Entries Tagged 'Increasing Sales' ↓

Did you know?
Every website has a lot more shoppers than buyers!  Yea, LOL, I’m sure that doesn’t surprise you.  Oh, but we’ve got to fix that problem!!! (smile)

If you’re an online business owner, then you can probably verify your visitor statistics are considerably higher than your number of purchases.  Below are some of the top reasons visitors don’t always become customers and suggestions for improving your online sales conversion:

Top 5 Reasons Why Customers Fail to Make an Online Purchase:

1•  Confusion and Frustration.  Shopper’s don’t spend time trying to navigate a site that is confusing, difficult to use, or requires too many clicks to complete a transaction. 

FIX:  Optimize Ease of Use - Business owners can encourage shoppers to finalize sales by simplifying the process.  First, require few clicks as possible to the final checkout where your customer actually pays for the products or services.  Buttons, especially “add to cart” and “proceed to checkout”, are best displayed prominently, preferably above the fold.  Changing quantities, colors, and adding and removing items or changing shipping method should be easy to accomplish.  Check-out instructions should be clear and simple.  Customers appreciate the efficiency and respect for their time that a smooth purchase experience provides.

2•  Misbehaving Webpages and Shopping Carts.  Websites that don’t work the way they should will not only lose sales, but discourage future visits from potential customers. 

FIX:  Increase Funtionality - It may be worth the investment to hire a knowledgeable web master to design and maintain the storefront and shopping cart.  A smooth-running website not only increases sales, but also frees the business owner to focus on other activities that can ultimately lead to more traffic and more conversions.

3•  Lack of Product information.  Ever put an item back on the shelf because you weren’t clear about the price, size or other necessary details?  Triple that dilemma with online shopping.  Your customers can easily be frightened away with the lack of necessary details.

FIX:  Add Specific Details on Products -  Is an item in stock?  How soon will it ship?  What is the cost?  What shipping and payment methods are available?  Consumers are more likely to complete a sale when they are provided with sufficient information to answer all their questions about a product or service. 

*Extra Tip: Providing an FAQ page is one way to provide quick answers as well as a means to cut down on extra email communications involving answering customers’ questions.  A convenient link to detailed information about specific products also helps.  Many websites also include a contact form or live-help telephone number for customers with additional questions.

4•   Lack of Confidence and Trust.  It’s scary handing over your money and personal details to a new (unknown) online store. 

FIX:  Provide Credibility and Security - The online business owner’s website is her one means of instilling confidence in the buyer.  Some ways to do this include:
    -  providing a physical address, telephone number, and email address
    -  displaying the VeriSign or other certification authority logo
    -  clearly communicating the website’s privacy policy
    -  providing a customers’ testimonial page
    -  publishing an “About Us” page that explains the company or business owner’s background, objectives and accomplishment.

5•  Lack of Payment Options.   Have you ever wanted to purchase something online and realized that you did not have that form of payment option?  Or, perhaps, you simply have a preference of how you like to pay online and the online store did not offer that method?  Disappointment can surely lead to a loss of sale.

FIX:  Offer Multiple payment options - Businesses that accept multiple forms of payment show significantly higher sales.  Accepting credit cards, whether by setting up a merchant account or by using a third-party service such as PayPal, is crucial.  The benefit of using PayPal is that it also allows customers to pay by direct transfer from their checking accounts, providing yet another option.

*BEST TIP: Business owners who put themselves in their customer’s shoes will develop insight and be positioned to make positive changes that can lead to higher conversions, increased revenues, and greater profits.

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