Are you struggling to break even with your online store? Or maybe you’re doing fine financially but wondering how to revitalize your brand awareness or boost your unique views even further. If you’re serious about increasing the success of your ecommerce store, here are just 13 tips for getting the job done.
1. Improve Site Navigation
This is one of the most common causes of failure in digital shops. Can your users actually access your content? Have you hidden it behind strange sidebars or clunky drop-down menus? Make sure customers have a clear and direct path to your products, even if that means completely overhauling your current site design.
2. Add More Graphics
A picture is worth a thousand words, and gorgeous, high-quality product images are often the secret ingredient to making a sale. Toss aside any graphics that are pixellated or blurred. Fill your ecommerce store with razor-sharp product images that can be zoomed, rotated and examined from multiple angles.
3. Jazz Up Your Product Descriptions
Here are two ways to describe the same mattress.
“Fluffy mattress for sale. Great stitching. Modular technology. King sized.”
“This light, fluffy mattress comes with hand-stitched design elements and modular technology to cradle you into dreamland. It’s also king sized, so feel free to stretch out like royalty!”
Which product description do you think sells more mattresses?
4. Utilize SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the art of increasing your web traffic by improving the way users find you on search engines. For example, a common SEO tactic is to employ keywords so that everyone searching for “breath mints” or “luxury condos” will find your site before all others. Do some research on SEO and see how it can help you.
5. Embrace Color Psychology
Have you ever wondered why so many social media sites are blue? It’s because blue is a soothing color that helps you forget the passage of time. Color psychology can be a huge boon to your business if used correctly, but you have to understand it first. Grab a color wheel and start making notes.
6. Streamline Your Checkout
No one likes lengthy checkouts. Not only do they frustrate shoppers who might only want to buy a few goods, but they also discourage impulse buying by forcing shoppers to actually think about what they’re doing as they navigate endless sign-up and confirmation pages. If you want to improve sales, make your checkout process a series of simple clicks.
7. Offer More Payment Methods
In the same vein as the above, there’s nothing more aggravating than reaching the end of a checkout process and realizing that they don’t accept your preferred method of payment. Make sure your site is equipped to handle multiple types of transactions, including credit cards, debit cards, online transfers and even personal checks.
8. Open Channels of Communication
What do customers like about your website? What do they hate? What would they improve if given the chance? By allowing your visitors to offer feedback on their experience, you’ll perform a one-two punch of increasing user engagement while also receiving valuable information on site functionality.
9. Check for Cross-Compatibility
It’s the 21st century, and not everyone will access your site from a personal computer. Some customers will be shopping from their phones and tablets as well. If your site doesn’t have a mobile version, you could be missing out on hundreds or even thousands of sales by customers who literally can’t access it.
10. Change Your Domain Name
If you aren’t getting the traffic you’d like, your URL might be to blame. Try to secure a name that uses your keywords and isn’t misspelled or misdirecting. As much as you might enjoy the trendy feel of KidzBallonz.com, you could be losing customers who go to KidsBallons.com instead.
11. Improve Your Customer Service
Again, it’s important to remember that everyone will access your site through different means, so what works for one customer might not work for another. That’s why you should offer phone, email and live chat options. Some sites even create forums where shoppers can browse commonly-asked questions and ask their own.
12. Target the Right Demographic
What kind of customers are you hoping to attract to your store? Don’t say “all kinds.” You want to start out by targeting specific age groups or income levels with pointed, customized marketing. A store aimed at senior citizens shouldn’t have the same layout as a store hoping to interest college students.
13. Never Give Up
It may sound like a no-brainer, but after you’ve faced a few hard quarters or under-performing products, it’s easy to start thinking about throwing in the towel. Don’t make this mistake! Perseverance is the key to business success. Just look at men like Bobby Kotick who took small ideas and turned them into huge corporations. You can do the same, but only if you fight through the difficult times.
These are just a few things to keep in mind as you create, modify or launch an ecommerce store. A successful website can be yours, but you have to be willing to work for it!
