Over the last few years, we have witnessed many changes in technology, changes that are able to affect both the way we work and our free time. Even how we shop couldn't stay the same, not since the internet offered new possibilities and shifted our attention from buying at the traditional stores to trust online stores instead.
For a retailer now, having only a physical store is not enough anymore. A business cannot think of staying out of the E-commerce market and miss out on all the benefits that come from offering their products and services to a wider online audience.
So, let's try to understand more what these benefits are and what you need to do to start a successful E-commerce website.
The first point that we want to discuss about is simplicity. In any kind of business, all that is simple leads to a greater efficiency. The process of steps simplification, language etc., is received and understood promptly by the user. That's why this point is so important.
In the E-commerce situation, creating less steps to get to the purchase of a product is both useful and practical. Consider only the key steps: product selection > add to cart > purchase with credentials.
Use a clear and direct language to describe the products, but don't be too short.
Empathize with the customers and try to understand their needs, take advantage of what they prefer to satisfy them and gain their trust. Knowing the target audience, age, buying behavior, interests etc. are elements that offer great advantages when creating an E-Commerce website.
The graphic style of your E-commerce website affects consumer behavior. It's hard to trust a website that has poor graphics and low usability. After all, as a user, I have to trust the website before completing a transaction.
"Keep an eye on" the users' movements on the eShop, apply the strategy of the UpSelling and CrossSelling that brings up the "related products", which act synergistically with the products purchased or added to the cart.
"Details make the difference", especially in the world of internet where the competition is more ruthless, and only those who know how to differentiate themselves can truly emerge.
It is important to point out what the benefits of your products are to the customer, for example what the strength of the product is, which problem solves, help motivate the consumer's choice towards your eShop.
For starters, describing the specific characteristics of a product is not always enough. More often than not, users need to be encouraged, and that's why using high-quality images is an argument in favor of the choice.
Even videos, that make the product more "real" to consumers, can lead to the purchase. The more data you provide, the more the users can make a real assessment, which means that adding just a simple description of the technical characteristics can't do the job.
No instrument is more effective than a good dose of advertising to get your new E-commerce website known. Investing in advertising is the first thing to do if your offline store is still unknown, but you need to promote your eShop, the online store.
With new tools used to create more targeted advertising campaign, you can reach the target that you want. For example, using the proper keywords will allow you to reach users with corresponding interest to the words chosen by them.
Using social networks is critical and acts as a catalyst and a mass distribution for your business. A technique used to get the "product" known is the creation of a contest that will encourage as much people as possible by word of mouth, because a good advertising is also made directly by people.
After thinking about the entire process of creation (details, descriptions, images, usability, graphics and so on), it's time to think about the post-purchase phase that is not to be overlooked.
In this stage, customer service plays an important role, especially in case of mistakes or problems. It must be impeccable and ready to solve any kind of problem, for example with the shipment or with a defective product.
By responding promptly and politely to customer requests, you will gain the customer trust even more. Despite the problems that can occur, the consumer will not hesitate to come back.
The benefits that can be tied to the use of an online store are:
- possibility to access a wide range of products and buy them from the comfort of the customer's home;
- no closing times, the online store is always open;
- get to know well the interests of the consumers;
- possibility to reach more users with a single click, thanks to newsletters;
- reach geographically distant customers.
Many more advantages can be led back to the opening of an E-commerce website. The important thing is to know how to handle well all the essential elements so that the right synergy can be reached.
Mr. APPs srl will help you step by step in setting up of your E-commerce website, offering standard solutions from € 79 per month or completely tailored projects for your business.
