To become a market leader in today’s world, it is not enough to have high-quality products and competitive prices. You need to make your brand visible to your target audience and outshine your competitors. Pay particular attention to improving your users’ digital experience. The ecommerce solutions below will help you develop an efficient strategy for boosting your sales.
Create an Impressive Design for your Homepage
Making a positive first impression is key to building strong relationships with new customers. Your homepage is the first thing they see when visiting your online platform, so make sure it looks great. Create a stylish and original design based on ecommerce UX (user experience) principles.
Your product images should be attractive, your color scheme appealing, and your texts – reader-friendly. An engaging and attractive home page will encourage potential clients to stay on your website longer and explore other pages.
Showcase all the advantages of your products, and highlight your brand trustworthiness in terms of reputation, corporate history, and awards from authoritative organizations. Feature free shipping, discounts, bonuses, exclusive products, and perks for valued customers.
Be sure to include contact information on your homepage. Provide a special form, phone and FAX numbers, email contacts, or an onsite chat option. Providing a way for customers to contact you and ask for help can prevent them from abandoning their carts and turning to your competitors.
Showcase your Website’s Security
People who have had bad online customer experiences in the past and those worried about Internet scams may be suspicious of an unfamiliar ecommerce platform. Emphasize the security of transactions on your website, to assure customers they are not in danger of losing money or exposing their personal data.
One way to do this is by displaying the badges of security certificates obtained from trustworthy organizations. A common example is SSL. This certificate indicates that customer data is duly encrypted and payment operations are subject to strict controls. When new visitors see your SSL badge, they will be confident in placing their orders.
Do not skimp on a payment gateway with multiple security levels. It will dramatically improve customer experience and stimulate your clients to buy more, while protecting your venture from scammers.
Present your Products in a Spectacular Manner
A single photo, title, and price are not enough to give customers a comprehensive picture of your product. This approach has caused the business KPI of many online stores to tank. For the best results, provide a detailed overview of each product in your catalog, highlighting its advantages.
- Hire a professional photographer to take a series of attractive photos for each product.
- List the main uses and advantages of your products, mention where they were manufactured, and what materials were used.
- Attach video reviews and how-to instructions.
- Ask your clients to provide feedback in the comments section, and reward them with a discount or some other bonus.
A vivid and comprehensive presentation of your products will make it easy for your customers to make informed buying decisions and place more orders.
Make the Checkout Process as Smooth and Comfortable as Possible
The checkout process is the most important element of the ecommerce user experience. If buying from your store is uncomfortable or inconvenient, you will lose sales. Make sure your online platform meets the following requirements:
- Do not make it necessary for your customers to register to add products to their carts. Ask your clients to create an account when they are ready to proceed with their purchases.
- Make it easy for customers to remove items from their carts.
- Make it possible for goods to be added to a wishlist and purchased later.
- Prominently display security badges on the payment page.
- Offer customers a variety of payment options.
- Clearly display all additional costs (delivery, packing, taxes) before your customer provides payment data.
Tips for optimizing the checkout process:
- Be flexible and tailor your services to customers’ needs. Financing options are popular, allowing shoppers to buy today and pay tomorrow. This is particularly useful for big ticket items, and can rapidly increase your number of loyal clients.
- Make the checkout process plain and simple. Spare your clients from filling out multiple irrelevant fields while placing orders, and request only the most important information. Remove distractions from your checkout page. Providing an FAQ section can increase your ecommerce conversion rate, since shoppers can quickly resolve any issues that may cause them to hesitate about making a purchase.
- Do not clutter your website with useless information. You only have one chance to make a great first impression. Provide potential customers exclusively with top-notch content as they become acquainted with your online platform. Trivial information and low-quality content can discourage them from placing orders.
Create a Mobile Version of your Website
In today’s dynamic world, people work, play, and often sleep with smartphones in their hands. An increasing number of web users are shifting away from desktops and using compact and convenient mobile gadgets to shop online. To keep up with the times, you should think mobile-first, meaning your platform has:
- a mobile-specific design;
- reader-friendly content that can be viewed on a small screen without eye strain;
- a tap-responsive sensor screen;
- fast loading speed;
- an SEO-campaign tailored to mobile search.
Personalize your Relationships with Customers
In brick-and-mortar shops, vendors communicate one-on-one with customers, asking about their visitors’ needs, and offering relevant products. You should approach your online customers in the same way. Try to develop friendly relationships with each visitor who places an order on your website, and even with customers who are simply scrolling. Show that you view them as unique individuals, and not just a source of income.
Of course, it can be challenging to get acquainted and make friends with everyone. Happily, automated tools for collecting customer data and tailoring individualized shopping journeys can simplify ecommerce personalization. Smart software can scan potential clients and provide expert consultations that stimulate purchases.
Automated systems store data on visitors’ previous actions, creating a customer profile. There is no need to start the conversation all over again. When returning to an online shop, a user is given recommendations based on pages they previously viewed. Also, the software can recommend complementary goods and help you generate larger sales.
Launch a Loyalty Program
It is no secret that shoppers like to feel special. Show gratitude to your loyal customers by adding perks and bonuses, like free shipping, discounts, gifts and more. A loyalty program encourages customers to return to your store, again and again, increasing your sales through each consecutive purchase.
Sync Multiple Channels
Rather than choosing from multiple digital channels (website, mobile app, social media, online support, etc.), connect them into a single seamless system. Your customers will be able to juggle channels without losing their data, making their shopping experience easy, and increasing their loyalty to your brand.
Diversify the Digital Experience
This tip is about personalization. Do not paint your target audience with a single broad brush. Divide your potential users into several subgroups, based on demographic data. Distinguish between new website users, first-time shoppers, loyal clients, and shoppers who abandon goods in their online baskets.
Identify the criteria and channels used by each group, and create conditions for each that stimulate positive buying decisions. For example, if someone abandons goods in a basket, send them notifications offering temporary discounts, to encourage them to complete their purchase.
Measure the Efficiency of Your Chosen Solutions
It is impossible to gauge the efficiency of certain marketing solutions if you do not analyze results. A set of proven metrics should direct your choices.
Google Analytics is a very efficient tool for helping brands understand how to increase online sales in their niche. Get detailed reports on where your website visitors come from, which pages and products they like most, and why they abandon goods in carts. This data will help you remove obstacles and lead shoppers seamlessly to the checkout page.
Also, use UTM codes to measure the efficiency of your Google Ads campaign and linkbuilding strategies on social media and instant messengers.
Always Be One Step Ahead
Innovation is a temporary state, and technologies remain “breakthrough” for only a limited period of time. Once a large number of companies adopt them, they become commonplace and lose some of their luster. To stay ahead of your competitors, keep up to speed on the latest tech trends and be the first to adopt them, to gain a leading edge.
Today, it is worth betting on artificial intelligence, augmented reality, Internet of things, and chatbots. These new solutions are certain to mature and become highly popular in the near future. While their benefits may seem limited for now, adopting them early can be a great investment in your future success.
Be Tech-Savvy
Ongoing transformations in the digital environment make it crucial for business owners to track cutting-edge technologies. Large companies stopped manually processing customer requests a long time ago, and they use technology to monitor the actions of website visitors. They are constantly upgrading their toolkits and supplementing them with automated assistants, like CRMs.
If you are not tech-savvy and have no time to keep up with the latest digital trends, consider hiring skilled consultants, like the experienced team at Clever-Solution, to keep you abreast of the latest innovations.
Do Not Get Stuck
Digitizing your business is not an option if you want to succeed in today’s market. Clinging to traditional approaches that bring unsatisfactory results is useless in today’s digital world. Start thinking outside the box, and take advantage of the many available resources to provide your customers with an advanced digital experience. Failure to innovate will eventually send your customers to your digitized competitors.
Transitioning to a new marketing strategy can be a challenge, but the end result will be worthwhile. A robust influx of loyal clients and increased sales will inspire you to work harder at revolutionizing your web presence.
To make your digital journey smooth and easy, enlist the support of knowledgeable and forward-thinking digital marketers from Clever-Solution. Let us help you stand out from your competition and become a leader in your niche. Contact us today to schedule a complimentary consultation.