If you are in the business of selling your products or services, then you probably already know that having an online store is an essential step. Not only that your store can present an extension of your marketing campaign, but an online store has several big advantages over the brick and mortar kind. Firstly, it never closes and can work ‘round the clock – even during holidays, it doesn’t require as many employees to run properly, and a well optimized online store can reach people on a global level, something where a physical store fails flat.
An average consumer will, in 2017, have more than plenty of options to buy from – so, making sure that your store is offering something unique, and that you have an adequate approach is essential. Customers also aren’t interested in waiting – they want everything here and now, and it is up to you to deliver. There are quite a few steps to improving their buying experience. We’ve prepared some of the most important things you should focus on, so let’s get started.
1. Your Website Must Facilitate Quick and Responsive Shopping
When we say perfect, we mean: it must load quickly both on desktops and mobile phones, it should have a lot of different content that is well optimized for different platforms, so that it works flawlessly. This is called having a responsive design, something that is considered as a default, but you’d be surprised how many people still do not have responsive websites. On the other hand, online purchases must be available instantly, with different payment options. You need to accept PayPal, debit and credit cards, and for that you will need to take a look at the rankings of the best credit card processors and simply select the ones that fits you and your business model the best.
2. Your Website, Items and Services Must Be SEO Optimized
If you have a plethora of items in your shop, you must make sure that each of them is optimized with a good description, an adequate picture, and a good social sharing plugin that will enable your customers and visitors to share them on their own networks. SEO optimization will enable you to quickly rank your services highly in search engine results and that can only be done if you pay attention to the inner-workings of your website. Remember to include customer reviews, and mark them as such, as those details might help search engines display your item when someone searches for them.
3. Invest in High-Quality Photos
If you have a lot of products, using generic images will simply not do. Never underestimate the power of good photography, especially if that item is in everyday use. People will get the idea of the actual size, performances and other qualities of the product if they see a couple of real-life images of it. Generic images might look good, but they offer quite a little information to the consumer. Naturally, this can cost quite a bit, but you should invest into such a marketing approach, and maintain the same unique style all across the webstore. Maybe you want to do something funny, so don’t be afraid of experimenting.
4. Make Sure it’s Easy for Customers to Contact You
People must be able to find your contact me information in as much as two clicks – and there, you must offer different ways of contacting you. From telephone to email, and even video calls should be available to your customers, as there are different types of people and all of them prefer a different approach when trying to ask about the product they are interested in. It would be a good idea to offer live chat on your website, for those who instantly require information – they will be grateful for that, and will reward you by becoming your customers.
5. Make Check-Out Simple
Make the registration optional, or even remove it completely, but ask for their email. Remove all the steps that are unnecessary and that only hinder the shopping experience. Remember, when people are shopping, they want everything now. So, it would be best to immediately offer instant checkout options. On the other hand, you should also offer free shipping of free gift wrapping – those things might cost you a little at first, but in the end, it will only create a group of loyal customers that will appreciate your business, and your brand.
This will improve their shopping experience, and increase revenues for you.
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