How Can You Increase Sales On Your Ecommerce Platforms?
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that in 2017 online-only sales increased at a rapid rate (15.9%) in comparison with the growth of sales within stores from the previous year, which was just 2.3%. These reports also showed that the majority of this online spend was within non-store retail. It is a stark statistic and one that is likely to continue to increase. As an eCommerce trader, you have to think about how you can ensure that you are well placed to acquire a share of the business that is available. It isn’t enough to simply have a website, you need to have a well thought out strategy that incorporates all elements of the customer journey.
After all, the end goal of every business should always be a periodic increase in sales. When this is achieved, you’re guaranteed that your business will last amidst the competition.You can find Cliik Studios’ top tips to include in your strategy for increasing eCommerce sales below!
Customer Retention
It will cost you more to attract new customers than to spend time building your relationship with your existing audience. People who have bought from you already know you, your brand and have used your product, so it is now your turn to reward that and focus on improving their experience next time they do business with you. Loyalty points are a great way to incentivise customer activity. Give your customers the option to exchange their points against future purchases or for discounts on new/special ranges.
Despite purchasing online, people still value good service; you can give your customers what they want by investing in ways to improve your customer service offering. More and more online retailers are including a live chat option – customers appreciate not having to wait for an email response or wondering if the enquiry form they’ve filled in has been submitted correctly. They value convenience and a live chat facility offers that and more.
A good way for you to study the purchasing behavior and sales cycle of your customers is to check through platforms that enable this function. For instance, here are excellent clickfunnels alternatives to choose from.
Platform optimisation
Does your website adapt to the different platforms that it might be used across, such as mobile, tablet, and desktop? It is becoming more and more common for eCommerce activity to be conducted is done via the smartphone, and your customers don’t want to be left frustrated when using a website that doesn’t appear co-ordinated on their mobile screen. If customers are constantly having difficulty using your website, they will go elsewhere to find a shopping experience that is more informative and less hassle to engage in. Additionally, social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram can only be accessed via smartphones, so if you have paid for traffic via these channels, you might lose the conversions by not having a mobile-friendly site. You could take it a step further and invest in a mobile app for your business, which will allow a number of eCommerce boosting options such as personalisation, easier to implement benefits and rewards, and allowing people to save settings and preferences.
Quality visuals
Appearances DO matter and that is why product photography is important; you want to make sure your images are of a high standard and that they display your products in their best light. Investing in professional product photography will ensure that your customers are able to review your products as if they were in front of them. Don’t just go for standard shots from the same angle, allow your product to shine through a variety of professional product photography methods, including the following:
- Scale shots
- Product grouping
- White background photography
- Lifestyle
- Action shots
Lifestyle, action shots and videos of your products work well to showcase what is special and unique about your product and how people can get the best out of the items.
The checkout experience
Stay on-trend and give your customers the flexibility to pay in a variety of ways – think Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
Undertake some testing – how many ‘clicks’ does it take to checkout? Don’t make it easy for your customers to abandon their baskets. Make the journey from product selection to payment as short as possible. If in the event that people do abandon their baskets, remind them! This is a great way to increase sales. Consider email reminders, pop-ups the next time they visit your site and targeted product ads/placements on social media sites.
Evidence shows that one of the reasons people are likely to not complete the product purchase process is because they question the site’s security credentials. Alleviate their concerns and display your security credentials.
Email marketing
GDPR does not have to mean the end of the email relationship between you and your customers. Don’t let your email list become stale, it is a key element of your strategy to increase sales. Social media sites will come and go, but your email list is your list – cultivate it and use it to your advantage.
That said, here are some of the most actionable email marketing tips that you can apply to your advantage:
- Update your subscriber list. This would comprise your list of customers that consistently purchase from you. On your website, you can sneakily build a subscriber list by enabling a pop-up form. This usually comes in the form of asking a question such as whether or not they’d like to receive the latest updates on sales, deals, and new products.
- Add a hint of personalization in your emails. If you can make the extra time to make your emails a little bit more personal, it would actually work to your advantage. By this, it means that you’ll tailor as many of your emails as possible in the manner that makes it very personal to the recipient. For instance, adding their name, or even sending out birthday greetings. This will make your customers feel special.
- Always have a catchy subject line. The key to ensuring that your email won’t merely end up in the trash bin of your recipient is to have a catchy subject line. Speak to your recipients directly by having an irresistible subject that’ll give them all the reason to open your e-mail.
Conclusion
Having an ecommerce business today is a very profitable form of business. The Internet is indeed changing the way that businesses move. Rather than simply being focused on the traditional brick and mortar type of businesses, there are so many now popping out online. Especially as of late where online shopping is becoming the new norm, all the more that you’ve got to use this to your advantage. Because of its high demand, there’s no denying the earning potential that you can have with an online business. Keep your sales up by following these tips enumerated above.
