An e-commerce website is an online portal for facilitating the transactions of services and goods through the means of transfer of funds and information over the internet. It gives people the opportunity to showcase or put up their company on a platform available to everyone for a wider horizon of sales and profit. However, just setting up a site is not enough. There are many things to think about and execute for greater benefits.
Like everything else, the company will also go through many lows and highs, but it should not discourage you. Sometimes, strategies need to be changed to be in constant touch with the new upcoming trends. Consumer habits keep changing, so whether you are a new business or experienced one, here are 10 killer tips to increase sales in e-commerce websites:
1. Website design
Website design is an important aspect of boosting sales the way you want to. It displays a lot of things that your business wants to convey to your customer. It has the most essential points which could make or break your e-commerce website business. You should keep it simple, and at the same time aesthetic. Try to remove any extra distractions as that could hamper your chances of the customer clicking on anything at all. Also, there should be clarity on your website so that consumers do not get confused about your products. If they are unsure, sales might take a dip.
2. Fast and advanced search
The speed of the website and its search is vital for the satisfaction of customers. It is evident that satisfied customers make purchases more often than not. People look for ways to get to their desired products quickly and efficiently. So, provide options for putting more filters to make the task easier. Delay in the loading of the website page may make customers impatient which will lead to reduction in satisfaction and page views. That is a huge reason for losses. So, pay attention to website speed and performance.
3. Database optimization for fast query processing
Database optimization helps in making the required query process faster. There is a definite need for SQL server monitoring software or tool to examine them in order to remove suspicious transactions and queries. It makes your or your co-worker’s task easier by handling some of the doubtful transactions too. You will find different levels of monitoring tools available and it will depend on what features you get. You can use it to analyze your website for basic problems and their root cause as well. Auto-scaling of graphs is also done for advanced sysadmins.
4. Display icons to show trustworthiness
Cybersecurity has been a great concern for all the shoppers for quite a few days now. There have been many cases of different victims who have fallen in the hands of such malicious minds. So, to portray a sense of trustworthiness, the first necessary thing to be done is to assure the customers that the website they are visiting is secure. Display any badge of security being used on your site without hesitation, but do not mislead the consumers in any way as that could lead to legal trouble for you. It is a critical point for you as it builds your reputation accordingly.
5. Make it mobile-friendly
It should not come as a surprise that most of the online surfing today is done on mobile phones. Around 63% of Millennials shop around using their cell phones and 40% have bought something as well. So, if you fail to optimize your website according to that, you may be turning your back to potential sales. It is an excellent platform to provide to your customers since it is convenient and comfortable for them. Mobile applications should also be considered, as all of this improves customer experience which is a major requirement for increasing your sales in e-commerce websites.
6. Discount sales and offers
Offering different sales and discounts for your products is an age-old trick most companies have been using to bring up their revenue quickly or to sell off accumulated goods. If you are looking to increase sales too, use the same method. However, make sure that your pitch is different for new and old customers. Understand inbound vs. outbound customers, observer their trends to get to the right track.
If you feel worried about the profit margin, use the marketing strategy which is used during such times. Jack up base prices of products and then display them on for sale or put on discounts and offers which will make your customer eager to shop at your website, at the same time gaining you your objective revenue.
7. Showcase the most selling items
Showcasing items in a category can give customers direction on what they should buy. Not everyone knows what they are looking for. Having a category with a tag that says “bestseller” draws people to at least check it out once. Although, it may not contain the most sold items, but for your own profits, you can put it up with the products that carry high margins.
8. Accept various payment options
When you are into e-commerce, you have to make sure that your customers have options for paying for the services and products available on the website. If there is a lack of such a facility, you might as well be alienating many potential customers.
9. SEO Optimization
There are many e-commerce websites selling the same products. All of them (including your store) attracting most of their visitors from Google, Yahoo and Bing search engines. So, it’s important that results from your website appear in high position to attract maximum visitors. For this, you need to do SEO of your e-commerce website or hire an SEO professional who can do this for you.
Social media can be a really useful thing if used correctly. Daily, millions of people spend countless hours on such sites, whether they are busy or not. So, if you post an ad or portray your company’s usefulness there smartly, people will be clicking on it and come to see what you have in stock for them.
Try to put more value emphasis on your products as it will prove to be very effective for increasing your sales. Putting up points that highlight the product and its uses will give the customer a better idea which will help them in making a decision of buying it.
Sales may sometimes become stagnant or slow down. To bring that up, fresh and creative ideas should be used to market services and products on your website. Pay attention to the details that will attract the attention of your customers and make them feel comfortable. Customer satisfaction is the key to increasing sales. Do not forget to optimize it for each and every potential user. Once you understand what the customer wants, take action according to that to boost your sales.
