30/04/2016
Everyday Marketing Errors in Ecommerce
The ecommerce market is a crowded place. Now, imagine if it was real market with stalls, hundreds and thousands of stalls, with a bustling bunch of customers crammed in to it. This is what it’s like online and because of the vast competition, it would be very difficult to push your product under the customer’s nose wouldn’t it?
To be able to survive and thrive in such an environment, you must market your products in the right way. In order to maximise the potential of your ecommerce venture, you need to elevate yourself above your competition. Admittedly, a lot of this does depend on the products you sell; a unique product is likely to attract more attention than say the same products dressed a little differently. However, there are a few frequent failures that often occur. These failings are largely due to lack of appreciation of the human connections and considerations shown towards customers.
The irony of ‘social’ media.
You’ve all probably heard the argument about how social media is anything but social and, in fact, is anti-social in a lot of ways. We forget that a certain level of interaction and conversation across social platforms is needed in order to generate a ‘voice’ that can be trusted. If your social media strategy is simply to aggressively push your products every few hours whilst linking back to your ecommerce store, then that’s a crying shame. Social media has the potential to open lots of doors, if you’re smart with it.
You kind of have to imagine you’re stood back on that stall in that market place again and consider how you’d approach a customer in order to sell something. Surely, you wouldn’t just shove a product at them and shout “buy it!” would you? Hopefully, you’d be a little more engaging and tactful; the same applies on social media. You should build a rapport and connection with customers, remembering they’re just like us – human beings.
Humanism
Whilst the digital medium is becoming more accessible and therefore a more comfortable way of ordering products and obtaining necessary services, do not underestimate the need for a more human and personal alternative. You’d be surprised how many sales are lost due to a lack of customer care when it comes to your customer service. People want to speak with people!
Although automated responses serve a purpose in some formats, if you can afford to hire a receptionist or outsource one using a virtual receptionist service, you will be providing a professional, human ecommerce service when it comes to taking orders, dealing with queries and managing complaints. If you resolve such scenarios efficiently, the efforts will be worth their weight in gold, in terms of customer loyalty.
Hide and Seek
A childhood game that we all believe we were experts at. A game that harbours so much fun unless you’re a customer on the receiving end of a hidden cost that pops at the time of payment on an ecommerce store. Be honest, precise and clear with your customers and don’t jump out on them when they’re least expecting it as it could frighten them off altogether. An ecommerce business should eliminate any hidden agenda, and instead should focus on the back-end of the business including vendor management, distribution and logistics in order for a smoother transaction.
Never insist
How many times have you, whilst shopping online, filled your basket, reviewed your order and just as you’re fishing your credit card out of your wallet to secure the deal been told that you have to be a member or have an account to place an order?
Shoppers want items and products; not to join a club! For many buyers, suddenly being forced to complete contact details whilst checking out only creates hassle. Nobody likes hassle. It makes us want to give up. This is the moment when the cursor heads North-East and clicks that little cross. The solution? Create a guest checkout option.
Ecommerce evaluation
Essentially, what you have to do is figure out the things that irritate you when you’re shopping online and aim to eradicate them on your ecommerce store. This is easier said than done, but with simple and intelligent alterations, you could become that market trader who draws in the biggest crowds and becomes the envy of all those around you.
When you are designing your e-commerce website, it is important that attention is paid to every little detail as it can all impact on the experience of your customers. And this is of course what will make or break your business.
If you have any questions about online e-commerce website design, improving the customer experience or attracting traffic to your website, get in touch with Studioworx either via email [email protected], telephone +44 (0)1603 274285.