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If you’ve been paying attention to our blog the last few weeks, you’ve probably read a few of our articles on how to increase sales for your online store. In fact, if you focus on improving your product pages, utilizing coupons correctly, and actively communicate with your customers, you would almost certainly see a dramatic increase in results. But many savvy eCommerce merchants already knew of these tactics. They knew that they need to actually sell their products, not just display them. They knew that testimonials are immeasurably important when convincing someone to buy. They knew that coupons can bring in customers that would otherwise not be buying. Here are a few they might not have thought of:
Enable “Guest” Checkout If You Currently Require Registration… and Offer Registration If You Currently Only Have Guest Checkout.
There are a lot of benefits to having people register in your online store. Not only are you able to get their contact information for e-mail communications, but you are able to tailor product recommendations to their profile. It allows you to see who is buying what, and when. That gives you incredible visibility into your customer demographics, and allows you to market to certain segments far more effectively. If you don’t have registrations of any kind on your website, those are good reasons to consider them. In fact, with these advantages, it’s not surprising that some online retailers require shoppers to register when they buy! However, this can be a big mistake, as requiring registration has been proven to decrease sales. A recent study by eConsultancy found that 25.65% of customers would abandon a purchase if they were forced to register. So make sure that, if you don’t have it already, you give shoppers the option to buy as a guest, without registering.
Encourage Reviews By Rewarding Reviewers
Amazon, the 600 pound gorilla in eCommerce, began a new program a few months ago that has proven extremely successful. They have created a system where they reward reviewers who consistently provide quality reviews with early access to books and merchandise. Whether or not that can work for you depends on the size and type of business you’re running. However, there is one lesson in there that works for almost every eCommerce store. Reward your reviewers. Whether you can give them early access, samples, discounts, or even just a nice e-mail, make sure you are encouraging them to review again! Even the strongest sales page can fail to convince a potential customer compared to a few authentic, honest reviews.
Optimize Your Website For Mobile Devices And Tablets
More and more customers are viewing your site on tablets and mobile devices. According to TechBargains.com, 58% of shoppers use their phones to make purchases, while 75% use tablets to buy online. Around 9% of all purchases during the 2011 holiday season were done through mobile devices, and that number has been growing every year. If you don’t have a mobile version of your site, you are practically driving those customers to another store. There are dozens of ways you can increase the number of people that buy from your store. But these 3 methods are often overlooked, and not particularly difficult to implement.
Have you ever decided not to buy because you were forced to register?
If you’ve been paying attention to our blog the last few weeks, you’ve probably read a few of our articles on how to increase sales for your online store. In fact, if you focus on improving your product pages, utilizing coupons correctly, and actively communicate with your customers, you would almost certainly see a dramatic increase in results. But many savvy eCommerce merchants already knew of these tactics. They knew that they need to actually sell their products, not just display them. They knew that testimonials are immeasurably important when convincing someone to buy. They knew that coupons can bring in customers that would otherwise not be buying. Here are a few they might not have thought of:
Enable “Guest” Checkout If You Currently Require Registration… and Offer Registration If You Currently Only Have Guest Checkout.
There are a lot of benefits to having people register in your online store. Not only are you able to get their contact information for e-mail communications, but you are able to tailor product recommendations to their profile. It allows you to see who is buying what, and when. That gives you incredible visibility into your customer demographics, and allows you to market to certain segments far more effectively. If you don’t have registrations of any kind on your website, those are good reasons to consider them. In fact, with these advantages, it’s not surprising that some online retailers require shoppers to register when they buy! However, this can be a big mistake, as requiring registration has been proven to decrease sales. A recent study by eConsultancy found that 25.65% of customers would abandon a purchase if they were forced to register. So make sure that, if you don’t have it already, you give shoppers the option to buy as a guest, without registering.
Encourage Reviews By Rewarding Reviewers
Amazon, the 600 pound gorilla in eCommerce, began a new program a few months ago that has proven extremely successful. They have created a system where they reward reviewers who consistently provide quality reviews with early access to books and merchandise. Whether or not that can work for you depends on the size and type of business you’re running. However, there is one lesson in there that works for almost every eCommerce store. Reward your reviewers. Whether you can give them early access, samples, discounts, or even just a nice e-mail, make sure you are encouraging them to review again! Even the strongest sales page can fail to convince a potential customer compared to a few authentic, honest reviews.
Optimize Your Website For Mobile Devices And Tablets
More and more customers are viewing your site on tablets and mobile devices. According to TechBargains.com, 58% of shoppers use their phones to make purchases, while 75% use tablets to buy online. Around 9% of all purchases during the 2011 holiday season were done through mobile devices, and that number has been growing every year. If you don’t have a mobile version of your site, you are practically driving those customers to another store. There are dozens of ways you can increase the number of people that buy from your store. But these 3 methods are often overlooked, and not particularly difficult to implement.
Have you ever decided not to buy because you were forced to register?