Creating a website as a way of enlarging your marketing efforts or solely for use in marketing products online is a great way to reach out to more audience, thus earning more money in today’s fast-growing internet world. Rather than having every customer visit your shop, thereby limiting the possibility of customers that are not in your area patronizing you, you can handle every sale online while sitting in your shop or your house.
Though easier to manage, knowing how to launch a website for your business or an e-commerce website, doesn’t guarantee your success regarding increased sales. This failure to get the most out of your site is primarily due to some common mistakes new e-commerce marketers make. If you’re considering starting a website for your business, or an e-commerce company, ensure you avoid these possible mistakes new e-commerce sellers make.
Complex Checkout Process
Once you’ve succeeded in convincing a customer to purchase your product or service, they need to move through your checkout counter to input their details and payment options. This particular stage is a place a lot of things go wrong and determines whether the sale goes through or not.
As mentioned, things can go wrong as it’s easy for customers to get distracted or frustrated by a complicated process. They can even abandon a purchase because of complex security issues, and move on to another seller who has a more straightforward checkout process.
If you must make sales through your website, ensure your checkout process is as simple, streamlined and safe as possible if you’re to expect higher chances of conversion.
Bad Customer Service
Sure, your customers won’t be dealing with face to face sales assistants, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect the importance of excellent customer service. Ensure your online customers are informed about any necessary information they need to know and make sure they get their questions, calls, and emails answered. With an excellent customer satisfaction strategy, you’re sure to turn your clients into dedicated brand advocates and ambassadors.
Lack of Shipping Options
All online customers prefer having to choose from options when it comes to purchasing products or services online, and this preference to alternatives applies to shipping processes also. Ensure you offer a broad range of shipping methods together with their prices and delivery times and make sure the options are easy for the customer to understand.
Not Having a Secure Website
Security is essential to everyone, especially in online dealings, due to the high rate of scams and fraudulent online transactions. Online customers feel more comfortable with buying products or services from secured sites. Many e-commerce websites and online stores of physical brands fall short on their security measure, which has a direct effect on their sales, as their customers leave their cart once they discover their details are not safe with the website. Something as simple as an SSL certificate can gain you the trust you need online.
Poor Search Function and General Website User Interface
Many online stores sell more than one product or services which makes it more than essential to have a website with an excellent user interface. One of the things you should consider is making sure your customers can search for the product they need and find the right information/product when they are on your website. Incorporate a search button that will assist your customers to find their preferred products within seconds and make sure your website pages load as fast as possible.
Lack of or Poor SEO Strategy
Just like always mentioned; SEO vital to being found online. How can your customers make purchases when they cannot see you online? Undoubtedly, word of mouth can’t get every customer you need for you, if you aim at reaching out to a broader audience. Adopt a strong SEO strategy that will see you ranking high for the right keywords on search engines and attracting the right customers for your business.
Poor Product Imagery and Product Description
Undoubtedly, you have a few seconds to convince an online buyer to purchase your product or service. Having a poorly written product description doesn’t help your convincing efforts. It undermines it, as the buyer won’t get to know about the product, even if it’s the best product on the internet.
Your product image also matters. Using poor stock images and substandard photography reduces your chances of selling the products as the uniqueness of the product is not highlighted.
Ensure you give your users multiple shots of your product from different angles, so they have an Imaginative feel of your product and have confidence in the quality they buy. Also, ensure your description has enough useful information about the benefits and values of your products. Also, target important keywords that’ll boost your SEO efforts and increase your chances of targeting the right customers.
Conclusively, a bulk of these mistakes made by new e-commerce marketers can be prevented if you adopt these measures explained above. Leverage the right strategies to be successful in your online business and see your results triple.
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