Ecommerce "Peeves" And "Must Haves" - Boost Those Conversion Rates
Customer loyalty is going to make or break an ecommerce business.
After you have attracted visitors to your website, how will you persuade them to buy? After that, how will you keep them coming back? Of course you need an excellent and well thought out ecommerce website design.
But it needs to be backed up with efficiency and excellent customer service.
Web shoppers are a fickle bunch; annoy them or make them wait and they'll be gone before you know it.
I have to say that I do quite a lot of shopping online and so I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert in the field.
;) So let's start with my list of ecommerce peeves: the annoying things that will turn your customers away.
1.
Flash intros and slow loaders - anything that delays the process of the consumer getting to the products quickly is a disaster for an ecommerce website.
A flash intro might look 'cool' to you but it only serves to frustrate the user.
Slow loading sites are also a big no no, not only does the shopper not want to wait but it brings into question the efficiency of the whole company; "will my order take this long to arrive too?" 2.
Access denied! - Some websites require that you download software to gain access to the site or they will deny access if you have set your browser not to use cookies.
(Cookies are small files on a computer that track info about the visitor; some people choose to disable them).
It is a big mistake to arrogantly demand that the visitor meet your needs in order to buy from you and you will simply lose their business.
3.
Registration log on pages - Web shoppers will not take kindly to being asked to register to gain access to the content of a website.
Why would you want to sign up to something you haven't even seen yet? Don't make people register before they have even seen what you have to offer; they won't bother.
4.
Pop ups and flashy visuals - A web shopper likes to feel in control of what they are viewing.
Pop ups, blinking and bouncing graphics are just annoying extras that they cannot control; they just get in the way of them browsing the products.
A lot of people have disabled pop ups anyway, so if you have something important to say then find another way of displaying your message.
5.
Annoying music - just annoying really.
(Especially if you can't turn it off and your boss is just walking past your desk!!) 6.
Out of stock - Don't wait till the checkout to tell your customer that the product is out of stock! Tell them before they put it into the shopping basket.
7.
Another stock peeve - Fair enough to run out of stock at some point, but don't send your customers a flyer in the post advertising products that are out of stock once they get to the website.
8.
Ineffective search function - If you are going to put a site search function on your website, be sure that it works! 9.
Confusing navigation - Ever got lost on a complicated and badly planned website, with no hope of return? Keep it plain and simple, a few clicks to get the customer to the desired item is best.
Don't hide things in pages of unrelated products 10.
Hidden prices and costs - Don't hide prices and costs until the check out page in the hope that the customer will just go ahead and buy anyway.
Unexpected delivery charges sprung at the last minute will not go down well; people don't like to be tricked.
11.
Dead links - Links that don't take you anywhere or come up with 'page cannot be displayed' will reduce the user's confidence in the website you're your company.
They will more than likely give up and move on.
12.
Slow delivery - Don't send your customers order by snail mail, you will ruin their shopping experience; you can't entice someone to order something and then fail them at the final hurdle by asking them to wait 10 days for it.
I guarantee they won't come back to your website again.
13.
False advertising - Don't advertise 'Next Day delivery' if you can't guarantee it, people order for next day delivery for a reason - They actually need it the next day! And now for my list of 'Must haves': The things that will get you the conversions and the repeat business.
1.
Minimal clicks - The less clicks between entering your site and checking out, the greater the conversion rate.
For 99% of sites with every click there is drop off between visitors and shoppers.
2.
Clear navigation - Intuitive navigation, guiding the customer to the products they want without any confusion.
Most people expect to see it located on the left hand side so it is better to stick to this rule.
3.
Where am I? - It is very important to show the user where in the site structure they are.
This can be done with headlines, sub-headers and breadcrumbs (i.
e.
Home > ladies > ladies shoes > pink shoes).
In this way the user can quickly get themselves back to where they want to be without having to click 'back' a thousand times through everything they just looked at.
4.
Detailed product information - give as much information as possible about the product; price, measurements, colour options, features, benefits, availability, shipping time, delivery costs etc.
This all serves to persuade the buyer to make the purchase.
5.
Product recommendations - Always good to show the customer other things they may like or associated products when they have selected an item.
6.
Quality photography - goes without saying really, show the product off to its best advantage allowing the shopper to view several angles and close ups of the item.
You've got to be able to see what you are getting.
7.
Email confirmation - keep the customer informed on the progress of their order.
Send an email confirming that you have received their order with full details so that mistakes can be rectified before shipment.
Send another email to confirm the shipment of the order.
8.
Easy communication - make it easy for your shopper to get hold of you at convenient times.
Make the contact details and FAQs prominent on the website.
Respond to emails immediately, (some say within 24 hours, personally I think this is too long!) 9.
Legitimacy and security - make the user feel secure about disclosing their information and card details on your website by showing your security measures and fraud prevention safeguards.
If you are registered in a professional capacity then display that too.
10.
Guarantees - product guarantees, manufacture guarantees and money back guarantees; display all of these clearly on your website.
11.
Delivery options - Give the customer the choice to pay a little more to get their purchase quicker.
Giving them the power to choose gives them some control over the process which will work in your favour.
Quite often people are happy to pay more for a speedy delivery particularly if they have been given the option.
12.
Make returns easy - Pre paid returns labels and packaging are a must.
Make this a hassle free process 13.
Belonging - Requesting customer input and devising loyalty rewards will give the customer that sense of belonging.
After you have attracted visitors to your website, how will you persuade them to buy? After that, how will you keep them coming back? Of course you need an excellent and well thought out ecommerce website design.
But it needs to be backed up with efficiency and excellent customer service.
Web shoppers are a fickle bunch; annoy them or make them wait and they'll be gone before you know it.
I have to say that I do quite a lot of shopping online and so I consider myself to be somewhat of an expert in the field.
;) So let's start with my list of ecommerce peeves: the annoying things that will turn your customers away.
1.
Flash intros and slow loaders - anything that delays the process of the consumer getting to the products quickly is a disaster for an ecommerce website.
A flash intro might look 'cool' to you but it only serves to frustrate the user.
Slow loading sites are also a big no no, not only does the shopper not want to wait but it brings into question the efficiency of the whole company; "will my order take this long to arrive too?" 2.
Access denied! - Some websites require that you download software to gain access to the site or they will deny access if you have set your browser not to use cookies.
(Cookies are small files on a computer that track info about the visitor; some people choose to disable them).
It is a big mistake to arrogantly demand that the visitor meet your needs in order to buy from you and you will simply lose their business.
3.
Registration log on pages - Web shoppers will not take kindly to being asked to register to gain access to the content of a website.
Why would you want to sign up to something you haven't even seen yet? Don't make people register before they have even seen what you have to offer; they won't bother.
4.
Pop ups and flashy visuals - A web shopper likes to feel in control of what they are viewing.
Pop ups, blinking and bouncing graphics are just annoying extras that they cannot control; they just get in the way of them browsing the products.
A lot of people have disabled pop ups anyway, so if you have something important to say then find another way of displaying your message.
5.
Annoying music - just annoying really.
(Especially if you can't turn it off and your boss is just walking past your desk!!) 6.
Out of stock - Don't wait till the checkout to tell your customer that the product is out of stock! Tell them before they put it into the shopping basket.
7.
Another stock peeve - Fair enough to run out of stock at some point, but don't send your customers a flyer in the post advertising products that are out of stock once they get to the website.
8.
Ineffective search function - If you are going to put a site search function on your website, be sure that it works! 9.
Confusing navigation - Ever got lost on a complicated and badly planned website, with no hope of return? Keep it plain and simple, a few clicks to get the customer to the desired item is best.
Don't hide things in pages of unrelated products 10.
Hidden prices and costs - Don't hide prices and costs until the check out page in the hope that the customer will just go ahead and buy anyway.
Unexpected delivery charges sprung at the last minute will not go down well; people don't like to be tricked.
11.
Dead links - Links that don't take you anywhere or come up with 'page cannot be displayed' will reduce the user's confidence in the website you're your company.
They will more than likely give up and move on.
12.
Slow delivery - Don't send your customers order by snail mail, you will ruin their shopping experience; you can't entice someone to order something and then fail them at the final hurdle by asking them to wait 10 days for it.
I guarantee they won't come back to your website again.
13.
False advertising - Don't advertise 'Next Day delivery' if you can't guarantee it, people order for next day delivery for a reason - They actually need it the next day! And now for my list of 'Must haves': The things that will get you the conversions and the repeat business.
1.
Minimal clicks - The less clicks between entering your site and checking out, the greater the conversion rate.
For 99% of sites with every click there is drop off between visitors and shoppers.
2.
Clear navigation - Intuitive navigation, guiding the customer to the products they want without any confusion.
Most people expect to see it located on the left hand side so it is better to stick to this rule.
3.
Where am I? - It is very important to show the user where in the site structure they are.
This can be done with headlines, sub-headers and breadcrumbs (i.
e.
Home > ladies > ladies shoes > pink shoes).
In this way the user can quickly get themselves back to where they want to be without having to click 'back' a thousand times through everything they just looked at.
4.
Detailed product information - give as much information as possible about the product; price, measurements, colour options, features, benefits, availability, shipping time, delivery costs etc.
This all serves to persuade the buyer to make the purchase.
5.
Product recommendations - Always good to show the customer other things they may like or associated products when they have selected an item.
6.
Quality photography - goes without saying really, show the product off to its best advantage allowing the shopper to view several angles and close ups of the item.
You've got to be able to see what you are getting.
7.
Email confirmation - keep the customer informed on the progress of their order.
Send an email confirming that you have received their order with full details so that mistakes can be rectified before shipment.
Send another email to confirm the shipment of the order.
8.
Easy communication - make it easy for your shopper to get hold of you at convenient times.
Make the contact details and FAQs prominent on the website.
Respond to emails immediately, (some say within 24 hours, personally I think this is too long!) 9.
Legitimacy and security - make the user feel secure about disclosing their information and card details on your website by showing your security measures and fraud prevention safeguards.
If you are registered in a professional capacity then display that too.
10.
Guarantees - product guarantees, manufacture guarantees and money back guarantees; display all of these clearly on your website.
11.
Delivery options - Give the customer the choice to pay a little more to get their purchase quicker.
Giving them the power to choose gives them some control over the process which will work in your favour.
Quite often people are happy to pay more for a speedy delivery particularly if they have been given the option.
12.
Make returns easy - Pre paid returns labels and packaging are a must.
Make this a hassle free process 13.
Belonging - Requesting customer input and devising loyalty rewards will give the customer that sense of belonging.