They say that success leaves clues. Well, they are very wrong. Success leaves a huge signboard detailing what to do and not do to get the results you want.
By following in the footpaths of those who’ve gone before you, you’ll save yourself years in wasted effort. There’s no need reinventing the wheel. Just follow industry best practices and you’ll get results similar to those of the best in your industry.
The most successful eCommerce sites have figured out what works. You have a better chance succeeding if you embrace some of their best practices.
Here are some boxes they have checked…
Are Your Products Priced Correctly?
Effective pricing is not just about having the lowest prices. Getting into a price war with your competitors is often just a race to the bottom.
Also, having the highest prices when there is no prestige or extra value attached to your product can also hurt your business.
The best eCommerce sites have mastered the art of pricing.
What you want is a pricing strategy that allows you to move reasonable volume while maximizing profits and your brand. Determining this price might start with you analyzing your market and knowing what the competition currently charges. You can use a tool like Import.io to collect your competitors’ pricing data.
Use the resultant information and your business goals to put together a winning pricing strategy.
Do Your Products Meet High-Quality Standards?
Having products that meet high-quality standards is good business. Great companies are built on great products.
Having products that meet high-quality standards affords your business the following benefits:
- Makes marketing easier as it is easier to sell a great product.
- benefit from word-of-mouth marketing as satisfied customers tell their friends and family about your products.
- Builds credibility and trust.
- Enhances brand loyalty.
- Ensures you avoid legal action.
Most nations now require that you meet minimum standards as far as quality guidelines go.
You can ensure that the products you sell on your eCommerce site meet high-quality standards by having compulsory safety checks and quality controls at various points in the supply chain. This can be achieved by coming with and implementing a robust quality assurance program.
For example, if you are selling an app on your site, you can use TestFairy to ensure that the kinks are ironed out before deploying the app for download or sale.
Depending on the product or service you are selling, you need to find a governing tool that will make it easy for you to check their quality to maximize the customer experience.
Is It Easy and Safe to Purchase from Your Site?
How easy it is for customers to buy from your site affects your eCommerce site’s conversion rates in a big way.
The best eCommerce businesses do not take any aspect of their site that can affect sales figures for granted.
You want to pay attention to:
- Number of steps to checkout.
- Available payment methods.
- Errors like broken links.
- Page layout and navigation.
- Design and user experience.
- Number of fields to fill for each transaction.
- Search feature on your eCommerce site (can products be easily found).
Ultimately, successful eCommerce sites see increase profits if they make the purchasing process and the ability track their sales much easier through a point of sales system. These tools also let you track advanced metrics to gauge the performance of online stores, much to your benefit.
“Retailers will continue to transform the in-store experience through technologies like foot-traffic analytics, RFID, touchscreens, and beacons,” according to this post at VendHQ. “This will prompt POS providers to integrate with in-store technologies so retailers can get the most from their services.”
Assuring shoppers that it is safe to shop on your site is also important. You can start by switching to HTTPS from HTTP and also ensuring that you use SSL on your electronic payment gateway.
Are Your Terms and Conditions Clear to All?
Successful eCommerce sites have precise terms and conditions that protect both their business and customers.
Terms and conditions should be set with the knowledge that all participating parties, including you, shall adhere to them.
Your terms and conditions should outline when payments are expected for goods and services delivered, returns policy, a fee for late payments, guarantees and warranties, dispute resolution procedures, and others.
Is Your Customer Service Helpful At All?
Customer support can make or break a business. Great eCommerce companies have excellent customer support.
Customers who have a bad experience with your company are less likely to give you their business again. On the other hand, those who’ve had a good customer support experience will not only continue shopping with you; they will tell their friends about you.
Moreover, knowing that they can always have their issues ironed out, they are more likely to make purchases when not sure about products’ specs, and this means more sales for your eCommerce site.
You can use a tool like Desk.com to manage customer concerns in your business.
Successful eCommerce sites strive to:
- Respond quickly to requests.
- Follow up on feedback.
- Exceed customer expectations at every level.
- Treat all customers with respect.
- Be consistent in the quality of customer service they offer.
What Do Your Customers Think About Your Site?
The best eCommerce sites care deeply about what their customers think and feel about their sites. Your website is the point where your customers interact with your eCommerce business, so it makes sense to ensure that the clients like your site.
As much as you may want a beautiful site, do not sacrifice user experience for fancy design.
You can run a survey using Survey Monkey to figure out what your customers think about your site.
Can Your Site Adapt to Mobile?
A significant number of online shoppers now shop on their mobile phones. The best eCommerce websites have embraced this reality and developed websites that are mobile friendly.
You can also have a mobile friendly site by having a responsive design or having a dedicated mobile site. Customers and the search engines will like you more. Google favors mobile friendly sites for searches performed on mobile phones.
If you have yet to create a mobile-friendly version of your site, you can always use tools like Mofuse to not only develop a mobile version but also promote your business to relevant online channels.
Conclusion
Having an eCommerce site that meets all these guidelines will give you an edge over your competition.
Shoppers want an impressive online shopping experience. Most people shop online because of the convenience factor. They want to get back to work or play fast. Make the experience flawless and you’ll continually get their business.
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