Contrary to what many online guides or whitepapers say, creating an effective eCommerce marketing strategy isn’t easy. If you’re selling handbags, what will draw your target audience to you instead of the thousands of other competing handbag brands? There is no single, magic solution to increase eCommerce sales, but there are proven tactics that will make a real impact on your bottom line.
In this article, we’ll take you through six tips to help increase cart value and improve your customers’ online shopping experience.
1. Responsive Web Design
If your eCommerce site isn’t optimized for all devices, this needs to be your business’ number one marketing priority. Since 2014, Google penalizes nonadaptive/responsive websites in search results, giving mobile-friendly content a boost in the rankings. Furthermore, if mobile shoppers are burdened by a poor user experience, they’ll likely move on to a competitor’s website.
Check to see if your website is responsive through Google’s Mobile-Friendly Tool.
2. Exceptional Customer Service
Customer service can play a major role in retaining customers and encouraging increased/repeat spending. Consider sending customers personalized emails thanking them for their business, and make on-time delivery an absolute priority. Always designate time after the holidays to evaluate your company’s order fulfillment process.
3. Easy Checkout
Eliminate online shopping hurdles like required registration, checkout systems asking shoppers to enter their personal info/address more than once, or unnecessary questions like “How did you hear about us?”. These can all sabotage a sale.
On average, businesses make $2 in revenue off of every $1 invested in advertising through Google Ads. Consider using search engine marketing to:
- Advertise discounts, incentives – Develop a paid search campaign promoting deals on the most highly-searched items in your industry.
- Share “Top Gift” lists – Direct paid ads to blogs or landing pages providing gift ideas for specific demographics (e.g., Top 10 Creative Gift Ideas for a One-Year-Old). Focus the lists around your most highly-rated or popular items. Well-crafted lists or articles using the right keywords will also increase organic traffic.
5. E-Gift Card Promotions
Last-minute shoppers love e-gift cards. They allow them to instantly have a gift “in hand” without having to step away from their computer, and they can often be emailed directly to a recipient for a completely hassle-free experience.
E-gift cards are also an easy way to nudge prospective customers into spending more via deals like $100 e-gift cards for $85 or five $25 e-gift cards for $100. They’re especially popular during that time after the final deadline for on-time holiday delivery.
6. Checkout Notifications
While checking out online, have you ever received a message similar to “Add another item to qualify for free shipping!” or “Check out in the next 10 minutes, and your order ships today!”?
Through checkout notifications, shoppers are persuaded to make a bigger purchase while still feeling like they got a deal. They are one of the fastest ways to increase online sales.
Many eCommerce platforms or plugins offer cart-focused extensions, making it easy to direct messages to customers enticing them to buy more.
For example, if a shopper has $42 worth of products in his or her cart, a notification can be created to tell them they will qualify for free shipping if they spend $50. Successful eCommerce businesses also often cross-sell during the online sales process with “recommended items.”
Final words:
Every day it becomes increasingly challenging to compete in the eCommerce industry. Mastering online sales demands a great deal of market research and data analysis. Also, the effectiveness of certain strategies will vary based on industry, targeted audience, season, and many other factors.
If you’re struggling to launch your online store or sales are trending down, Baer Performance Marketing is here to help! Contact us today.
