10 + 1 reason why you lose customers
Your store generates income. Could it be more profitable? Of course, if you follow at least the ten points listed below. Go through this checklist carefully and you will probably find a couple of comments on your store. Sometimes even large and reputable online stores make such children's mistakes.
Since this article was written, I have encountered another common mistake. Therefore, especially for habretchikov added a bonus, eleventh case, helping your customers leave the online store without a purchase.
1. The main page looks faded and impersonal
What does your visitor see when they get to the main page of the store? Can it be said with 100% certainty that this is an online store? Can he find out what this store sells? A typical mistake is to neglect the laws of commercial design. In addition to the small print and the lack of proper description, it is often not always possible to find the center of the composition. All texts and pictures look either secondary or each element tries to “shout over” the next one. Remember how the newspaper of free ads looks, filled with a mass of motley advertising blocks.
Take pity on the time and eyes of your visitor - he will linger longer on your site and may make an order.
2. Are communication methods visible with managers?
It is easier for some customers to come to the store and find the goods on the shelves themselves, while for others it is more convenient to ask the seller about the availability and cost directly from the threshold. Even if your store was created by a professional designer, make sure that those who prefer to call or write to you, having stated their questions, do not have to look long for how to do this. An ideal option would be a phone number that is always visible. For example, at the top of the page.
3. Is there any information on payment methods and delivery conditions?
Is it worth the visitor to spend time searching for goods in your store if he is not able to pay in the ways that you can accept? Is it worth the time if you can not deliver the paid goods to your buyer? The answers are obvious - you cannot serve such a client, just as you cannot serve those who could not find information about payment and delivery methods on your site. Even if the latter live a block away from your office and are able to pay, they will not know about it.
For good manners, you can take the item on payment and delivery in a conspicuous place.
4. Are payment and delivery methods convenient for your potential customer?
Even if the information on how to pay, where and for how much you will deliver hangs in the most visible place, your visitor may leave disappointed due to the scarcity of your services. Try to find out in what ways it will be more convenient for your potential customers to pay. Also, find out their wishes for delivery. Learn and translate!
5. Is it convenient to find the right product in your store?
Often, buyers pass by the desired shelf with the goods without noticing it. In addition to categories and directories, it is good to have a search form. It’s good if it will be autosubstitution. And the search results should be given as competently as search engines do. It’s not difficult - there are a lot of ready-made solutions.
6. Does the product page sell?
The “product page” or, in other words, the “product page” is perhaps one of the most important in the online store. After all, it is on it that a decision is made to purchase or not to buy goods from you. All conditions noted in paragraph 1 are also valid for this page. In addition, check if the product descriptions are good enough? Is the price indicated? Is the photo good? Can you immediately see what you need to do to buy a product: put it in the basket, call, enter the code or something else?
Create buttons with compelling texts, such as “Put in the basket” or “Buy!”
7. Is it indicated that the goods are in stock?
To save someone else’s time is to respect others. Respect your visitors, tell them about the presence or absence of a product immediately. Respect your managers, not forcing to call just to refuse in the absence of a position in the warehouse.
It is pleasant to deal with those who have information on the availability of goods always in sight and always up to date.
8. Is it easy to find a basket after adding goods to it?
It is not for nothing that in online stores they adopted the analogy of a basket with supermarkets, where it is always near you. The ridiculous situations of finding a basket on sites still occur. Good usability is also respect for your client.
9. Your managers are silent
We did everything according to the instructions: we found the goods and paid for it. What happens next? In good stores, they send us an email with further instructions, and then they call and repeat again. What happens in your store? Does the manager respond to messages written in the feedback form on the site? Does it respond to letters sent to the addresses indicated in the contact information? Is the telephone line free?
10. What do you give your customer after he has made a purchase, except for the goods, check and guarantee?
Many do not give anything. Therefore, in the competition they are easily circumvented by those who leave at least something behind themselves. For example, a business card or flyer in your store. Or someone else’s store. Yes, do not be surprised, partnership is a great thing! We will talk more about this soon.
And one more typical mistake, do not be silent when you are praised and even more so when you are scolded .
Remember how often you check for new replies to a message you left on a forum, blog, or elsewhere. You are wondering if they will answer you and what they will answer. It is also interesting to the visitor of your store. Reviews on your site about yourself or about the product is your dialogue with the buyer. This is what others spend thousands of dollars on - your analysis of consumer needs. If you are scolded in the case, you do not need to delete such reviews, better say: "thank you"!
Do not write comments yourself, imitating a heated discussion. It is always repulsive.
This is not a complete list of what should be checked in a working online store or taken into account during development. But meeting these ten conditions will already increase the conversion of visitors to customers.
Let's go through the points briefly again:
1. Do not save on design.
2. Put the phone number in sight.
3. Next to the phone number, place information on payment and delivery methods.
4. Expand payment methods, think over delivery methods again.
5. Work through the site search to the smallest detail.
6. Do not save on copywriters and photographers. Indicate the price immediately. Describe to the visitor the desired action to complete the purchase.
7. Indicate the current information on the availability of goods. Automate this.
8. Respect your visitors!
9. Check the operability of all communication channels.
10. Leave something after yourself.
11. Work with reviews.
This and other articles can be found on the blog about online stores in Ukrainian realities.