For customers to buy from you – and to attract repeat business – you need to make them happy when they visit your website. But how exactly do you do that? Read on for our top tips on how to make your customers love you.
By Jason Hesse
Consumers’ expectations are both the easiest and most difficult things to meet. What are the influential factors for a customer deciding whether to buy from you or not?
1. Pricing/shipping information clearly stated (95.5%)
2. Looks credible and trustworthy (76.5%)
3. Product displayed on homepage (70.8%)
4. Visually appealing (66.7%)
5. Total cost calculator – ie shipping, tax, etc (59.1%)
6. Search function (48.2%)
7. Privacy statement (45.5%)
8. Online customer reviews / testimonials (40.9%)
9. Online customer service – ie live chat (32.5%)
10. Links to social networks (22.7%)
Every ecommerce entrepreneur should pay attention to these results, from a survey conducted by digital marketing agency Oneupweb. In fact, why not go through the list for your own website and see which factors you don’t quite meet?
Displaying pricing and shipping information clearly is an obvious thing that consumers want – who wants to see a big unexpected shipping fee added at the end of an online shopping session?
Strong design, too, is vital. Just as you wouldn’t be happy walking into a high-street shop that is disorganised and messy, your ecommerce offering should be clean and clear. Compare an old Woolworths against a sleek Apple store. I know which I would rather spend my time in!
You want to help your customers find what it is they’re after – not encourage them to click away to a competitor. Display your products clearly and make the shopping experience enjoyable. Design matters, and good website design indicates that there’s a solid company behind the screen.
Beyond the factors above, customers these days often also want to track delivery. “Where’s my stuff?” is a question every online buyer wants to know the answer to. Rather than making them have to email you, try and install a quick and painless tracking widget that allows customers to see what point in the delivery process their order is at.
Depending on your business, you may also want to include video demonstrations of product assembly or installation. People want to see how your products work, so help them to do so. Give customers demonstration videos, guided tours and assembly instruction videos to help them interact with your products.
It isn’t easy to have the “perfect” ecommerce website – technology is constantly developing alongside consumer demands. But stay on top of your customer offering and you’ll ensure that customers remain happy and keep spending.
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