E-commerce

How To Give Your E-Commerce Customers A Five-Star Experience
,

How To Give Your E-Commerce Customers A Five-Star Experience As a business owner, you need not step into your customers’ shoes to understand their feelings. You are a customer yourself first before you are even a businessman. And that has been true since the dawn of businesses and long before e-commerce was even a thing. All along the line, if there has been one thing static, it is customer experience and its influence on the growth of your business. But what exactly does customer experience mean? Is it really that important? How can you ensure that your customers experience a satisfactory time on your website? Let’s get to it. What is Customer Experience? Customer experience in e-commerce is how your customer feels about their journey from your website to the end of the transaction. Your target is to ensure an outstanding customer experience. It involves smooth browsing, a safe checkout, and of course, on-time delivery, and quality of products. A happy customer is more likely to become a loyal one. What Makes A Wholesome Customer Experience? The most important factor that influences your customer is, obviously, the quality of the product that you offer. A close second would be a safe transaction. No one wants to make a payment on a platform that looks ‘shady’. Besides, when you sell something online, you can’t give your customer the personal attention that they would get if they were to walk into a traditional store. To compensate for that, you can make personalized gestures honoring bulk orders and offering special stock for festive seasons. At the same time, ensure easy browsing through relevant keywords and proper filters. Here are a few ideas that can help improve your business’s CX. 1. Design & Development How does a customer land on your website? Through an advertisement or a reference or because of your reputation. So, make sure that your landing page has the qualities that deliver the promises made in the advertisement; make sure that the page lives up to the reputation of the reference. To make the right first impression, you need a fast-loading website and a design that welcomes visitors. 2. Website Browsing Experience Say you Googled “last night sports results,” and it shows you a piece of news from last year or shows an advertisement for beauty products. How would you feel? Now, if your customer searches for, say, a helmet and your website shows results of shoes, how would he feel? Or maybe the result shows helmets but also includes helmet-printed t-shirts, helmet keychains, or wallpaper of a sportsperson wearing a helmet. While the relevant result is displayed, it is still cumbersome for your customer to select the right product from the cluster. So, there are two things you need to optimize – keywords & filters. Relevant keywords will make searching easy and good filters will help them pin down the exact product they were looking for. 3. Product Description Many merchants limit their product descriptions to product specifications only. The idea is that a rational person only needs hardcore details to decide. But what every business person must understand is that no matter how intelligent a person is, emotions always get the better of them, which are generally backed up with logical reasoning. That is why a wise merchant crafts their product descriptions to represent the beliefs and lifestyles of their target customers. Your customer will feel more at home if they can relate to the product description. 4. Provide as Much Product Information as You Can  How many times have you seen a product, say a phone cover, and wondered how it would look on your phone and in your hand? It often happens that even if we like the product on its own, we are doubtful if it would look good on a set or if it would suit our personality. Note that your online customer is going through the same dilemma. You can ease a customer’s selection through a size guide or contextualized photos or by setting them up with related products. In fact, this way you will not only achieve a good customer experience but also may instantly increase your sales if your customers purchase your recommended set. In addition, you can also plan for a chat box and grievance platform to communicate with your buyers on a more personal level. However, if you do opt for this feature, make sure that you use this feature actively. 5. Offer Personalized Discounts One very significant difference between an online store and a traditional store is that in an online store, the personal ‘touch’ is unavailable. You cannot greet your customer with a warm smile every time he visits your website. There can’t be any friendly negotiatory conversation (which undeniably has its own charms). You can’t really compensate for that but you still can make small gestures to connect with your customers on a personal level. For example, you can offer some store credit the first time they make a transaction or you can give them a discount on bulk orders. Even better, surprise them with a birthday discount or personalized merchandise once in a while. Another good way to make a personal connection with your customers is to restock your store during festivals with festive merchandise. 6. Provide a Safe Checkout Reflect on your exit pages. Do your customers bounce off right before they make a transaction? There may be two reasons behind it – your payment gateway is ‘faulty’ or you do not have a convenient payment option. The choice is simple here – patch your payment gateway with safety rules and give more payment options to your customers. Once the order is successfully placed, sent your buyer an email confirming the same. If you want to ensure safe transactions, our team at Exinent can help you achieve the highest level of security through your Magento store. 7. Never Compromise on Quality Nothing assures loyalty more than the quality of your product. Marketing can help…

Read article
How to Create Killer E-Commerce CTAs for Better Conversions
,

How to Create Killer E-Commerce CTAs for Better Conversions Call To Action (CTA) buttons are one of the most important factors that contribute to better conversions for an e-commerce website. Naturally, designers and e-commerce stores area always follow hyped CTA rules that don’t work well. As a business owner or a designer, you need to remember that there is no perfect formula for designing the best CTAs. It all depends on your business, the kind of products you sell, and the type of audience your website has.  Before we discuss how to design great CTAs, let us first see the importance of call-to-action buttons or elements. Why CTAs Are Important? It gives a webpage, a website, and any business a purpose It guides visitors on what to do next It correlates directly with revenue  It adds an element of attractiveness to a website It plays a key role in user or customer experience Here are a few things you need to keep in mind while creating new CTAs for your e-commerce website or optimizing existing ones.  1. Position Is Very Important The CTA should be visible above anything else on the page. It should have the most convenient position. Traditionally, it is placed at the center.  For a desktop, users are accustomed to a center-aligned CTA button. However, if you look at your heatmap that marks the movement of a visitor’s mouse, you will notice that a visitor’s mouse hovers mostly in the right section of the screen (or left, for left-handed people). So, now, some designers choose to place the CTA on the right side of the screen. Coming to mobile screen optimization, the CTAs are ideally placed at the center of the screen. Considering the size of the screen, it is usually pointless to align it otherwise. In this case, a comparatively big-sized CTA is used which spreads throughout the breadth of the screen even when it is aligned at the center.  Another important factor in positioning your CTA is to make sure that you place it before the fold. This implies that the CTA should be visible to the visitor without needing to scroll.  2. Choose CTA Colors Wisely The CTA should be the loudest factor on the webpage. Naturally, the color of the CTA button should stand out from the rest of the content on the page. Say, the color scheme of your website is centered around blue. You can color the CTA   in yellow or red. Another wise idea is to design such that the CTA button changes color when the mouse hovers over it. It attracts more attention. Typically, every CTA has two components – a box or a button and a text. Now, the contrast color factor applies to the box section of the CTA. The text color should be such that it is clearly readable within the box clearly.  3. Pay Attention to Size and Shape The size of the CTA text should definitely be strongly visible. But the exact size cannot be defined generally. For a page with only one CTA, it is ideally written in the biggest font.  The typical shape of a CTA is rectangular. Recently, the edges of the rectangle are softened or round. This appeals to the psychology of a user to focus on what’s inside the shape, as opposed to pointy edges which direct the user’s attention outward. Round CTAs are not used in the norm. A round CTA button is used to invoke a sense of surprise. It can be used for offering the user some offline or downloadable content.  4. Be Very Picky With Text The most important aspect of CTA is the voice of the text. It should be crisp and clear. It must include a verb that suggests a clear course of action. For most common CTAs like ‘Buy Now’, ‘Download’, ‘Subscribe’ etc. simplicity is the key. It wouldn’t yield much with creative tags. Creativity is worthy as long as the message is consistent. This means that all the CTAs that redirect to a single page should have consistent text. You do not need to create ‘attractive’ texts for CTAs that perform the same function. Coming to CTAs which are not the most common ones, a little bit of creativity can go a long way. The CTA text can aim at a certain emotion or enthusiasm (e.g. an image). You may try incentivizing the text with tags like ‘Order Now To Get 10% Discount’. These kinds of CTAs create a sense of urgency as well. This factor may work in your favor. Another point of consideration is including an icon with CTA. There is a psychological factor influencing visitors positively when there is an icon along with the text. A survey says that, when an icon accompanies a CTA text, they expect to get ‘more’ by clicking on it.  5. Frequency Plays a Vital Role In basic terms, if you focus on only one CTA, you can include the button 2-3 times on the page. The first position, as mentioned before should be in the first fold. Similarly, the last CTA has to be included in the last fold. In between, ideally, you need not keep more than one CTA.  While there is no technical limit to how many CTAs you can include, if you think from a user’s point of view, too many CTAs will distract them from the actual content. This kind of design can appear to be too much ‘profit-focused’. Best, limit the CTAs to just two or three. 6. Handle Multiple CTAs Carefully  If your page has multiple CTAs, the style of design alters a bit. While the chief CTA will still have the aforementioned features, the other CTAs will be softer versions of the same based on their importance. The color will be less loud, and the text size and content would be smaller. The other features, however, remain the same. 7. Don’t Forget to A/B Test As we mentioned before, there is no black-and-white…

Read article
E-commerce SEO Tips That Skyrocket Your Sales in 2022
, ,

E-commerce SEO Tips That Skyrocket Your Sales in 2022 It is no secret that the only way to increase your e-commerce website’s sales is by driving more traffic. While increasing the number of visitors to your online store is essential, we also need to keep in mind that the traffic you generate must be relevant to your store’s niche.  There are several ways to drive targeted traffic web traffic. Search engine optimization is undeniably the best technique because it is comparatively inexpensive and offers better ROI. On the downside, optimizing your e-commerce store for search engines is tricky. We shared six e-commerce SEO tips and best practices to help you drive a lot of organic traffic to your website.  Here we go!   1. Speed up Your Website Fact: The visitors that come to your website from Google are not your customers but Google’s. Since Google is a customer-centric company, it hates sending its customers to slow websites. Quick question: Would you prefer to go for a spin in a Chevy Corvette or Toyota Prius?!  Just like how an average person loves riding a sports car, an average internet user enjoys browsing a website that is lightning fast. Google has long been considering page loading time as a ranking signal. Therefore, you must make sure that the pages of your website take no more than a couple of seconds to load. The faster the page loading speed is, the better the rankings are. Great content and an ocean of backlinks can’t save your website from plummeting deep into Google’s SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) if your site is too slow and sluggish. Fun fact: According to a funny internet saying, the best place to hide a dead body is the second page of Google results. Nobody ever goes there! Anything not on the first page of Google results can’t be considered a ranking.  Key advantages of a fast-loading website: Better ranking in search engines Improved conversion rates  Increased customer loyalty and reputation  Boost in sales Customer acquisition from competitors.  2. Devise a Search Engine Optimization Strategy As Alan Lakein said, failing to plan is planning to fail! You must prepare a well-thought-out SEO strategy to be successful.  The following are the five major components of search engine optimization.  Keyword Analysis                                                                                           Content Development and Marketing Link Acquisition Competitor Analysis On-page Optimization Keyword Analysis  Keywords or key phrases are the search queries that your potential customers enter into search engines to get relevant results. Let’s say you own and run a jewelry business in San Jose, CA. What do you think your targeted audience search on Google?  Their search queries look like the following. San Jose jewelers San Jose jewelry store Wedding rings in San Jose There are thousands of such keywords and key phrases your potential customers use to find a store or website that sells the items of their interest.  How do you analyze such keywords? Anyone who hasn’t had hands-on SEO experience may find the task of keyword analysis a little tricky. With that said, it isn’t rocket science.  The following free keyword analysis tools help you list all the keywords and key phrases that can drive a lot of traffic to your website. SEMRush Ahrefs Google Ads keyword planner (Helps estimate search volumes) Ubersugges Google search suggestions. You should use those keywords in your product titles, descriptions, blog posts, etc., for better search engine visibility.  Content Development and Marketing Content is king! It will continue to be king in the coming years as well. Content doesn’t necessarily mean blog posts. Content includes titles, descriptions, images, videos, social media posts, and even the transactional or promotional emails you send to your customers. Have total control of your content and make sure it speaks to your audience.   Five golden rules of content marketing Analyze keyword gaps and choose your keywords wisely Create a content calendar and stick to it Write content that helps your audience in one or the other way Avoid stuffing too many keywords Distribute content in social media channels  Link Acquisition Link building is a popular search engine optimization technique that web admins and SEO professionals use to rank their or their clients’ websites on top of the Google results. Simply put, the number of backlinks to your website helps search engines like Google determine the popularity of your site. Websites with many backlinks are highly likely to perform well in search engines than sites with fewer backlinks.   The Murky World of Backlinks Building backlinks is like skating on thin ice. Poor link-building strategy or trashy backlinks don’t add value. They can get your e-commerce website removed from Google’s search index altogether. Therefore, you must take great care to ensure that your link-building strategy is white hat and follows best practices.  You need to build quality backlinks. Quality matters more than quantity here. What is a good backlink? Let’s talk about that San Jose jewelry store example again. An ideal backlink for the online store would: Be a do-follow link (No-follow links don’t count even if you build a million of them) Comes from a relevant website or blog (E.g., a blog that discusses fashion or jewelry) Comes from a blog or website with high domain authority/popularity Have a relevant and meaningful anchor text  If you build a link that doesn’t satisfy any of the four rules mentioned above, your link acquisition efforts are going down the drain.  Remember, easy backlinks from junk forums, comments, social bookmark sites, etc., are dead a long time back and add zero value to your link-building campaign. Competitor Analysis Analyzing the competition is essential for SEO success. This part of the strategy may be confusing unless you’re a digital marketing or SEO guru. Here are some factors you need to consider while analyzing your competitors. Factors Free tools to use Website and platform  Builtwith.com Design, UI/UX flow, and information architecture N/A Page loading speed GTMetrix, tools.pingdom.com, Google Page Speed Insights Mobile responsiveness N/A Traffic SimilarWeb No. of web pages and blog…

Read article
5 Winning Strategies to Drive More Reviews to Your Online Store
, ,

5 Winning Strategies to Drive More Reviews to Your Online Store Online reviews of your online store and the products you sell influence customers in a big way. More positive reviews mean more conversions and revenue. Whether you are a seasoned e-commerce seller or getting started newly, this article will help you drive much-needed positive reviews to your business. The Basics  Managing online reputation for an e-commerce business can be challenging because you need to take care of your products and the business reviews. Type of Review Where It Appears Review Effect Product review On the product pages Positively or negatively influences the conversion rate of the specific product based on the review. Business review On Google My Business, social media pages, and marketplace trust platforms like BBB Positively or negatively affect the overall reputation and trust. Testimonial On a website’s homepage Encourages new website visitors to buy products on the website. Ideally, it would be best to focus on improving the business reviews on the internet, especially on the platforms like Google My Business. For example, new visitors to your website tend to search your business name on Google to check reviews. However, if there are negative reviews or too few positive reviews, getting converted will reduce drastically. Shift your focus to product reviews or testimonials on the website once you have many positive reviews on Google. Now, let’s focus on the winning strategies you can use to get more reviews for your e-commerce business. 1. Use Coupons to Get More Reviews Please make a list of your most loyal customers and reach out to them requesting business reviews. Offer them a reward, preferably a coupon that they can use to get a discount on your products. Do’s: Run an email campaign targeting your loyal customers. Send instructions in the email on how they can write a review Inform them about how positive reviews help your business grow and help them serve even better. Offer them an exclusive reward in exchange for a review. Create an end date for the campaign to create urgency. Dont’s: Don’t send generic discount coupons that customers can find on your website irrespective of a review. Don’t send the emails to customers you know nothing about to prevent negative reviews. 2. Leverage Social Media Use your e-commerce business’s social media profiles, especially Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, to run some contests. Subtly ask your followers to leave a positive review and reward them for their participation. Don’t make reviews the epicenter of the social competition. For example, if you own an e-commerce store that sells camera accessories, you can ask your followers to send their best photos. Ask them to leave a five-star rating for your business on Google, Facebook, etc. (based on your preference) as one of the contest’s terms and conditions. Do’s: Reward the contest winners with products that you sell instead of a coupon to create interest Give yourself enough time to promote the contest on your website, social media pages, and newsletter. Use graphics and text to explain the contest rules clearly. Encourage your followers to share the competition extensively. For example, you can have social sharing as one of the game rules. Use previous contest references such as winners, what they won, etc., to encourage participation. Don’ts: Don’t offer virtual items such as coupons as rewards Don’t put too many terms and conditions Use Customer Service Representatives 3. Engage Your Customer Service Team Your customer service team knows your buyers better. Periodically follow up with your customer service representatives to understand if any happy customers are super excited about your products. Make a list of such patrons, reach out to them personally, and request reviews. As a business owner, you can have your customer service or marketing team run the campaign on your behalf. A message from a CEO or a president usually has better engagement rates. Do’s: Run a personalized email campaign for happy customers, thanking them for being a part of your business. Offer them rewards, preferably discount coupons that they can use for their next purchase. Highlight the importance of their positive review and explain how it can help you serve them even better Follow up with them gently until they respond to your review request. Inform them about the steps involved in leaving a review. Don’ts: Don’t over-follow up for reviews Don’t make rewards the core of your message. Integrate Reviews Tightly With Your System 4. Integrate Reviews Tightly With Your System Design your e-commerce website and its processes in a way that they drive maximum reviews and ratings. Allow customers to review products they buy on your website. Furthermore, create workflows that send automated emails to customers after purchasing a product. Finally, create a page on your website that displays all the testimonials in chronological order. While this approach maximizes the number of reviews and ratings you get, it increases the risk of negative feedback. Ensure that your products and customer service are top-notch to put reviews at the heart of your business. Do’s: Make it easy for customers to review products. Create email workflows to reach out to buyers and request feedback. Create a dedicated space on the website to highlight customer testimonials Build a page to display all of your customer testimonials Request your social media followers periodically for reviews. Don’ts: Don’t make the life of customers difficult. Don’t over-engage customers for reviews or testimonials Work With an Online Reputation Management Agency 5. Work With an Online Reputation Management Agency Working with an online reputation management agency like FeedbackClarity is the way to go if you don’t have time or resources to focus on getting reviews. ORM agencies can not only help build a solid reputation online but also dispute and remove negative reviews. They are skilled at reviving businesses plagued by negative feedback. A few agencies offer an easy-to-use ORM tool as a SaaS subscription. These tools provide incredible ROI, given reviews affect conversion and revenue directly. Are you struggling lately…

Read article