As of 2021, the estimated number of e-commerce sites across the entire world is 1 million to 24 million. And more gets created each day. That’s definitely intimidating for a home-based brand that’s just about to put up their website live. But the competition isn’t as tough as you think. Out of those 12 to 24 million, less than 1 million sites sell over $1,000 every year.
Around 80% of e-commerce businesses fail. And the reasons are surprisingly few, those being a user-unfriendly site, an unclear product value, and difficult site navigation. Hence, by avoiding those common mistakes, an e-commerce site can attract customers and meet its goals. But it isn’t that simple either.
Different factors influence a customer’s decision when shopping online. It’s more than just because of your pretty web page. Below are the rest of the reasons you’ve encouraged customers to spend on you:
1. Your Reputation
In the age of social media, word-of-mouth marketing has become the key to promoting and maintaining a good brand reputation. According to business expert Kristin Zhivago, brands and customers now talk to each other. What your current customers are saying about you will either help you succeed or bring you to your downfall.
But what if you’re a new e-commerce brand and building a reputation from scratch? Start from your online presence. Be consistent in your social media pages and website. You’ll get a lot of inquiries, so respond quickly and answer their questions clearly. Post frequently to create an engagement with your followers. Maintain a consistent brand voice as well. Potential customers will recognize your efforts and become encouraged to conduct business with you.
Maintain the good reputation you’ve built by keeping your promises, rewarding customers for positive interactions, delivering more than what’s expected of you, and being consistent. Keep engaging with your audience. Acknowledge your mistakes and respond to negative reviews professionally. No brand makes zero mistakes, but if you make up for them accordingly, you can control your reputation better.
2. You’re Trustworthy
Apart from a good reputation, new customers should also find your brand trustworthy the moment they visit your site. The factors that build up your site’s trustworthiness are the contact information, return policy, and technical certification.
In your contact information, customers should see your email, phone numbers, and mailing address. A detailed About page helps too. It humanizes your brand and thus makes customers feel like they’re engaging with a real person.
A return policy guarantees a better customer experience. It actually boosts your sales since it reduces the likelihood of abandoned carts. Plus, it instills confidence in customers, because you’re allowing them to send back a product that didn’t satisfy them without additional fees.
Lastly, a technical certification increases the security of your payment services. Nobody wants to buy from a site that doesn’t protect their customers’ sensitive data, such as credit card information. But if a site has a security compliance badge, that technical certification will prove the safety of your site.
3. You Have Great Product Photos
Your product photography is like your ambassador. It embodies all the promises of your brand, from the product’s taste, smell, feel, and quality. While photos in a white background serve the most realistic look, a little creativity wouldn’t hurt. E-commerce image editing services add unique artistry to your product photos. They can depict your product in scenarios like that in a TV commercial. With those beautiful photos on your site’s homepage, your brand’s image will boost, and your site will look more attractive and trendy.
4. Your Product Value
Value differs from one customer group to another. What one group may consider valuable may have little value for another. For example, Amazon customers value the site’s convenience and competitive prices. Meanwhile, Sephora customers value the customization they can do with their shopping. Find a particular feature or quality in your site and products that customers will value. Don’t assume that prices and user-friendliness alone will set your brand’s value. There should be a unique selling point that customers won’t find on other sites.
5. Easy Site Navigation
Easy navigation relates to user-friendliness. Customers seek e-commerce sites wherein they can find the product page quickly and easily. With a website that’s a breeze to navigate, your search engine optimization (SEO) will boost, driving your ranking up in results pages.
The headers that customers should see on your site are “Shop” (product category), “Bestsellers”, “About Us”, and “Contact Us”. You don’t need dozens of headers to establish credibility and user-friendliness. Those four headers are enough to build up your reputation and organize your site.
With these five essential qualities in your site, you’d attract customers easily, gain their trust, and turn them into loyal supporters. It really isn’t that complicated to influence a customer’s buying decision. In most cases, the more subtle your strategies are, the more encouraged a customer becomes to spend.
