Globally, the market for PPE is projected to reach over $55.6 billion by 2028. This is largely thought to be due to an increased awareness and emphasis on employee health and safety, along with the drive to make continual advances in technology, fit, and functionality so that PPE achieves maximum comfort without sacrificing effectiveness. As this market continues to grow, more consumers are looking to make these purchases online. Here’s our suggestions to help online sellers take advantage of this growing market.
1. Invest in high quality product imagery and video.
Investing in high quality imagery allows your company to put its best face forward and showcases your products well. This gives your buyers more confidence in what they're purchasing and can help them "see" how these products work. Customers want to see high resolution images, with the ability to zoom and see multiple angles of the product. Create content that allows the viewer to have a good understanding of exactly what they are buying.
In addition, videos showing your products "in action" can also encourage more engagement and invite clients to spend more time on your website. This along with unboxing, or demonstration videos are a terrific tool to engage potential buyers.
2. Create SEO-optimized item descriptions.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential factor when creating quality copy on your platform. Why? Because it helps your customers find you.
By using keywords and keyword phrases that are industry-related and on trend with current web searches, you're making your website more visible and more likely to show up in a Google search.
Not sure which type of words and phrases you should use to bolster your copy? Google Trends and other SEO analytic tools can help. Also, keeping up-to-date with trade and market news can also make sure your products, product descriptions, and even blog posts remain innovative and relevant.
Regardless of SEO optimization, product descriptions should be concise, easy to read, original, and clearly tell the buyer how this product can meet a need.
3. Invest in a robust, user-friendly online selling platform.
It's extremely important to make an eCommerce platform as easy to use as possible—a high value to most prospective buyers. Why? Because their time is valuable. By making your website easy to navigate, it shows your audience you respect their time.
Among the most important guidelines to follow include:
- Make your site's navigation interface consistently easy to see and use. Putting the navigation bar at the top of the webpage with clear tabs (Home, About, Products, Contact, etc.) is simple and straightforward.
- Keep the buying process as streamlined and short as possible. In other words: make it easy for your customer to buy your product. Don't ask for too much information and keep the steps simple—otherwise you run the risk of customers abandoning purchases out of frustration.
- Don't force registration on first-time visitors to your site.
- Have a robust search tool
Having a high quality online platform that is regularly updated with new fresh content is also a great way to encourage repeat visitors to your website (client retention). One of the most helpful ways to encourage customers to return to your website is to offer them something new to learn about or view each time they come back. Educational blog posts, guest posts on other websites, and active social media campaigns are highly valuable.
Delegation can be extremely valuable here. If you and your team aren't comfortable with blog writing, website building, and other aspects of your online platform, consider outsourcing and consulting with other professionals (e.g., freelance copywriters, digital marketing specialists, etc.).
4. Commit to excellence in customer service.
Market research tends to show an important trend:
Negative feedback tend to reach a larger audience more quickly compared to positive feedback. So, doing your part to optimize the customer experience and minimize the amount of negative reviews your company receives can garner an enormous return on investment.
Some helpful ways to bolster your customer service include:
- Offer satisfaction guarantees, refunds, and special offers (e.g., free shipping, bundle discounts) as appropriate.
- Utilize an eCommerce platform to make credit card and debit card processing safe and secure.
- Ensure prompt shipping and delivery.
- Consider offering live chat options on your website for real-time, personalized engagement
- Provide customers with the opportunity to talk to an actual person while calling your company.
- Follow up with integrity if (and likely when) snafus occur.
Customer feedback and reviews should also be encouraged and responded to whenever possible. Many prospective buyers rely on testimonies from other customers to help them narrow down their options.
5. Offer quality products.
This is perhaps the most obvious and foundational element of sales.
As mentioned, the global market for PPE is continuing to expand. Buyers looking to procure PPE for their companies and organizations will be looking for companies that offer products which are up-to-date on recent advances in technology and textiles. Why? Because this appeals to employees and encourage proper PPE compliance. Committing to selling high quality products doubles down on the other elements of your successful selling campaign, and increases buyer confidence, as well.
Interested in learning more about our innovative disposable PPE products and how they could help your niche market fulfill their needs? Contact International Enviroguard today and be sure to ask about our product content guide. We've invested in our product imagery and optimized our descriptions to help you sell more! We are industry leaders in protective clothing and are committed to helping employees around the globe maintain Comfortable Confidence™ for all their occupational safety needs. International Enviroguard’s product content enables distributors and online resellers to effectively grow its share in the growing PPE industry.