The most effective ways to increase online sales for growing manufacturers combine a fast, conversion-focused website with trust-building tools like testimonials, smart upselling, and personalized follow-ups.
The right tactics depend on your sales model, your buyer's journey, and how well your current site builds credibility.
Here are 10 proven tips to help you boost your online sales — whether you run a direct-to-consumer store, a B2B wholesale operation, or a manufacturer selling through an eCommerce portal.
1. Implement a simple UX/UI
Keep your website simple and beautiful. Beautiful does not mean it's full of extra features. A beautiful design means an effective design that does not confuse your potential customers. One way to do that is by hiring a UX/UI agency — one that focuses on user experience and guides visitors toward the action you want them to take.
Contrary to belief, offering too many products will also confuse customers and drive them away. Entrepreneur mentions that offering fewer products with complete descriptions always leads to higher sales. This allows companies to focus on specific products and answer all the questions customers have. You don't have to stop selling other products — instead, sell them on other pages or as follow-up offers.
Apple is a great example of simple yet effective design. Though Apple has many products, you only see the featured ones on their homepage. Notice the clean menu that leads visitors to other pages for additional products.
2. Optimize your website loading time
Websites naturally have different loading speeds. A website that loads instantly will gain more traction from users. But if your site takes several seconds to open a simple page, it's a turn-off. Customers will move on to competitors offering similar products.
According to Google, 53% of mobile users abandon a site that takes longer than three seconds to load. That lost traffic translates directly into lost sales.
Use free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your site speed on desktop and mobile. It provides specific optimization suggestions — from compressing images to eliminating render-blocking resources — so you know exactly what to fix.
3. Instill urgency
Your content should instill a sense of urgency in your visitors. Urgency compels them to take action rather than "think about it" and never come back. Here are a few ways to create that urgency:
Offer a limited-period price discount that pushes visitors to decide before time runs out
Offer additional bonuses for free if visitors buy within a particular time frame
Display limited quantity alerts (e.g., "Only 3 left in stock")
Amazon does this exceptionally well. They use alerts to show limited stock levels and delivery deadlines — "Order within 2 hours to get it by Friday." The message becomes more compelling as visitors get closer to the cutoff.
Test these tactics on your own site and measure which ones move the needle for your audience.
4. Build trust with testimonials and case studies
One of the easiest ways to increase online sales is to convince visitors you've delivered results before. This convincing comes in the form of customer testimonials, case studies, and industry awards.
The number of buyers who read and trust online reviews keeps rising. According to BrightLocal, 85% of buyers trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation — which is remarkable, considering those reviews are from strangers.
To display testimonials effectively, put them on your product pages, landing pages, pricing page, and home page. Help Scout, for example, shows customer testimonials right on their homepage to establish trust before visitors even scroll to the product details.
If you're a growing manufacturer building your brand, case studies that show measurable outcomes (e.g., "reduced lead times by 30%") are especially persuasive for B2B buyers.
5. Incorporate upselling
"Your contract is set to expire by the end of the month. Would you be interested in the possible upgrades?"
We've all heard this from a car lease dealer or cell phone carrier. That's upselling — convincing the buyer to purchase a more expensive item, upgrade, or add-on.
Upselling works. According to Shopify, upselling is 20 times more effective than cross-selling online. Customers might not know better products exist, or they might need a nudge to see that a different option fits their needs.
Before you upsell:
Make sure you're upselling a related product
The upgraded product must genuinely be better, since it comes with a price increase
Present the upsell at a natural decision point (product page, cart, or checkout)
J.Crew does this well with their "Shop The Look" feature. Visitors browsing dress pants see a curated outfit suggestion, which essentially says: "Here's what goes with it." It feels helpful, not pushy.
Want to put these ideas into action?
Explore MRP software built for growing manufacturers →6. Install a live chat
Live chat is practically a requirement for online stores. It's more effective than emails, contact forms, or phone calls because it generates an immediate response while the buyer is still on your site.
An American Marketing Association study shows that live chat can increase conversions by at least 20%, and customers are three times more likely to make purchases on websites with live chat versus those without.
Intercom is a great example of live chat done well. They not only provide an excellent chat service but also use it on their own site by sending targeted notifications when you perform specific actions — like visiting the pricing page twice.
7. Optimize your calls-to-action
More conversions lead to more sales. And the place where that conversion happens is your call-to-action (CTA) — the button, banner, or link that hooks the reader into taking action.
Without a strong CTA, you won't get subscribers, orders, or event attendees. So what makes a good CTA? Personalization.
You need to understand what your target audience wants and where they are in their journey. In a study of over 93,000 CTAs, HubSpot found that tailoring CTA text based on whether users were visitors, leads, or paying customers led to 42% more visitors converting into leads. That's a significant lift from one change.
Netflix uses persuasive CTA text to guide visitors to their free trial. They emphasize how easy it is to start watching — and how easy it is to cancel if you're not satisfied. That reduces friction and builds confidence.
8. Launch a loyalty or rewards program
It costs much more to acquire a new customer than to sell to someone who has already bought from you. Repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers. A loyalty program is a great way to motivate customers to make repeat purchases.
Here are the most common types of rewards programs:
| Program Type | How It Works | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Points system | Spend more to earn more points | High-frequency purchases |
| Tier system | Higher loyalty = better rewards | Long-term retention |
| Value-based | Purchases trigger charitable donations | Mission-driven brands |
| Coalition | Partner with other businesses for shared rewards | Broader customer reach |
| Paid VIP | Customers pay a fee for premium perks | High-value repeat buyers |
Barnes & Noble runs a paid VIP program at $39.99 per year. It offers discounts, free shipping, and other benefits that are genuinely valuable to frequent buyers. The key is making the rewards feel worth more than the cost of entry.
9. Perform A/B testing
No two businesses are the same. Your customers are unique, and what works for one company doesn't necessarily work for yours. So how do you figure out what drives sales on your site?
Use A/B testing — comparing two versions of a single variable by measuring how users respond to version A versus version B. Here are a few tests you can run right now:
- Change the text on your call-to-action buttons
- Test different headlines on your landing pages
- Replace stock images with more candid or product-specific images
Reduce the number of required fields in your contact or checkout form
Test free shipping thresholds versus percentage discounts
Don't assume anything — some results will surprise you. When EA was preparing to release a new version of SimCity, they tested a landing page with a promo banner for pre-orders against a version with no promotional messaging. The variation with no offer messaging drove 43.4% more purchases. People just wanted to buy the game and didn't need the incentive.
10. Personalize your re-engagement
Have a follow-up process for every stage of the customer journey. Customers want individual attention. No one wants to feel like a number.
According to PwC, 86% of consumers will pay more for a better customer experience. Personalized re-engagement is one of the most effective ways to increase your online sales over the long term.
Here are a few ways to boost customer engagement:
Get customer feedback and encourage reviews after each purchase
Keep track of customers' special days — birthdays, anniversaries, membership milestones
Follow up with inactive customers through a personalized email series
Engage unhappy customers immediately — it's cheaper to retain than to acquire
Sephora does this well. They address customers by name and offer a free gift during the birthday month — redeemable at online checkout or in store. It's a small gesture that keeps customers coming back.
Put these tips into practice — automatically
Brahmin handles inventory, production, and orders so you can focus on growing your business.
Join 300+ manufacturers already using Brahmin
Ways to increase online sales through your website
Many of the tips above focus on what happens *on* your site. But if you're looking to increase website sales specifically, it helps to think about the full funnel — from the moment someone lands on your page to the moment they check out.
Here's a quick summary of the website-specific improvements that tend to have the biggest impact:
Speed — Get your page load time under 3 seconds
Navigation — Make it obvious how to find products and check out
Trust signals — Testimonials, reviews, and security badges above the fold
Mobile optimization — Over half of eCommerce traffic comes from mobile devices
Clear CTAs — One primary action per page, personalized when possible
If you sell products online and also manage production or inventory, make sure your backend systems can keep up with the orders your optimized site generates. Nothing kills repeat business faster than shipping delays caused by stockouts.
How to increase online sales through social media
Social media isn't just for brand awareness — it can directly drive sales. Here are a few approaches that work:
Shoppable posts — Platforms like Instagram and Facebook let you tag products directly in posts, so users can buy without leaving the app
User-generated content — Repost customer photos and reviews. This builds trust and acts as free advertising
Retargeting ads — Show ads to people who visited your site but didn't purchase. These campaigns typically have higher conversion rates than cold traffic ads
Consistent posting — Share behind-the-scenes content, product tips, and customer stories. Staying visible keeps you top of mind when buyers are ready to purchase
The key is meeting your customers where they already spend time and making the path from discovery to checkout as short as possible.
Frequently asked questions
How do you increase online sales fast?
The fastest wins usually come from improving your website's loading speed, adding trust signals like testimonials, and optimizing your calls-to-action. These changes don't require new traffic — they help you convert more of the visitors you already have.
What are the 7 P's in sales?
The 7 P's are Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Process, and Physical Evidence. They're a marketing framework that helps you evaluate every aspect of your offer. For online sales, Place (your website and channels), Promotion (how you drive traffic), and Process (how smooth the buying experience is) tend to have the biggest impact.
How can a small business increase online sales?
Focus on a few high-impact changes first: simplify your website design, add customer reviews, install live chat, and run A/B tests on your checkout flow. You don't need a huge budget — you need a fast site, clear CTAs, and a reason for customers to trust you.
How do you improve online sales with better targeting?
Start by understanding who your best customers are and what they care about. Use that insight to personalize your CTAs, segment your email lists, and run retargeting ads to people who've already visited your site. Personalized messaging consistently outperforms generic campaigns.
How Brahmin Solutions can help
Growing online sales as a manufacturer hits a ceiling fast when your e-commerce platform doesn't talk to your production floor. Brahmin syncs inventory in real time with Shopify and WooCommerce, so when a customer buys on one channel, available stock updates everywhere — no manual adjustments, no overselling because someone forgot to update the spreadsheet.
When finished goods drop below a threshold, a Shopify order can trigger a work order in Brahmin, connecting your sales velocity directly to production planning. And if you sell wholesale alongside retail, the B2B portal lets your wholesale customers see real-time availability and place orders that flow into the same system. The result is one source of truth for inventory across every channel you sell on. If you're scaling online and need your backend to keep pace, book a demo and we'll walk through how it connects to your store.
About the author
Brahm Meka is Founder & CEO at Brahmin Solutions.
