rep can inquire about the customer’s needs, inform them, and work with them to overcome any negative predispositions, such as misinformation, cynicism, skepticism, and procrastination. Even if it is not possible to close a deal, by answering questions and having a human presence, you can create value in people's minds and strengthen your brand.

Considering the earlier point, it is clear how live shopping plays a critical role—first in product marketing and second in promoting the initial contact. Likewise, consultative selling is vital for clinching a deal. Apart from this, both approaches can lead to sales conversion directly, as the products featured and listed are being purchased during live selling events. This gives customers the opportunity to shop while viewing products in action and to get immediate answers one-on-one should they have any questions.

Brands across industries and sizes are benefiting from this new form of retail. However, if you are new to it, this approach requires an overhaul of the sales and marketing strategy. There is also a learning curve for the sales reps. However, if growing online sales is your top priority, it is worth every dollar. There are four primary mechanisms that a live shopping marketing strategy should build upon: entertaining shoppers (with creative content and/or a new user experience), engaging them live to build a relationship, educating them on the products, and activating the sales cycle. Whether it leads to closing a deal or not, your shoppers won’t be disappointed, and a new relationship will still be created.

What are the most relevant factors to consider?

In summary, this strategy will provide a positive result, both short-term and long-term. In the short term, it helps to meaningfully improve conversion rates and increase brand awareness. In the long term, it leads to brand loyalty, brand authority, and stronger and longer-lasting relationships with prospects, leading to a stable revenue stream.