When doing business online, it’s only natural to make plans that fit with your own aims – but it’s also vital to consider various factors from the point of view of customers. For example, if you can reassure customers that your online business is trustworthy, and provide them with easy ways to buy, you’ll be rewarded with increased traffic, higher conversion rates and happy customers who are more likely to return.
Right now, during the festive season with peaks in online shopping, you have the ideal opportunity to make your online business more successful than ever by creating trust and loyalty among your customers. All you need to do is takes some simple steps based on four key tips.
- Use a trusted and up-to-date payment provider
Staying up to date with the latest online payment technology is essential for any eCommerce business. By using services from a well-known and trusted provider, you can ensure that customers feel secure during online transactions, and ultimately generate more sales.
Do purchases on your site originate in other countries? You can encourage international sales and focus on key markets by supporting various currencies in your payment process. This can also help build loyalty with your customers, wherever they’re located.
Always remember that customers generally don’t have much time to spend browsing, and can be quite impatient. If your website lacks a fast and simple checkout process, you run the risk of pushing potential buyers away. Older payment systems can result in long processing times and frustrated customers, so make sure you maximise your sales with a quick, easy and responsive system from a professional provider.
Some trusted payment providers that might be right for you:
- Skrill
- Barclaycard
- Streamline
- Card Cutters
- Independent Merchant Services
- Take advantage of recommendations and endorsements
‘When you say it, it’s marketing. When your customer says it, it’s social proof. Take this a carte blanche – use every review, comment and anecdote you can to show how great you are at providing the services/goods that you do.’ – Andy Crestodina
When shopping online, opinions matter, whether they come from someone the customer knows or other people on the Internet. Hardly any online purchase decisions happen without the consultation of reviews, ratings or some kind of independent opinion. Customers might even avoid buying from your business if no reviews are available, so you should always ensure that there is some way to leave freely available feedback on your products or services.
Industry association memberships and certifications are also highly effective for showing that your business is recognised and endorsed by third parties. If any of these apply to your business and you don’t already display their logos on your website, get them added as soon as possible.
- Keep up with eCommerce best practice
Graham Charlton, former Editor-in-Chief of eConsultancy, tells businesses that one of the most important best practices when it comes to eCommerce is to ensure a smooth customer experience. Some essential points to consider in relation to usability:
- Streamline your order process to make it as brief as possible
- Don’t ask customers to complete extensive forms
- Offer time-saving options like autofill
- Ensure your website layout is optimised for mobile devices
- Clearly show where extra charges apply, e.g. delivery or VAT
- Give customers the ability to amend their order details
- Encourage brand loyalty
By enhancing the loyalty of customers and encouraging them to come back time and time again, you can rely on steady sales and concentrate on delivering the best possible service, without worrying about your competitors. There are a wide range of apps and tools that can help you achieve this, for example the website plugin Shippo that allows you to automate the shipping process and spend more time on your business.
Remember that anything you can do to improve the experience of your customers will be appreciated. Security issues are top priority for many online shoppers, so you should put protection in place wherever possible. By making use of these tips you should be able to attract more visitors to your website and boost your sales – meaning a fantastic festive season for everyone! Good luck!
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