BOOST REVENUE AND SATISFACTION BY DELIVERING A BETTER CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
Whether you’re a startup or an established brand looking to sell your products online, an ecommerce website can be a powerful sales engine for your business – if your customers like their experience. There are many must-have elements for successful ecommerce development, including quick load times, intuitive navigation, search engine optimization, and mobile-friendly design. But what more can you do to power sales and surpass your customer’s expectations? Consider these smart and strategic ecommerce web development ideas to drive your online sales.
OFFER GUEST CHECKOUTS
User accounts in your ecommerce website benefits repeat customers by saving their information and making future purchases fast and convenient. They also allow you, the business owner, to follow up and re-market to those users in the future. But customers with time constraints or privacy concerns may be unwilling to set up an account on their first visit to your website. Offering a guest checkout option is an easy way to eliminate a common sales roadblock and increase customer satisfaction.
MAKE SHIPPING COSTS TRANSPARENT
Unexpected shipping costs are the number one reason for shopping cart abandonment. This is why we recommend displaying shipping information early in the checkout process. To make shipping costs more transparent, consider including a zip code calculator, estimated delivery times, and options for faster delivery. Whenever possible, offer customers complimentary shipping. Studies have shown that shoppers spend 30% more per order when free shipping is included.
FEATURE PRODUCT FILTERING
Whether your online store offers hundreds—or hundreds of thousands—of products, it’s important to make it fast and easy for users find exactly what they want. A robust product filtering function that lets customers refine by multiple search criteria like price, size, department, brand, etc., is essential for providing an exceptional user experience.
PROVIDE PRICE COMPARISON AND USER REVIEWS
Give your ecommerce website an advantage by allowing users the ability to compare product prices side-by-side so they can select the one that offers the best value—Amazon.com and Dell.com are great examples. Include customer product reviews to further enhance the shopping experience on your website and increase your conversion rates. After all, 90% of online shoppers say that customer reviews influence their buying decisions. Learn more about our online review management services here.
REWARD YOUR CUSTOMERS
Attracting and converting first-time buyers is only part of a sound ecommerce website development strategy. Entice repeat business and strengthen brand affinity with a customer loyalty program. But not any old rewards will do. Offer rewards that have real value and are easy to redeem. Coupon codes can be effective, but point-based and VIP programs help prompt larger and more frequent purchases. Creative rewards solutions, like this one from Novartis Consumer Health, make deep and lasting connections with customers.
SERVE UP SOCIAL MEDIA
There are many ways that social marketing can benefit your business and make your ecommerce more effective. Social sharing buttons are standard yet effective in increasing brand advocacy and awareness. To stand out from the competition, consider integrating shareable social content into your site, like blog posts, educational pages, tutorials, and video testimonials. These elements build trust and engagement by adding information your customers find valuable.
EMPLOY AN INTEGRATED DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGY
No ecommerce site operates in a vacuum. To be effective at driving potential customers to your website, it must be part of a holistic digital marketing plan. A strategic marketing mix must be in place after launch to increase awareness and drive traffic, and retain customers. Email marketing, pay-per-click advertising, SEO, and other digital marketing tactics that are customized to meet your goals make up a smart, integrated marketing strategy that will help you drive targeted traffic to your website.
As competition for online dollars continues to soar, business owners will need to innovate their ecommerce website development strategies to succeed.
Contact our Madison-based ecommerce website development experts today for help developing an integrated digital marketing strategy and an ecommerce website that shatters your customers’ expectations and your sales goals.
