Your E-Commerce Shop And Your Customers
E-Commerce Shop Fundamentals
There are some basic rules which dictate the success of any e-commerce shop and if these rules are followed it can make a huge difference to online sales for any business. In my previous article I outlined the benefits of planning for e-commerce and these fundamental, yet sometimes simple rules should be part of your e-commerce business plan.
Make Your Online Shop Look Neat & Professional
There is nothing more off-putting to a potential customer than a poorly designed, unprofessional looking business website. Don’t settle for less just because your neighbour’s son said he could build you a website – this is your business we are talking about. Take a look at what your competitors have and aim high and within your budget. Be prepared to pay for a decent website and remember that it represents your business online. In addition stay away from free e-commerce software and don’t try to cut corners when it comes to being professional on the internet. Customers are wary of poorly designed websites and will be reluctant to buy from your online shop or give you their contact details and credit card numbers if your e-commerce store looks unprofessional.
Ease Of Use Is The Key To E-Commerce Success
Probably the single biggest factor in boosting confidence levels of shoppers on your e-commerce shop is ease of use. products should be clearly displayed along with all related prices such as cost, shipping and taxes. The different categories of products should be well thought out and visible from any page in your website and your “add to basket” buttin should be highly visible next to every product. Make sure your “checkout” button is also highly visible on every product page of your website. You should make it as easy as possible for your customers to add products to their online shopping cart and pay for them quickly and securely.
The item, price, shipping and add-to-basket should be clearly displayed on all products in your e-commerce store
Give Your Online Customers What They Want
You have ten seconds to give your customers what they want or say goodbye. Doesn’t sound like much time, does it? It isn’t. In the world of e-commerce people are searching for products for a reason, they want to research them or, more likely, buy them. If your e-commerce website doesn’t deliver those products on-screen to online shoppers they will leave and all research shows that people wait an average of 8-10 seconds before hitting that “back” button. Poorly designed menu’s or badly laid-out, slow-loading sites are often to blame for this phenomenon. If customers have to hunt around your store for five minutes to find out what they are looking for, you have a problem – they won’t. They’ll simply leave and visit another online shop.
Make sure your products are clearly displayed along with your categories. If you sell clothing for children then place some examples on the front page of your site. Better still, make sure your e-commerce software has a built-in search engine your customers can use to quickly find the products they want.
Be Professional To Your E-Commerce Customers
It sounds basic but you wouldn’t believe how often this issue is overlooked. You wouldn’t leave a customer standing in your high street shop for two days waiting for an answer, so don’t do it online either. Online shopping is big business and people are very savvy when it comes to the internet. If they are not receiving the customer service levels they expect you will never see them again. Bad service travels like wildfire so the effects can be far-reaching. If a customer asks a question respond quickly and show your clients online that you value their business. Your e-commerce store is no different than your real shop.
