Every online e-commerce store wants to increase traffic and sell more. For many first-time e-commerce entrepreneurs, this can be a very hard nut to crack due to the complexity and trickiness of starting or running a successful e-commerce business.
If the title of this blog post piqued some interest in you, I am sure you are someone who falls under either of these three categories:
- You have an online store that is not selling well.
- You have an online store is selling well but can do a lot better.
- You are in the process of building an online store that should sell well.
No matter which category you fall into, any eCommerce wisdom that will help you sell more is worth its weight in gold. In this post, we’re going to share some nuggets of e-commerce wisdom that you can apply to help turn your online store into a customer magnet.
1. Real-time Personalization.
This is the era of personalization. From socks to jet interiors, everything is personalized to one’s whims and fancies. Why would eCommerce be an exception to it? In fact, it is one industry which is taking the game one step ahead by personalizing product recommendations.
Online stores and e-commerce websites can now tap into customer data like age, gender, location or even past shopping trends to figure out personalized suggestions for their next purchase. Needless to say, it is something that will help any online store sell more.
Also Read: How To Start Ecommerce Business Like Jumia And Konga In Nigeria.
2. Display Social Proof.
Have you heard of the term herd mentality? This is a common mob behavior that describes how people can be influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors on a largely emotional, rather than rational, basis. Which brings us to the point of displaying social proof alongside a product.
Social proof in e-commerce refers to the number of star ratings, reviews, customer testimonials, purchases, etc. that a product has raked up. A majority of the customers would want to buy a product that somebody has already bought, used and are satisfied with. So displaying social proof alongside products on your store can help spike your sales.
3. Customer Testimonials.
There is nothing more powerful than a customer himself/herself admitting the goodness of a product. It has more persuasion power to it than a strong marketing campaign. In fact, in today’s internet age, a popular study has shown that customers trust customer reviews as much as suggestions from their near and dear.
Customer testimonials can help your business in several other ways too. For instance, it gives SEO juice and ranks the product higher in search results. Also, it gives a better understanding of the product from the customer’s perspective. A well-detailed customer testimonial can fill in gaps that marketing collaterals may not cover.
Also Read: How To Start A Successful Online Dropshipping Business.
4. Provide Accurate Product Details.
One of the reasons why customers return products immediately after a purchase is due to the wrong choice. Online shopping can give only so many details and images of a product. Sometimes it is difficult to estimate the fitting of clothing until it is delivered. If it happens to be of a wrong size or bad fitting, it gets returned.
Most goods that are returned are never re-ordered. This kind of ugly situation can be avoided by providing accurate product details. For clothing products, a detailed size chart that gives specifics in multiple measurement units could be key to helping the product sell more.
5. Contain Cart Abandonment.
Containing cart abandonment is one of the archrivals of a healthy bottom line. Cart abandonment happens when customers add products to shopping carts but do not check them out as a purchase. In other words, they do not complete the purchase with a payment.
Cart abandonment could happen due to several reasons like – security concerns, hidden costs, long delivery time, etc. Security concerns rank as the primary reason why customer abandon shopping carts. It can be avoided by adding a cheap price RapidSSL certificate to the website. It will give the HTTPS URL and also padlock symbol for the website which will help in reducing cart abandonment rate because it creates trust in customers for their data security.
6. Retarget Customers.
There is a popular business quote that says “make a customer, not a sale”. MaKing a customer and not a sale is beyond buying and selling, it goes to an interpersonal relationship, which bond’s family-like relationship, such kind of customers will forever be loyal to you and refer as many contacts as possible.
Don’t see your customers as a one-time transaction but rather as relationships to be nurtured for the long term. That is why it makes sense to send them occasional drip emails informing upcoming offers, latest products, new features and so on. Retargeting existing customers can help serve the dual purpose of retaining them as well as increasing your sales volume without additional cost.
Also Read: How To Advertise Your Business On Facebook.
7. Act on Data Analytics.
When it comes to making informed business decisions, it’s hard to escape all the talk about data. Effective data analytics comes from the careful examination and exploration of how information flows through and improves the business. To successfully compete in today’s marketplace, businesses need to embrace the use of the right analytics tools.
Armed with actionable insights and information from acquired data, e-commerce stores can more effectively and efficiently market to customers, design and manufacture products that meet specific needs, increase revenue, streamline operations, forecast more accurately, and even better manage inventory to hold the line on related costs.
Conclusion.
Swelling the sales figure is the first priority of any business. It is no exception for eCommerce stores either. But, the ‘how to increase question’ is where the buck stops. The answer to that question is what forms the plot of this blog. Whether you are selling fashion clothing or electronic gadgets, these tips are sure to come in handy.