Although ecommerce is here to stay, many online stores have yet to get up to speed on how to get their companies to thrive in a digital environment. Whether it be low traffic or abandoned shopping carts, there is some uncharted waters that businesses are still trying to navigate online. To help in this regard, keep reading for 6 pro tips on how to increase website sales.
1. Improve the Site’s UX
UX design is one of the fastest growing professions in the world as companies scramble to get their websites up to speed in the ecommerce era. Simply put, with millions of businesses just a click away, your company does not stand a chance if it fails to provide a seamless online shopping experience.
If you are not equipped to handle UX design in-house, hire a professional. It will be one of the best investments you make. Some steps a UX expert will take to improve your site include:
Optimizing the loading speed of all of your pages
Creating a mobile-friendly experience for shoppers on the go
Paring down your pages to easily arrest the attention of visitors
Providing intuitive links and buttons to cause customers to stick
Every second matters in the ecommerce game as you try to win the attention of fickle online shoppers. The faster you can make your brand known and the longer you get customers to linger will have a compound effect in the long run, so invest in UX optimization now.
2. Carefully Manage Your Digital Marketing Assets
One of the enticing aspects of ecommerce and digital marketing is its potential to lower costs over traditional business functions. You can quickly send out marketing content in a single click, and anyone on the web has the potential to be an agent or affiliate for your business.
While the upside to this is obvious, it does take some of the control away from the business during the marketing process and creates the potential for the company brand to become watered down. Therefore, to ensure that all messages are remaining focused and consistent, it is important for your company to invest in a marketing asset management tool. This will help your associates collaborate on all marketing efforts and keep all content in a central, easy-to-access location so that all of your marketing reps, affiliates, and salespeople have access to the same material to help drive a consistent message home to clients.
3. Provide Clear Paths for Where to Buy
Although the marketing potential for online stores is immense, the transactional side of ecommerce is still presenting challenges for many businesses. Not all retailers are equipped to affordably provide fast and free delivery. Therefore, it is essential that they can efficiently direct customers where to buy without causing frustration. The best way to do this is by installing retailer locator software on your website. The best store locator software will provide customers with the quickest route to the nearest vendor, provide robust images of what the retail location looks like from the outside, and furnish real-time data on inventory levels to help the customer make the most informed purchase decision possible.
4. Make Checkout a Breeze
It is no secret that abandoned shopping carts are endemic in the ecommerce industry. Shopify estimates that nearly 70% of all carts never complete the checkout process. And while online shopping inherently lends itself to more casual shoppers who aren’t as interested in making a purchase as those who take the time to commute to a physical location, there are definitely some steps you can take improve on this troubling statistic:
Allow guest checkout so that customers aren’t frustrated by having to create yet another username/password combination
Provide a platform that accepts multiple payment methods. PayPal and Venmo are particular favorites among younger customers
Automatically apply coupon codes and discounts so that customers aren’t frustrated when the deal they came for isn’t showing up in the total
Even a small percentage improvement in this area increases the likelihood that you will secure a loyal, lifetime customer, so improvements in the checkout process can lead to ongoing revenue gains.
5. Leverage Email Marketing to the Fullest
Although it may seem like sending out marketing emails is throwing your valuable time and effort into a never-ending sea of spam, email marketing remains the most effective means of quickly reaching a broad audience at a low cost. The trick is to be as intentional with your emails as you would be with any type of marketing investment. You wouldn’t pay to put a farm equipment billboard in the heart of New York City, so don’t send emails to people who will immediately mark your content as spam. Focus on sending emails to past customers and those who have voluntarily furnished their contact information. Make your email content valuable and actionable for the recipients.
6. Build Customer Confidence Via Social Proof
A customer review is more valuable than a celebrity endorsement in 2022. Customers inherently trust those similar to them who have experience with your products. Therefore, do whatever you can to obtain customer feedback and feature it prominently on your site. Rolling tickers with favorable reviews are a valuable asset. Another great idea is to provide buttons to your social media accounts so customers can quickly interact with your brand via their preferred channel.
Small Updates Can Increase Website Sales
Despite the obvious upside, online commerce has created some challenges that businesses are still trying to work through. If your company is in this boat and needs help with any of the 6 pro tips listed above, get in touch with a web design professional today and watch your sales soar!