Ecommerce marketing is the pipeline that feeds any online store’s sales growth and conversion strategy. Conversion rate is as important to an online store as footfall is to brick and mortar stores. More conversion = Multiplied revenue. That is the simple rule of the retail business.
If you are an eCommerce entrepreneur, it goes without saying that every single moment of your life will be spent trying to improve conversion rates. While there is no shortcut to increase conversion rate overnight, there are some wise hacks that successful online stores have been trying and succeeding at.
Here are some excerpts in better online selling taken from the success stories of such top online stores.
For convenience, I have classified the tactics into three parts:
In-store modifications: How better can you tweak the online ambience of your store
Selling tactics: How to be a better seller than your competitors
Marketing tactics: How to shot louder and better to grab your customer attention
IN-STORE MODIFICATIONS
While selling in the real-world happens face to face, in the online selling your virtual storefront is the brew for better selling. Here is how you can fix it for maximum conversion.
- High-resolution Images
If there is one thing that convinces a customer that a product is worth the money, it will be its image. Product images depicting its features from multiple angles and zooming functionality help convince your customer better. And, the images must be of high-resolution. The product must be visible up close, how you will be able to inspect close enough in your neighborhood store. Take some product photography lessons to show products with maximum clarity and detail.
Check out how Best Made Company showcases something simple as an axe with stunning product photography:
- Product Video
Looking at Arnold’s Terminator movie poster or watching the trailer; what makes you want to watch the movie? Of course, the trailer right?
Why? Because, videos can amplify the curiosity that images can create. If you can set up high-res product images, you can definitely put up product videos too that will help you convince the customer to make the buy.
Moreover, product videos can show the product as it is in outdoor or real light scenarios. When customers see for real how the product looks and feels in actual conditions, they will feel more convinced of its quality and buy-worthiness.
Zappos, the world’s most favorite online shoe store shows a product video for almost every shoe it sells. Here is what you will see at Zappos.
- Display Trust Seals
Security breeds customer trust. Without customer trust ,your business won’t run for long. Hence, the need to display trust seals. Trust seals are indicators that your store is secured by an SSL certificate.
The most commonly used and seen trust seals are as under:
SSL encryption boosts conversion rates at least by 30% since it customers are assured of their payment and private information security. What more, SSL encryption also helps your store rank higher in search engine results.
The type of SSL certificate you must pick will vary according your business needs. For personal blogs and websites, a basic SSL certificate that can provide HTPS address bar is sufficient. For corporate blogs, banking and financial websites, eCommerce stores, etc. it is recommended to opt for SSL certificate with Extended Validation. EV SSL Certificate will give a green address bar and a padlock symbol which helps in improving customer confidence and search engine ranking.
SELLING TACTICS
How to push your sales volumes through innovative measures that retailers all over the world adopt feverishly.
- Bundle and combo packs
Bundling is effective of selling multiple products to the customer in a single order. It helps increase the average order value substantially. The trick is to bundle one slow-moving product with a best-seller. Customers who buy the best-sellers will be tempted to buy the bundle.
They get an additional product at costs less than what they would otherwise have to pay for buying the products separately. For the store, it is like liquidating the slow-moving stock quickly without much effort. A win-win situation in all aspects.
Here is a classic example of how Amazon sells more of its stuff through bundling:
Bonus Tip: Take the bundle offer further ahead by allowing customers to choose other product can go with the best-seller.
- Free shipping thresholds
Let’s face the hard truth. Free shipping is a penalizing on the store profitability. But, that is what customers expect the most too. It is better to provide free shipping than to give a generous $10 discount. From the customer’s perspective, the shipping cost is definitely a turn off no matter how big the discount is.
Sitepoint tweaked its store code such that shipping cost was absolutely free if the order was above $100. This increased their order value and conversions by over 50% in less than a week.
Bottom line: Customers want free shipping by all means.
- Show cost savings
One way Amazon tricks its customers into spending more is by quantifying the savings that they have made in the particular order. Since all our brains are wired to spend more when there is huge saving, we tend to buy more.
Going a step further, you can also show much more the customer can save by increasing the product quantity of the order.
MARKETING TACTICS
How to grab your customer attention in a nice and polished manner without breaking your bank.
- Social media
Social media is everywhere and everyone is in it. It is the biggest virtual continent on the Earth where you can reach your target customers easily. Social Media Optimization can help tal into the user base that social networking websites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. have created.
In fact, a new branch of eCommerce called social commerce is on the rise where you can sell products directly to customers using social media as a platform. Be informed that at least 74% of customers rely on social recommendations for their purchases. So it makes sense to sell to them directly than through any other medium.
Bringing it all together
These 7 eCommerce tactics are sure to increase your store revenue manifold. From in-store modifications to better marketing and also selling, you can be better at eCommerce selling without breaking your bank balance. Let us know how these work out for you.
Good one! Thank you for sharing such an informative content.