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Boost Your e-Commerce Conversion Rate with These 4 Simple Hacks
Boost Your e-Commerce Conversion Rate with These 4 Simple Hacks
If you have an e-commerce website, conversion rate is the best way for you to see how successful a businessperson (let’s be PC here) you are. It is not enough to be simply present on the Internet, you have to have a product page that makes your customers’ shopping experience not only pleasant, but also inviting.
The Internet has allowed stores to come to buyers with one simple click, so you should be as approachable as possible not only for a one-time buy, but also to bring in repeat customers.
(If you aren’t sure if you even need an e-commerce website for your business, read one of our earlier blog posts.)
Here are 4 simple hacks which will surely help to bring about a rise in your online sales.
1) Make your web page simple and easy to use
When a prospective buyer comes to your website, the whole buying process needs to be as simple and easy as possible. Navigating through your e-store shouldn’t require a map, so don’t make visitors go on a treasure hunt on your website. People who are adventurous enough for that tend to go to actual shops when they want to buy something, wouldn’t you say?
To make everything visible and easily accessible, categorize neatly so that all the site elements can be easily found and clicked on. Your search bar needs to be in a prominent position and give relevant results. Imagine if your own grandma tried to find a cardigan in her favorite color and started wandering through your e-store… What if she found an ugly holiday sweater for you that you’d hate on sight, but be forced to wear year after year? Make your own life easier and eliminate that possibility pronto!
Once on the product page, the customer should be focused on nothing but your product, so clean up the sidebars and generally minimize the number of links that can lead your customer off of your site. You don’t want them going to your competition, do you?
Make a quality description of your product, one that will focus on who it is for, what it can do and why it is good. Use multiple big, zoomable and rotatable pictures that best portray the item you are selling from not only different angles, but also showing the way it is used.
Maybe a kid will like what they are seeing and pester their parents to buy them your product.
And then another, and another…
Simply because they like your pictures.
Why even stop at pictures? You can also employ short videos provided by your team reviewing products or satisfied customers using their favorite new product (bought from you, of course). The videos can even be funny, but as long as they talk about your product in a positive light, there will purchases.
Moreover, customer reviews are a great way to add more credibility to your description copies, since they are considered to be an unbiased source by reluctant customers. According to Invesp, as many as 90% of customers read online reviews before turning to a business, 88% trust them as much as personal recommendations, and no less 72% will follow through on your call to action.
Also, make your e-commerce site mobile-friendly, since shopping while drinking coffee with friends is a nice way of spending more money (or making, in your case). We all like to mess with our phones while shooting the breeze with friends, so use that to your advantage!
2) Make them an offer they can’t refuse
As a seller, even one in a virtual environment, you need to make yourself more appealing to customers than your competition. A good way to do that is to give them a little nudge in the right direction (toward your checkout cart) by having time or quantity sensitive deals and promotions. Who can honestly say they don’t like deals? Right?
You can play the card of impulse shopping by offering limited-time deals, package deals or even free items if a purchase is made before the deal ends. Emphasize the amount of money buyers will save if they buy now, make it visible how many people have already bought the product, the quantity of product in stock and how much time is left. Offer free coupons right there on your e-commerce website, so as not to lead people off your site in search of them, but toward spending more money on what you are selling.
Another great way to attract and keep loyal customers is offering free shipping on your products. I know that I don’t even think about buying something online if I have to pay for the product (or more often than not, quite a few of them) to be delivered to me, especially if I am a loyal customer. This feature shouldn’t even be considered a privilege nowadays, but a small cost to pay for the increase in your sales. Psychologically speaking, whenever a person is offered anything free, it is a good purchasing incentive. So strike while the iron is hot and get your buyers to come back to your website over and again.
3) Be of service to your customers
No matter how well you think you have optimized your e-commerce website, a situation that requires your help is bound to emerge. After all, there will always be those who will want you to tell them if you have the cardigan in grandma’s favorite color (or confirm you are out of those ugly holiday sweaters). Ease their minds and respond right away so that grandmas everywhere can be let loose on your e-store.
It is important to make your contact information clearly visible, especially if you are a small business and not a well-established brand. In addition, it leaves a nice impression if your contact phone number is free to call, as well as if there is a real person on your end instead of an automated response. When your customers want to talk to a robot, Siri is always in the mood, so don’t deprive them of topics to cover together.
This also goes for live chat support. It is no surprise that immediate answers to customer inquiries lead to purchases, so make buyers feel cherished and they will come back and be loyal. According to MailMunch, as many as 55% of potential customers do not make a purchase on an e-commerce website because they’ve received bad customer service. To avoid that happening to you, train your employees to be knowledgeable about both site navigation and inventory, be mindful of the time you have cited as when customers can contact you and don’t be afraid to communicate with your buyers, as it can give you great feedback. Establishing a natural flow of communication with customers can also help with decluttering your website, since you will have less need to bury buyers with filling-in forms. Let’s be brutally honest here, no one likes those, not even the people who create them.
4) Earn buyers’ trust
For your e-commerce website to be trusted, you need to generate credibility and do it fast if you want buyers to leave you their credit card information, name, number, shoe size…
Just kidding, don’t ask for shoe size.
Unless you actually sell shoes.
Then, it would be a good idea.
Be subtle about it, but assure your customers that you are a real deal and not a fraud.
Firstly, use SSL protocol and security badges all throughout your website to let them know you care about their privacy and safety. It goes without saying that you should have active accounts with well-known certification brands (McAfee, GeoTrust), and not just put them on there for show.
Secondly, inform buyers how you will track and handle information they are to leave with you.
Finally, keep your checkout process as simple as possible – don’t make them regret spending time in your online store by asking them to fill in registration forms or various questionnaires in order to buy your product. No one wants to reach the finish line and then realize they have more to go.
By sending trust signals to your site’s visitors, you are already on the path of turning them into loyal customers.
Don’t risk sending them to competition by asking too many unnecessary questions, and then not handling all the given information properly.
Keep the shoe size a secret, people!
All jokes aside, it’s time to bring it home. There are many other ways of boosting your e-commerce conversion rate, but here you have just a few suggestions that will make you stand out from competition if implemented appropriately. Think about both customers you want to attract and those you already have, and make your e-commerce website a place they will turn to first and last. Devote yourself to your buyers, don’t take them for granted and invest in your online presence.
toward spending more money on what you are selling.
Another great way to attract and keep loyal customers is offering free shipping on your products. I know that I don’t even think about buying something online if I have to pay for the product (or more often than not, quite a few of them) to be delivered to me, especially if I am a loyal customer. This feature shouldn’t even be considered a privilege nowadays, but a small cost to pay for the increase in your sales. Psychologically speaking, whenever a person is offered anything free, it is a good purchasing incentive. So strike while the iron is hot and get your buyers to come back to your website over and again.
3) Be of service to your customers
No matter how well you think you have optimized your e-commerce website, a situation that requires your help is bound to emerge. After all, there will always be those who will want you to tell them if you have the cardigan in grandma’s favorite color (or confirm you are out of those ugly holiday sweaters). Ease their minds and respond right away so that grandmas everywhere can be let loose on your e-store.
It is important to make your contact information clearly visible, especially if you are a small business and not a well-established brand. In addition, it leaves a nice impression if your contact phone number is free to call, as well as if there is a real person on your end instead of an automated response. When your customers want to talk to a robot, Siri is always in the mood, so don’t deprive them of topics to cover together.
This also goes for live chat support. It is no surprise that immediate answers to customer inquiries lead to purchases, so make buyers feel cherished and they will come back and be loyal. According to MailMunch, as many as 55% of potential customers do not make a purchase on an e-commerce website because they’ve received bad customer service. To avoid that happening to you, train your employees to be knowledgeable about both site navigation and inventory, be mindful of the time you have cited as when customers can contact you and don’t be afraid to communicate with your buyers, as it can give you great feedback. Establishing a natural flow of communication with customers can also help with decluttering your website, since you will have less need to bury buyers with filling-in forms. Let’s be brutally honest here, no one likes those, not even the people who create them.
4) Earn buyers’ trust
For your e-commerce website to be trusted, you need to generate credibility and do it fast if you want buyers to leave you their credit card information, name, number, shoe size…
Just kidding, don’t ask for shoe size.
Unless you actually sell shoes.
Then, it would be a good idea.
Be subtle about it, but assure your customers that you are a real deal and not a fraud.
Firstly, use SSL protocol and security badges all throughout your website to let them know you care about their privacy and safety. It goes without saying that you should have active accounts with well-known certification brands (McAfee, GeoTrust), and not just put them on there for show.
Secondly, inform buyers how you will track and handle information they are to leave with you.
Finally, keep your checkout process as simple as possible – don’t make them regret spending time in your online store by asking them to fill in registration forms or various questionnaires in order to buy your product. No one wants to reach the finish line and then realize they have more to go.
By sending trust signals to your site’s visitors, you are already on the path of turning them into loyal customers.
Don’t risk sending them to competition by asking too many unnecessary questions, and then not handling all the given information properly.
Keep the shoe size a secret, people!
All jokes aside, it’s time to bring it home. There are many other ways of boosting your e-commerce conversion rate, but here you have just a few suggestions that will make you stand out from competition if implemented appropriately. Think about both customers you want to attract and those you already have, and make your e-commerce website a place they will turn to first and last. Devote yourself to your buyers, don’t take them for granted and invest in your online presence.
Also, make your e-commerce site mobile-friendly, since shopping while drinking coffee with friends is a nice way of spending more money (or making, in your case). We all like to mess with our phones while shooting the breeze with friends, so use that to your advantage!
2) Make them an offer they can’t refuse
As a seller, even one in a virtual environment, you need to make yourself more appealing to customers than your competition. A good way to do that is to give them a little nudge in the right direction (toward your checkout cart) by having time or quantity sensitive deals and promotions. Who can honestly say they don’t like deals? Right?
You can play the card of impulse shopping by offering limited-time deals, package deals or even free items if a purchase is made before the deal ends. Emphasize the amount of money buyers will save if they buy now, make it visible how many people have already bought the product, the quantity of product in stock and how much time is left. Offer free coupons right there on your e-commerce website, so as not to lead people off your site in search of them, but toward spending more money on what you are selling.
Another great way to attract and keep loyal customers is offering free shipping on your products. I know that I don’t even think about buying something online if I have to pay for the product (or more often than not, quite a few of them) to be delivered to me, especially if I am a loyal customer. This feature shouldn’t even be considered a privilege nowadays, but a small cost to pay for the increase in your sales. Psychologically speaking, whenever a person is offered anything free, it is a good purchasing incentive. So strike while the iron is hot and get your buyers to come back to your website over and again.
3) Be of service to your customers
No matter how well you think you have optimized your e-commerce website, a situation that requires your help is bound to emerge. After all, there will always be those who will want you to tell them if you have the cardigan in grandma’s favorite color (or confirm you are out of those ugly holiday sweaters). Ease their minds and respond right away so that grandmas everywhere can be let loose on your e-store.
It is important to make your contact information clearly visible, especially if you are a small business and not a well-established brand. In addition, it leaves a nice impression if your contact phone number is free to call, as well as if there is a real person on your end instead of an automated response. When your customers want to talk to a robot, Siri is always in the mood, so don’t deprive them of topics to cover together.
This also goes for live chat support. It is no surprise that immediate answers to customer inquiries lead to purchases, so make buyers feel cherished and they will come back and be loyal. According to MailMunch, as many as 55% of potential customers do not make a purchase on an e-commerce website because they’ve received bad customer service. To avoid that happening to you, train your employees to be knowledgeable about both site navigation and inventory, be mindful of the time you have cited as when customers can contact you and don’t be afraid to communicate with your buyers, as it can give you great feedback. Establishing a natural flow of communication with customers can also help with decluttering your website, since you will have less need to bury buyers with filling-in forms. Let’s be brutally honest here, no one likes those, not even the people who create them.
4) Earn buyers’ trust
For your e-commerce website to be trusted, you need to generate credibility and do it fast if you want buyers to leave you their credit card information, name, number, shoe size…
Just kidding, don’t ask for shoe size.
Unless you actually sell shoes.
Then, it would be a good idea.
Be subtle about it, but assure your customers that you are a real deal and not a fraud.
Firstly, use SSL protocol and security badges all throughout your website to let them know you care about their privacy and safety. It goes without saying that you should have active accounts with well-known certification brands (McAfee, GeoTrust), and not just put them on there for show.
Secondly, inform buyers how you will track and handle information they are to leave with you.
Finally, keep your checkout process as simple as possible – don’t make them regret spending time in your online store by asking them to fill in registration forms or various questionnaires in order to buy your product. No one wants to reach the finish line and then realize they have more to go.
By sending trust signals to your site’s visitors, you are already on the path of turning them into loyal customers.
Don’t risk sending them to competition by asking too many unnecessary questions, and then not handling all the given information properly.
Keep the shoe size a secret, people!
All jokes aside, it’s time to bring it home. There are many other ways of boosting your e-commerce conversion rate, but here you have just a few suggestions that will make you stand out from competition if implemented appropriately. Think about both customers you want to attract and those you already have, and make your e-commerce website a place they will turn to first and last. Devote yourself to your buyers, don’t take them for granted and invest in your online presence.v