If you run an e-commerce store, there are lots of things your e-commerce website design company can do to help increase sales, not just from new customers but also repeat sales.
Marketing becomes a whole lot easier when you can turn your customers into raving fans.
Below in no particular order are our top tips for getting the most from your e-commerce store.
Build Trust
Customers will only buy from you if they trust you. When launching a new site this is much more difficult than with an existing site where this might already be established.
So how do you build trust? Be transparent with things like stock, lead times and extra costs. Provide clear contact details for enquiries should a return or refund be required.
It’s essential to have an SSL certificate for your store. Invest in your website design and development. A site that looks the part and functions smoothly will build trust.
Abandoned Cart Emails
According to Mailchimp, 69% of users abandon their cart at the checkout page.
So a great way of increasing sales is to automate the sending of reminder emails at set intervals after a user has left.
It’s important to try and work out why they left – were there last-minute hidden charges, ie perhaps the site does accept their preferred payment method?
Upsells/Cross-sells
There are a couple of key places on your website where you have a great opportunity to push other products into view.
Firstly on the product page. Perhaps there is a list of related items or items which when also purchased at the same time, trigger a discount.
The other opportunity is the basket page. It’s a bit like at a supermarket when you find sweets and chocolate just before the checkout. A great last opportunity to present some other products to the users.
Upsells and cross-sells should ideally be targeted, based on what the user is buying, to give you the best chance of increasing sales.
Transparent Shipping Costs
Don’t surprise shoppers with expensive last-minute shipping costs.
Make it clear early on in the process what shipping costs their order may incur. Especially if they are ordering from overseas.
Where there are conked shipping rules, having a shipping cost calculator tool can really help, or at least a table/matrix listing out the potential costs.
Simple Checkout Process
Checkout needs to be easy. Don’t force a user to create an account if it’s not necessary, enable guest checkout.
Only collect the information necessary for the sale.
Confusing customers with an array of checking boxes to opt-in or opt out of various subscriptions can have a negative impact on things.
Payment Options
There are several credit card processors out there such as Stripe.com which will integrate with your site and allow easy credit/debit card transactions.
Although a higher commission, it’s useful to have PayPal as not all shoppers will have their cards to hand. A saved PayPal login can help.
Also, ha find a system which allows Apple Pay can be a great idea.
For higher-value items, having a credit-based payment provider like Klarna can help convert additional customers into sales.
Reviews
Reviews will build Trust. Think about the last time you made a well-considered purchase. Did you check out the reviews?
Not just reviews of the product, but reviews of the seller as well?
Reviews are a well-known contributor to increasing conversion rates. The more the better. Don’t worry about having 1 or 2 bad reviews. It’s a bit more suspicious if you have hundreds of 5-star reviews.
When there is a negative response, always reply and ensure you have done all you can to rectify the issue.
Platforms like Woocommerce have a native review system, but also consider 3rd party integrations like TrustPilot, Reevoo or Google Reviews. Your e-commerce website design company can advise you on options here.
Product Photography / Videos
It’s true a picture says a thousand words. Make sure you have as many good photographs of your products as possible.
Mix it up, so not just product shots on a white background, but ‘lifestyle’ shots of the products in use.
The images need to be of sufficient resolution that you can have a zoom or cloud hover function allowing users to see in more detail.
Have videos whenever possible. If applicable show the product being used or assembled or show its features.
Targeted Email Marketing
By segmenting your email list and grouping customers by products purchased, you can create very targeted campaigns which will send promotions about relevant products to the right customers.
Just sending out blanket emails can be frustrating to customers. So ensure you are structuring campaigns by looking at things like purchase history.
Tools such as HubSpot or MailChimp integrate with your e-commerce store and can sync purchase data with your contacts to help you create structured email marketing campaigns.
Build Your Email List
Having a clear email signup form on your site might not be enough to collect email addresses.
You can offer an incentive, for example, if they sign up for a newsletter they get 10% off their next purchase.
Have the option on the checkout page for buying customers to sign up for email communications.
An email blast is a great way to introduce new products to your existing and potential customers. And the more people you can send it to the better.
Delight with Rapid Order Fulfilment
It’s always better to underpromise and overdeliver. Imagine how happy your customers would be if they receive their orders a day early.
Amazon has nailed the fulfilment side of things, with orders being received the next day even if you place them late in the evening.
Customers will always recommend someone who delights them with quick delivery.
Remove Friction
As a general rule, remove anything from your site which might interfere with the buying process, confuse users and create frustrations. Your e-commerce website design company can run user tests to check for any pain points.
For example, don’t ask for information twice. Don’t force sign-up, or create a complicated buying process. Keep clear easy navigation to things like the checkout page.
Don’t hide products deep within category pages, ensure you have an easy product filtering system.
Leverage User Generated Content
Enabling the facility for customers to upload photos of the products in use can help. Also allowing customers to answer questions asked by other potential customers can save you time and build trust. If other customers are helping you sell it’s making your life easier!
You can do this on your site or through social media with the use of relevant hashtags.
Sending products for influencers to review can increase visibility too.
Conclusion
Remember, it’s the experience, not just the product. Did you make the process of buying from you easy? Are you sending customers relevant communications to keep in touch? Did you exceed expectations?
How are you coming across in the marketplace, are you a well-respected retailer of your products within your industry?
We discussed the EAT approach in our previous post and it’s so true with e-commerce. Expertise, Authority and Trust. Build these and your online shop will go from strength to strength.
Get in touch or give our team a call today if you are looking for an e-commerce website design company. Let’s see how we can help you grow.
