One of the biggest concerns for eCommerce owners is acquiring and retaining customers, as well as making the user experience as good as possible to keep them in the online store and drive conversions.
That is why we want to show you some of the best ways to achieve it:
First, keep in mind that there are many traffic sources. We shouldn’t enter the eCommerce world thinking that having an online store is all it takes: it is essential to look at other sources such as AdWords campaigns, email marketing or newsletters, plus something indispensable: being present on as many social platforms as possible, namely Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest. Social media gives us visibility, lets us showcase our products and interact with potential or loyal customers to answer their questions and serve them better.
Today, an online store that isn’t optimized for smartphones is unthinkable. These devices have become so widespread that every online store needs a responsive design, especially as the share of users buying on them grows month after month.
Visibility is another key aspect, because there is no point bringing a business model online if its products don’t appear on the first page of Google results. For this, we need to hire an SEO specialist
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Another key factor is being aware of the times of year when we can sell more of our products. Example: we run a costume eCommerce store; which are the peak sales periods and therefore the ones we should push? In this business model, we would make the most of October for Halloween, December for Christmas and February for Carnival, followed by a slower period until the next October, so taking advantage of these cycles is essential. It is advisable to run AdWords campaigns focused on each sales season, and to send newsletters to the online store’s subscribers about the new arrivals, offers and promotions for those dates.
When it comes to the internal workings of the online store, you need to take care of things like offering several payment methods. Bear in mind that the customer profile is not uniform but quite diverse. Not everyone likes paying by card, so you should offer other options such as bank transfer or cash on delivery, as well as PayPal. Also, good delivery service secures customer loyalty, because who doesn’t like to receive their order as soon as possible?
Other important aspects of an eCommerce store are a checkout that is as fast as possible and on a single page, and quick, professional answers to users’ questions. Any channel works here, and social media is a good support for it, but we insist that you must provide good service to both new and existing customers.
Finally, it is essential to categorize products properly and build a level of usability that keeps customers on the site, since confusing websites cause bounces. Few clicks in any process and a good information structure mean sales and longer visits.
