If your ecommerce site isn’t selling you’ve got a problem, but it’s a problem that most online stores will face. There could be a host of reasons why your site does not seem to be selling enough. A common problem among many ecommerce sites is that only a tiny percentage of the traffic the site receives will actually turn into a customer. Of that an even smaller percentage of your traffic will turn into a customer after their first visit to your site. Some stats suggest that you will need to interact with potential clients up to 7 times before they finally turn into a customer. From this it’s clear to see that the figures are stacked against us.
To counteract this you can try to attract more visitors to your site or you can try to connect with potential customers by building trust through interaction and social connections.
Mailing Lists
Collecting subscribers to your news letters or ezines is a fundamental way to begin to build trust with your readers. Emailing your existing customers or collecting email addresses by offering a free download or report can help to further increase the level of your subscribers.
Blogging
Traditionally ecommerce blogs have been used to highlight new products or promotions that the company is running. This will often prove beneficial in the search results but it can give the blog a commercial and clinical feel, making it difficult to make a connection with readers. If you can give your blog a more personal touch, use it to introduce each member of your team or ask if they would be willing to share their industry experience, knowledge and opinions on your blog. Try to keep each post loosely connected to the industry you are working in, going too far off topic won’t offer your readers any value.
Social Interaction
Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIN and the countless others social networks will offer your business access to a global network of communities. Trying to sell your products directly through these channels is not using them to their strengths. Instead look at the social networks as an opportunity to spread the word about your brand or product. Also take every opportunity to engage with the community. Answer any questions that are asked and show yourself as being active and involved.
Networks like Twitter and Facebook are in a sense an open forum and you will often find that people are can be vocal especially if they have had issues with you or your company. These issues need to be dealt with openly and fairly, if a customer openly criticizes you product or service you will need to take that criticism on board and then do everything possible to resolve the issues that have arisen. Being open and honest and dealing with these issues can actually help your brand as it shows a commitment by your company to help customers that are having issues. Showing this willingness on a public forum like Twitter can help gain plaudits for your company and show you respect your customers.
Repeat customers should be the corner stone of any business, keeping them happy can turn them into loyal patrons of you, your brand or your products, but with so many competitors in the market all vying for the same business it is now more important than ever to keep connected with these customers so they will keep returning.
This is a guest post from Neil at eMobileScan. Based around Europe and currently running a total 18 ecommerce stores dedicated to selling professional handheld computer like the MC75 or barcode scanners like the Symbol ls2208
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WYSIWYG! I'm a simple person trying to live the simplest life possible - it seems to be the most difficult thing to achieve! I'm an internet enthusiast and I've been a webmaster since early 2007. I like: blogging, developing sites using open source software, social media, computer games, '80s music, comedy & horror, animals, crunching on M&Ms peanut and Smarties!
