Good Customer Experience Still Tops Ecommerce
Buying online is gaining popularity, but selling online is getting
tougher.
According to Forrester Research, online sales will grow more slowly
in 2007 than they did in 2006 in 18 of 24 categories it tracks.
Book sales, for instance, will increase 11 percent this year vs.
[2006 - 40 percent]
Jupiter Research predicts overall online sales will only grow 9
percent a year by the end of this decade — compared to 25
percent growth rate in 2004.
This is indicative of online customer experience. Whilst physical
stores have been upgrading the shopping experience for consumers,
the same effort has not been applied to online stores. Yet, online
shopping involves the same decision process as offline purchases.
New websites are published daily, but few have given sufficient
consideration to the online customer experience. Before expecting
high conversion rates, consider the following:
- Does your page design make it easy to see content amongst the
clutter?
- Does your site design inspire confidence in your business?
- Can a customer easily determine on the first page exactly what
you sell?
- Do you know all the questions a customer is likely to ask about
a particular product on your site - before they buy?
- How well do you provide the answers to customer questions about
a product during their buying process? Are the answers easy to
find in one place? Are the answers concise and complete?
- Is your shopping cart easy to use, in as few steps as possible?
- Do you offer multiple ways to pay?
- Are your delivery options sufficient to cover all geographic
regions?
- Do you demand too much information for purchasers to complete
the process with privacy?
- Is there a clear help and support facility for customers before
and after purchase?
If you really don't know the answer to these questions - use a
free survey tool to survey your customers. Offer an incentive to
completing the survey. And action the responses to make your site
more purchase friendly.
Be ready to deliver on your promise!!
Next:
Engaging Sales Optimisation Tips
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