Driving Conversion: Is Your Store Running on All Cylinders?</h1> <article> <h1>Driving Conversion: Is Your Store Running on All Cylinders?</h1> <p>MySolutionSpot Editor — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:39:38 GMT</p> <h2>Nuts and Bolts: Site Functionality</h2> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">This stuff seems simple, but we think it's a good idea to always be on top of these basic components of your site. The difference between making a sale and turning a customer off can be as simple as a typo or broken link - or even unclear navigation. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Navigation</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> - If customers can't peruse your site easily and efficiently, your chances of conversion drop. Anything that slows customers down or confuses them will encourage them to leave, so make sure your navigation is clear and customer-focused. Be sure that every page includes easy-to-find links to important info: contact, customer service, about, search and links/photos/buttons for cross-selling. Lead your customers where you want them to go in as few clicks as possible. Try showing subcategory links on the home page, rather than on an individual product page. Rather than just showing "Hammers," in your home page categories list, break this out into Titanium, Roofing, Drywall, Ball Pein, Sledge. </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">On-site search</span></b> - Research shows that roughly 80% of online shoppers use a store's search box to quickly find what they want - so this is a no-brainer. Your online store should include comprehensive search functionality and allows you to set your search parameters, but you should still test your search box to make sure it delivers relevant results. The results page is also a place you'll want to merchandise - feature related products and specials for cross-selling to encourage higher sales. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Load Time</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> - Faster loading sites convert better, so make sure your site isn't one of "those" sites that loads. r-e-a-l-l-y. s-l-o-o-o-w. With the need to offer multiple product images of varying sizes and angles, it is important to keep the amount of other graphics on your site to a minimum, and to optimize your images. Network Solutions offers <b><a target="_blank" href="http://ecommerce.networksolutions.com/support/TechServices.asp"><span style="font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;color:#000000;">image optimization services</span></a></b> to dramatically reduce your file size without degrading the quality of your images. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Errors </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">- Don't let the curse of the broken link, or worse - rampant typos - doom your store! These seemingly "no big deal" problems are, in fact, BIG deals when it comes to the shopping public's impression of your site. Dead links, broken images, spelling errors, links that don't go where they're supposed to - these are problems no e-commerce site can afford. So go through your site with a microscope and make sure it's trouble free. </span></p> <h2>Curb Cart Abandonment</h2> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Some simple alterations to your cart and checkout process can decrease your odds of abandonment and work to move the process forward. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">The Fold </span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;">- Your "Add to Cart" "Buy" and "Submit Order" buttons should be located above the fold (the bottom edge of the visible area of your site within the web browser). Coremetrics reports a 10% decrease in abandoned carts when the "Submit order" button is located above the fold during the last step of checkout. In fact, the entire checkout process should remain above the fold. Why make people scroll down if you can present everything you need them to do above the fold?</span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">"Add to Cart" vs. "Buy"</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> - Go with "Add to Cart." It lessens the commitment factor for shoppers who may not be ready to actually "Buy" a product. Add to Cart is also a more accurate description of what shoppers are doing - they're simply setting a product aside, in their cart, to either save and come back for later (which your Network Solutions cart allows), or to hold onto while they continue to shop. "Buy" signifies that a visitor is done shopping and ready to checkout, which may or may not be the case. Why encourage checkout when "Add to Cart" encourages additional shopping?</span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Make Checkout Quick and Clear</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> - Studies have shown that checkouts with fewer steps achieve consistently higher conversions, so it's important to make yours as efficient as possible. To make shoppers more comfortable, include your contact information on all pages of checkout - and display shipping information clearly, including any specials or discounts that may apply. Having your own, dedicated SSL security certificate increases conversions as well. Network Solutions studied over 40,000 client stores and found that those with a dedicated SSL achieved 4.5% higher orders. Network Solutions offers a variety of <a href="http://www.networksolutions.com/SSL-certificates/index.jsp"><b>SSL Certificates</b></a> that can help you improve customer confidence in your site security and thus, increase your conversions.</span></p> <h2>Content that Sells</h2> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">How professional and appealing is your site? What products do you sell and how do you showcase them? Is your content engaging and compelling? These are all important questions to consider - whether you're improving an existing store or just starting out. You're in the business of selling, so every aspect of your operation must do just that - "sell" people on why they should buy from you. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">The Goods - Do your products measure up?</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Consumers are becoming more product savvy every day, fueled in part by the Internet and its seemingly endless cache of detailed product information. Comparison shopping has become a new national pastime. Of course, depending on the type of product you sell, your customers' level of "shopping around" will vary, but the point we're getting at here is this: you must be competitive! You can do everything else right, but if you don't offer the right product at the right price, visitors are likely to keep on clicking until they find it. So keep your offering fresh and study your competition. Put yourself in your target customer's shoes and shop around. As objectively as you can, try to decide whether you would buy from yourstore.com. What is it about your store and your offer that makes the difference? </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Product Presentation</span></b></span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">In addition to having the "right" products, the way you display them can be just as important. If people aren't engaged right from your home page, or from an individual product page they've landed on via the search engines, you could lose them. Your design needs to be professional in look and created with e-commerce in mind. Your colors, images and photographs need to show off your products in an original, visually attractive format - all the while conveying to customers that you're a legitimate authority on the products you sell. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Product Images</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Needless to say, shopping online limits customers in terms of being able to touch, feel, fiddle with or try on products - all activities that are traditionally part of the consuming process. And even though many people shop the brick and mortars before going online to find deals, you can't assume they don't still want to get a really good look at what you sell. So make sure to offer high quality images of your products with as many alternate views as possible. People are visual and research has proven that products with even a simple "zoom in" or "click to enlarge" option convert higher than those with one static view. <b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Note: </span></b>Remember to optimize your images to avoid bogging down your site's performance. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Product Descriptions </span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Creative and clearly written copy is key. You're selling a product, so give people benefits they can relate to. Too many online stores offer little or no product description - at their peril. Few products sell themselves on looks alone, so, working in tandem with your high-quality, optimized product imagery, your product descriptions should be unique and give customers compelling reasons to buy.</span></p> <h2>Conversion-boosting Marketing Tactics</h2> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Most forms of marketing are all about persuading customers to visit your store, but what about marketing AFTER they've arrived? In addition to your site's quality and aesthetics, here are a few proactive marketing tactics you can employ to give customers a few more reasons to buy, and then buy again. And again. And again. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Cross Sell! </span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Would you like fries with that? Yeah, we know - you don't sell fast food - but if Skippy down at the local grease-atorium can master the time-honored sales tactic of cross-selling, so can, and should, you. Take the time to think about your products and which ones complement each other. Offering coffee to someone buying a coffee maker seems obvious, but e-tailers who fail to cross-promote related products are missing golden opportunities to increase orders and sales. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Offer Free Stuff</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">One surefire way to a consumer's heart is by way of freebies. Start with free shipping, if it makes financial sense, and go from there. Buy one get one free. Buy two of these, get one of these free. Freebies are a great nudge to get customers over the conversion hump and provide your store yet another competitive edge. And another thing about free shipping: according to BizRate, free shipping with conditions caused over 40% of shoppers to make a purchase. So if you're not offering it, give it some hard thought.</span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">Create Loyalty</span></b><span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">Customer loyalty programs - special offers given to returning or registered customers - are an established retail strategy, and on the rise online. Thee loyalty-boosting tactics are exclusive offers and events, regular promotions, and premium customer service. </span></p> <p><b><span style="font-family:Arial;">E-mail! </span></b></p> <p><span style="font-family:Arial;">E-mail continues to be the number one reason people go online, ahead of search, shopping, games and other "published" activities. So your efforts to market to customers via e-mail will not be in vain. Some simple e-mail marketing strategies:</span></p> <ul> <li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Send a post-sale e-mail that grants your customer "exclusive access" to a special sale or specials page. They've bought from you once, so inviting them into this "special" area of your site and offering discounts on hot items or products related to their sale will go a long way in "re-converting" a customer. </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Send an email one or two weeks after a sale asking for feedback on the product(s). This will help you develop a relationship with your customers, as well as provide you invaluable consumer feedback on your products. Try sending a quick survey with a coupon as a reward for completing it. </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Send an email after purchase that invites customers to shop related items. </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Send an email alerting customers to sales on similar items. </span></li> </ul> </article> </main></body></html>