Making the sale: If you have an eCommerce site, here's how to close the deal before your customer closes the browser.
When was the last time you walked into a grocery store, filled up your cart with milk, eggs, bread and apples, walked all the way to the checkout, then changed your mind, left your cart in the aisle and walked out of the store? The answer is: probably never! But online shoppers often do just that. "Cart abandonment" is one of the uphill battles that all web marketers face. It's important to understand this fact and work to make your eCommerce web site the best it can be for your visitors, so that when they finally reach the checkout line, they're ready with credit card in hand.
Visitors may vanish right before checkout for a number of reasons, but the good news is that with a little foresight you can stop them. Follow a couple of basic guidelines to ensure a positive visitor experience.
Always make sure that your product and pricing information is clear.
When a visitor clicks that precious "add to cart" button, you want to make sure that she knows what she's getting. Take the guesswork out to prevent last-minute "cold feet". Depending on your industry, you may want to include product weight and dimensions, sizes, colors or construction materials. If it's an edible product, what are the ingredients? Is there anything a person with food allergies should know? If it's furniture, how wide is it? Will it fit through your customer's front door in one piece or does it require assembly? If it's a tote bag, is it waterproof? Can it be imprinted? Does it come in multiple colors? Arm your customers with information and watch your sales increase.
Make shipping and delivery information readily available.
Customers don't like surprises. You might have experienced this frustration yourself if you've ever gone to a web site and been forced to "check out" before shipping and delivery charges were calculated and added to your order. A customer might be perfectly fine with a $50 delivery charge - as long as he's aware of it. That same customer might not be as forgiving if an extra $50 suddenly appears without warning on the order total. Information, again, is they key. It's best to provide an exact delivery charge, but if that's not possible, then an estimate or a simple shipping calculator prior to purchase can help.
State any guarantees or refund policies.
Would you spend even $100 on something you can't really "see", certainly can't touch and know only one paragraph's worth of information about? Sure you would, if you knew that product was guaranteed to be exactly what that paragraph said - or else you'd get your money back. Sometimes all it takes for a customer to make a purchase is a comfort level that she can take a chance on your product without any real risk. Face it, buying on the web is a risky proposition. Thousands - dare we say millions - of shopping sites are competing for our attention, and somehow every store's products are "Incredible!" "Cheap!" "Authentic!". Show your customers that you stand behind your products by guaranteeing some level of satisfaction. At the very least, provide your customers with your company's refund policies so that they can make educated purchases.
Make checkout a snap.
The simpler the checkout process, the better. Don't send your visitors packing by requiring a lengthy "new customer registration". Clearly define the steps in the checkout process so customers know what's coming next and how long the transaction will take. And this may sound obvious, but don't forget to follow up!
Whether customers ultimately make a purchase depends, in large part, on how easy you make it for them to do so. Does your site offer them:
- Enough information to make an educated purchase?
- A sense of credibility about your business?
- Clear purchase and return policies?
- A straightforward purchasing and checkout process?
A little planning and "thinking like a shopper" can really help your eCommerce site be a success. To find out if we can help you reach your market online, Contact Us, or take advantage of two opportunities that are available to you as a new customer or an existing customer with a new project:
- Free initial consultation
- No-obligation project planning