Setting up online, part 2

With millions of active internet shoppers, the potential benefits of eCommerce are huge, in the second of this two-part series Darren Wilson, managing director of Streamline sets us on the right track to starting a successful online store.

Creating the website:

After getting a domain name and buying space on a server, the most important part of developing a website is to consider how a customer would like it to work – how easy is the checkout process? Is it easy to navigate? Is it attention grabbing?

However, there are five main things to consider when ensuring that you are well equipped to set up online:

Think like a customer - put your products in multiple categories and make them easy to find. This will maximise purchasing power and allow your customers to experience greater satisfaction when browsing your web page. Consider up-sell and cros-sell opportunities by offering similar products together and show a price progression from the least to the most expensive.

Keep it simple – a successful Ecommerce site has a simple and easy to navigate checkout process that displays clear pricing, shipping information, customer service and a phone number. Studies show that customers feel more confident knowing that you are just a phone call away if they have questions or are experiencing problems.

A picture is worth a thousand words – using photos of your products to go with short and snappy text will make them clear to the customer even at a glance. Online usability studies suggest that people scan text on a website rather than reading it properly. Here are some rough guidelines to ensure you convey your message clearly and powerfully:

• Headlines should be 8 words or less
• There should be 9-12 words per line
• Sentences should be short (15-20 words)
• Try to keep summaries under 30 words
• Keep paragraphs to 40-70 words

Market your site – building a website alone is simply not enough – you must ensure that you make an effort to market and promote your website to both new and existing customers.

For example, you can collect customer data by inviting them to sign up to newsletters and competitions, allowing you to keep in touch with them. It is also beneficial to seek links from other sites that complement yours and optimise your site’s content for relevance.

Add customer reviews to product pages – customer reviews can help your eCommerce business from both a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and user-experience standpoint. With online shopping becoming an increasingly social activity, customers are spending more and more time looking at peer reviews before making a purchasing decision.

By incorporating this into your own website, you will prevent them going elsewhere and help to build trust in your website. Online reviews will also give your site more unique content for the search spiders to read and index.

Prevent shopping cart abandonment:

A good shopping cart should be easy for customers to use, offer no surprises and display your contact details at all times.

It is essential you ensure that your site is optimised to successfully lead people through the payment process without them abandoning their purchase. There are many ways you can simplify the process and ensure that order completion occurs:

If you are experiencing a lot of abandoned checkouts, it is important that you understand at what point this is happening and why. Google Analytics will allow you to identify where potential customers are leaving the cart.

Allowing customers to purchase products as guests rather than requiring an account makes the entire process much easier.

Ensure that the customer is always aware of how far along the payment process they are. This can be achieved through a progress bar which is visible on every page in the procedure or using buttons that describe what the next steps are.

Giving customers a ‘continue shopping’ option allows them to make amends to their orders throughout the whole process without forcing them to leave the checkout page or start from the beginning.

Customer service:

Once your website is up and running, the most important thing to do now is to attract and retain customers. The difference between success and failure can often be customer service.

For online businesses it is the only way to connect with your shoppers and so it is even more important to have a good customer service protocol in place.

This will instil trust in your company and help reassure your customers that you are both genuine and committed. Delivery is one of the biggest gripes for online shoppers – the key to getting this right is to communicate with your customers, set realistic targets and alert them quickly to any delays.

In an age of social media and instant communication, getting this right is crucial as customers can quickly report any complaints and turn against you.