Customers generally come to your e-commerce store because they are thinking of buying from you. Yet we all know that only a small percentage of your site’s visits will result in a sale.
Optimizing your online conversion rates is vital if you want to drive profits in the new year. Let’s look at some ideas that can help you turn browsers into buyers.
#1. Make your products shine
The way products are featured on your online store is incredibly important. Large pictures with plenty of white space and multiple images from several angles serve to make your products more attractive.
Marketing experts suggest that it’s helpful to make the images interactive, giving your customers the ability to zoom in and rotate the product images.
The text is important, too. Don’t just rely on the manufacturer’s words. Doing so will damage your SEO score as you will be lumped in with all the other retailers using the same copy.
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Write better descriptions that summarize the features and benefits in a way that’s useful. Be careful not to be too salesy, but don’t be afraid to go into detail. A well-written summary followed by bullet points listing the product information will be very effective in incentivizing the purchase.
#2. Develop trust
Customers can be put off by a site where it’s difficult or impossible to find the company’s contact information. It gives the impression that customer service after sales may prove to be a problem.
Put your address and a free-phone number somewhere easy to find in order to show customers that you are accessible if they have difficulty later on.
Remember, today’s switched-on shoppers expect 24-7 customer support. So incorporating a Live Chat function into your site will let your customers know that you are there for them when they need you. There is no better way to develop loyalty than by meeting your customers’ needs promptly and efficiently.
Social proof is also important in trust-building. The majority of online customers will research user reviews before buying. Why not feature some beside the product descriptions? They will reassure visitors that your products have received the stamp of approval from satisfied customers.
xSellco Feedback is a terrific resource for generating genuine positive feedback. xSellco automates your feedback requests in a smart, targeted way that results in high volumes of positive reviews for your SKUs, helping you to quickly grow your sales by harnessing the power of word-of-mouth.
#3. Make shopping easy
Walmart, Amazon, eBay and the other household names have all mastered the lesson of taking the pain out of online shopping—and you would do well to learn from them.
Think of the process from the customer’s point of view. Make it easy to find the product through clear search functions. Once the product has been located, good images and text will give the shopper the information they need to make a decision.
Make sure your call-to-action button is clear and unmissable. There is nothing more off-putting than a cluttered page that you have to scour to find the “buy” button.
Once the customer has clicked it, the sale is yours to lose. If you are not converting from here, your process may be encouraging cart abandonment and you need to take steps to fix these issues.
#4. Minimize cart abandonment
A number of factors are linked to cart abandonment, the most significant of which is shipping cost. Almost half of all online retailers are now offering free shipping—you might want to consider it.
If it’s not an option, you may wish to offer free shipping on purchases over a certain amount. A “countdown timer” (free shipping if you spend another €31.44) might be an effective way of driving sales.
If shipping isn’t your problem, you might want to look at other obstacles you are throwing up for your customers. Forced registration, slow loading pages, password difficulties, tricky security questions, complicated or time-consuming forms for your customers to fill in have all been cited as significant reasons for cart abandonment.
Take a new look at the hurdles your customers have to overcome in order to buy and see if you can streamline it as much as possible. Every obstacle you put in the way will increase cart abandonment figures.
Sometimes customers get distracted while shopping. Why not email them reminding them of the purchases they left behind? Make sure that the products are featured graphically and that you have an easy CTA button embedded in the email to make the process as simple as possible.
The bottom line
Remember, customers have come to your site because they are thinking about making a purchase. The more you can put yourself into their shoes and make the process easy and satisfying for them, the more they will return to your site when they want to buy. Following these simple tips will put you out far ahead of any competitors who are still making the basic mistakes in e-commerce.
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