Online Shops – How to get more sales
What you have to do
You know that lots of people are coming to your website but for some reason they are leaving before they make a purchase. This is actually a common problem as most businesses focus on getting people to their website. This is a good start – but unless you get them to buy it has been a wasted effort. Unfortunately, it is not as easy as getting people to your website and the sales will just flood in.
It is important to remember that if you do not have a ‘bricks and mortar’ store that your website is the only way people will find out about what you sell. This means it is extremely important that both time and resources are put into making your website the best it can be.
So what are some of the ways to get more sales from your online shop?
1. Design your website to sell your product
You only have a few seconds to engage a potential customer so your website needs to look the part. Based on your home page your customers needs to quickly decide if you have what they want to buy without having to scroll too much. Your catalogue of products needs to be uncluttered and easy to navigate. A search function is necessary unless you only have a few products.
With more than 50% of online purchases now being made via mobile devices it is also imperative that you have a mobile responsive website – or else you could be missing out on over half your sales.
2. Streamline the process
It is extremely important that there is a minimum of clicks required between the time a customer decides to make a purchase and the finalisation of the purchase. The process should be quick and with minimal distractions. If the payment process is not quick it greatly increases the chances of your customer abandoning their purchase and going to a website that offers a more streamlined approach.
3. Don't ask for unnecessary information
Some online shops require a customer to open up an account before they are allowed to make a purchase. This is also a leading cause of people abandoning a purchase before completion. This puts a lot of people off as it adds quite a lot of time to the purchase and requires them to provide unnecessary information they may not want to provide to make a simple purchase. It is always great to gather information about customers but not at the expense of missing out on a sale.
4. Be upfront about delivery charges
Another major reason for people abandoning an online purchase is delivery charges only being disclosed at the last step of purchase. Always be clear about delivery charges as customers can assume that delivery charges are included in the purchase price only to be disappointed to find out at the checkout that it is an extra cost. Always have a separate page on your website that sets out the terms and conditions (including delivery charges). In addition, a summary of your delivery charges should be added to your home page with a link to the page with the full terms and conditions.
5. Create excitement
Give customers a reason to come back to your website by having sales and special offers. Leverage your sales by sending out via email marketing and social media – such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This way you will get customers who have already made the decision to buy your product even before they even click onto your website.
Dynamic Websites specialise in small business web design. We are based in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn and provide services throughout Australia. We understand what it takes to get a small business online at an affordable price and with the minimum of fuss. Along with designing websites for small business, tradies and NDIS service providers we provide online marketing services. Our online marketing for small business extends to Google Ads, Google My Business, Microsoft Advertising, search engine optimisation (SEO), content writing and, blog writing.
