eCommerce is surging rapidly more than Uber prices. Everyone is selling something or the other today. And this growing eCommerce trend is creating a cutthroat competition in the industry. Whether you have a small business or big – you need to follow a few key points and prepare to engage new customers and retain the previous ones. The most crucial aspect of having a successful eCommerce business is its framework, features, and functionality. Designing eCommerce store to command customer confidence and converting that confidence into revenue is what should be your approach when deciding on starting an online shop.
It is important to understand your customers or target audience and differentiate yourself from other ventures. And you can do so by providing confidence to users visiting your website, as well as, selling only authentic products/services.
Authenticity is what customers are looking for in products/services today
I was recently browsing through one of the Crowdfunded Campaigns – Kanoa headphones. These guys had a good site and everything to make sales but what really got by their neck was their product – it lacked in authenticity. Read the story here. It was a single brutal review on YouTube that leads the entire company and its operations to shut down for good.
Point to take home: It’s 2017 and customers are no longer vulnerable. They stay vary of these ‘scamsters’ or fake money hoarders who present nothing on the table for their customers.
How to design an eCommerce store that will offer confidence to your customers and drive them to buy products from you?
Focus on user experience (UX)
Prioritizing on user experience (UX) is necessary if you want to build customer loyalty and trust. Getting the user experience correct is crucial to gain customer confidence towards your brand. You don’t have to invest big on design team or strategist to get the accurate UX.
Put yourself in the shoes of your customers and think clearly. Why do you visit other eCommerce sites? What you really want from them? Your intentions are similar that to what your target audience intend to do on your site.
- Give your customers what they came for on your site.
- Start with a good navigation. A precise and to-the-point navigation is like a tour guide.
- Offer easy navigation or guide your customers to each page or a specific page of their interest, like, the product page.
- Give customers a perfect navigation where they can view the entire page.
All these key points are what make up for a good User Experience
Simplify the entire checkout process
When you’re kickstarting with an eCommerce shop, you might be skeptical about your products and their sale. However, you can turn around situations in your favor by simply designing and develop a unique, yet straightforward checkout process for your customers.
According to a recent survey:
- 28% buyers will leave their shopping cart at the site of unexpected shipping expenses.
- 23% customers will abandon the cart when compelled to create new user accounts.
- 27% customers abandoned the purchasing decision because of complicated or longer check out processes.
Making your users go through multiple processes and experiencing major hiccups in the ultimate checkout phase – will cost you the Customer itself and a sale. It is decisive to design a user-friendly and hassle-free checkout page and process for your users.
Be clear about pricing structure, discounts, and offers – Transparency will boost sales and conversions
No one likes being duped or misled. If you’re are promoting – 1 ice-cream and the 2nd one Free – then there’s no way in hell, I’m leaving without my 2nd ice-cream! Same goes for your customers – when they are startled with misleading or deceptive pricing or offer structure. It is pivotal to mention this aspect as clearly as possible, in your site.
If you’re offering discounts or store way discounts, make sure all the prices or tags are uniform and as per the offer. Do not resort to miscalculation or a pricing faux pas – doing so will only worsen user experience.
User Experience (UX) is not only about design
And I cannot be more vocal than this. UX or user experience is an out-and-out based on your customer journey – from the time your users have heard about your products/site – whether from Facebook ads, Adwords, social media, word-of-the-mouth or banners – till the point they have received the purchased item. It is complete value chain or Total Value Chain (TVC) rather than a single website design. Offering value to users is the most fundamental aspect of user experience.
Legit products
I cannot stress more – when I say – sell only authentic and legit products. If you’re dropshipping using
- Alibaba
- Doba
- Wholesale Central
- Sunrise Wholesale
- Dropship Direct
- MegaGoods
- Salehoo
- or in India – IndiaMART, TradeIndia, or Amazon Business
Do make sure to mention the same on your website, even if it is a particular feature. For example, if you’re selling a Bluetooth and promoting the product by proclaiming it offers an ambient sound blockage then mention the same. If it does not offer this feature, simply avoid – shouting the same at the top of your lungs. You don’t want to be known as a Scamster right?
Having a simple design but in the correct order is important when you have a single product to sell
If you’re starting a Kickstarter campaign or planning to sell the product via your site, make sure to dedicate the design around your product only.
- Display its features and brownie-points through various formats – from visuals, GIFs to videos. The key is to get it through your customers.
- Mention every minute aspect of your product and process of ordering it – from a refund to return policies.
- For example, if you are selling a technology based product, like – NEST Thermostat – you need to mention or deliver the message to your audience – on how you’re going to or are managing customer data/information and collecting the same via the device.
Get the legalities on the forefront.
- Take professional help in drawing out a concrete and cohesive legal documentation with respect to your product.
- Determine a support document so that you and your product are secured. You can create a product manual if you want and depict the same in your site.
- Mention contact details, like, phone number, email address etc.
Taking care of these aspects of your product and website will help your users to navigate and access your products.
If you’re mentioning your contact details, do not forget to further share it with your audience about the response time. SaaS companies, like, MailChimp – share via emails about their availability, when they are out on vacations that users can expect delayed response. Doing so will keep the communication channel between you and your audience clear and crisp to the core.
Focus on lifetime value (LTV)
Prioritize lifetime value (LTV) aspect of a customer cycle. Remember, Customers, are not only meant for making a single and only purchase from a provider. They should be treated as long-term buyers – who will return to check out for more from you or refer to someone else about your products. For example, if you are selling thermostats – then a buyer will make more purchases for fixing thermostats in other rooms or places. S/he would also want to buy for others, etc.
For starters – be honest about every aspect of your site. Add secure certifications, like SSL certifications, payment gateway partners, logos, recognizable payment gateway – for example,
Customize invoices and support
Offering customized invoices will increase the value proposition of your brand. You can add chat widgets to your website to enhance communication quality amongst your users. Make sure the chat option is not robotic in nature. Humanize the entire process, to build trust value in your customers. You can have an initial generic message and from there – personalize the process. You can try – Intercom, Drift, LiveChat, Zopim, and more.
Offer the best customer support – Use software for customer support, like, IssueTrak, FreshDesk, LiveAgent, SalesForce, etc.
