What makes an e-commerce site a success? And what allows one e-commerce site to thrive in the long term while another declines?
You may be surprised to learn that it is not the price of products that determines the success of an online store. If you look at the e-commerce industry over the last 20 years, it shows that having a lower price than the competition is not the only factor explaining why a business prospers. Likewise, a site’s beauty may not be magnificent: many sites have launched with every option available to them, yet have still not thrived. For example, take a look at Amazon. While it is not the most beautiful site in terms of visual aesthetics, it performs extremely well.
Therefore, to stand out from the others, look at these three effective strategies below to help your e-commerce brand increase conversions, increase sales and increase traffic:
1. Excellent customer service.
Providing your customers with service that exceeds expectations is essential: you must exceed your visitors’ expectations. When Zappos first launched, it was an unknown brand to the average consumer. After driving visitors to their site through traditional marketing activities, they went out of their way to show them how determined they were to deliver exceptional customer service, using bold text that represented their policy well.
As shown above, Zappos highlights its main selling points: fast, free shipping and the ease of returning a product for free if the customer is not entirely satisfied with their purchase. Zappos proved that with excellent customer service, a business could succeed, and that core value on which it was built is still what it is today. When it comes to trusting an online business, coming back to that site and even recommending it to peers, studies have shown that customer service was the paramount factor.
Another important element of customer service that many online brands tend to overlook is making it easier for customers to contact you. Too often, businesses think that, without an in-person presence, this aspect of their customer service is not essential, but it is. This means having an easily accessible phone number and, when the user dials it, reaching a real person. Connecting your potential customers with someone who knows your products and provides authentic answers that are neither canned nor repeated can go a long way.
Bonobos makes it much easier for customers to get in touch with customer service representatives, or what they call “ninjas.” This commitment to serving customers as well as possible has allowed Bonobos to go from an online retailer to a retailer that is now opening brick-and-mortar stores.
Ultimately, if you are an e-commerce brand, make sure you have the infrastructure needed to support your sales and meet your customers’ needs.
2. An easy-to-use, clean website.
I talk about website design again and again because it should not be taken lightly: your website must be responsive. Responsive design ensures that your site displays properly on all devices and platforms. Without this type of design, you risk a high bounce rate due to poor usability when customers access your site from their mobile devices. Whether it is excessive zooming in or out, a button size unsuited to the screen or other rendering problems, it can be detrimental to the user experience. To be strategic when you reach your customers, it is essential that your site be optimized for the device they are using.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your messaging, products or services show the user exactly what they want to see. Each category of your products should have its own landing page, which breaks down the product range and lets users easily find what they are looking for. As the example below shows, Nixon does an excellent job of embodying these traits. Not only is their clean design optimized for desktops, tablets and mobile devices, but their menu breaks their watches down into categories, making it easier for users to navigate.
Besides an exceptional user experience when users land on your site organically, clean design and navigation are essential to the success of other digital marketing campaigns aimed at driving traffic and conversions to the website. For example, if you launch a PPC campaign targeting customers looking for stainless steel men’s watches, you want to send them seamlessly to a landing page that will show them all the products matching that description.
3. Understand your customers and the market to manage accordingly.
Knowing who your customers are and tracking them appropriately is important. Most businesses don’t really know their customers and fail to identify frequent buyers and occasional buyers, as well as other information related to buying behavior.
Existing customers shouldn’t all be marketed to in exactly the same way. Marketing tactics should be used to reflect individual buying habits based on historical on-site behavior. If you have loyal customers who make purchases more regularly than the average customer, offer them special promotions or exclusive offers. Going out of your way to show that you value your customers is crucial. Take the time to understand who is buying and which segment they fall into. Maybe a customer is ideal for a given product line based on past behavior, or maybe they buy the same product repeatedly – whatever the behavior, implement follow-up marketing tactics that reflect this understanding.
Your existing customers represent the lowest cost per acquisition (CPA) for new sales. You spend money to generate new leads on your site. Therefore, when you acquire a customer, you want to keep them. Marketing tactics should reflect your understanding of the particular segments of your audience and show how much you value them as customers.
A strategic approach to improving e-commerce business.
For all brands in the e-commerce sector, it can be difficult to generate online sales and maintain a loyal customer base. Without the support of strong customer service, diligent marketing tactics tailored to individuals and a user-friendly website design, it is practically impossible to reach business goals. Keeping your customers and their needs at the center of every initiative is extremely important when you connect with and engage your customers online.
Did you find this article helpful? Let us know, and if you would like to know how we can help your new business, or if you would like to learn more about our e-commerce website development services, do not hesitate to call us at 1-877-426-7272 or use our contact form in the menu above.
