Tag Archive for: help website gain customers

Avoid These Website Blunders

/by
woman searching online

When you have an online business, you have a social media account.

Form follows function.

Functional websites win the hearts of the customers, and they sure make a lot of profit.  But how can you make profit if your website is not organized, or it does not have a clear navigation panel? You would not want to drive away potential customers.

Definitely avoid these website mistakes as much as possible:

  • Dead Links
    Websites should avoid having dead or broken links.  If your website links do not redirect to the desired product, you will definitely lose a customer, and they will leave a negative review of your website. Most of us spend our time online and we constantly search for things we might like, and these links given by websites are important in helping us to find a product we want. If you want to check your website’s links, you can use this free link checker. A page not found error is big NO so better check your links before posting anything!
  • Small Font Sizes
    Product descriptions are extremely important because they will help the customer on which item to buy. How do you expect them to get anything if the text is not clear? Customers like to browse for new things to buy, they are interested on the latest fashion trend, or gadget so make sure that your website’s texts are clear and readable especially if they are links. Customers should be able to clearly see your CTA buttons like Shop Now, or Buy Now. The longer they are, the harder they are to read so break them into smaller paragraphs.
  • Vague “Contact Us” page
    As a veracious reader myself, I am very particular with the books that I buy. I have a prefer hardcovers over paperback editions, and prefer UK publishers over US one because books are sturdier. Rather than searching a stack of over a million books, I just contact the book seller, and have them search for the book. Some websites do not have a clear FAQ page, contact number, or email address.
  • No (or inactive) social media accounts
    This is related to the blunder above. Now, everyone has at least one social media account. According to a research, 85% of Twitter users said that it is important for businesses to provide customer support on Twitter.  Advertise your official social media pages because people tend to search for businesses online and most likely, inquire online too. Answering questions quickly means a superb customer service. You give a positive impression that you want to help your customers.
  • No search boxes
    It is good to provide your customers several options, but when there’s too much options, it confuses your customers. Trust that the customers know what they want so give them an easy access to the product they want. It does not matter if you have one million products, or only ten, it is always  ideal to provide a way to search your website and to refine the existing search results. Prevent Choice Paralysis.

Web Strategies to Gain More Sales

/by
business, charts, commerce

Things to do to gain more conversions.

A lot of businesses now have chosen to put up an online and the public have adapted the concept of e-commerce. You can now buy products from other countries without even visiting that country. As a business owner, you have to know that a good-looking website helps, but it is not everything. This guide can help you gain more customers and eventually, increase sales.

  • Avoid Choice Paralysis. Choice Paralysis happens when there are TOO many choices presented. When customers are given unlimited options, they will probably end up confused. In order to avoid Choice Paralysis, you must give suggestions on what to buy, provide buying guides, highlight the new items, and bestsellers. Take a look at Wordery. You will notice that not every book is listed. On the home page, they have a bestsellers list. If you don’t like that, you can scroll down a bit and see a new releases list. They also provide a book of the week list and a book for students list.
  • Give a Preview of the Product. Whether online stores or  physical stores, the customers always want to see what they are buying.  No one would want a tattered dress or a dented book. To erase doubts, you must show the product. Provide pictures of how it actually looks like, and if you can, allow the customers to zoom in on the photo. Let’s go back at our example, when you browse a book at Wordery, you will see the book cover, dimensions of the book, weight and other details that will be useful to the customer. If you are selling dresses, there should be photos of the dress in several colors, or sizes. Another thing to add is a sizing charts so that the customers can easily compare the different dress sizes.
  • Provide a Trial Version. If you have noticed whenever you are at Costco, the staff would give out a free sample of their products. Even online, it is also important to allow customers to try the product. Nowadays, several software companies give free versions of their apps. As a customer, you do not have to buy these products to be able to use them. If you like a particular product, you can choose to buy the paid version of the app.  As a business owner, it is an effective strategy because when your customers like your product and they find it useful, they will surely rely on it. When they depend on it, they will most likely upgrase and purchase the premium version of the app. Give your customers a glimpse of your product and do not just let them rely on their imagination. Instead, let them try the product, and the product itself will win customers.
  • Generate a Desire for the Product. You have to get the attention of your target audience. Once you have it, gain their interest by telling them how useful these products are. Then, you can give them a limited time offer like free shipping on the all orders placed within 24 hours, or an extra 10% off on books during Christmas.

Four Ways to Make a Functional Website

/by
laptop, website, browsing

Online shopping made easy.

People nowadays prefer online shopping than shopping at an actual store. Having a website is a great tool for your business to grow and with that, you can reach millions of people, and you can even cater to clients overseas. Everyone uses the internet to search and shop. They look for directions and contact numbers online before they actually decide to drive for miles just for a thing or two that they have been wanting to buy for a very long time. If you are business owner, this list will help you on how to achieve your website’s fullest potential especially in sales and marketing.

  1. Distinct Call-to-Action buttons.

    You might ask, what are CTA buttons? These are the buttons that will get your customers to browse your website. It could be a “Shop Now!“, “View the Latest Deals” buttons. These are the buttons that customers can click and they can learn more about your products and services. They can also be a “Call Us Now!” sign where you added your business’ phone number or any contact information. Give every important contact details and make the customers can easily access these. Make their browsing experience pleasant and do not make click several buttons just to get want they want.

  2. Sign up shouldn’t be mandatory.

    As much as possible, do not require sign ups. Websites now have an option to shop as guest. If you require a long buying process, your potential customers might change their minds. You will create a stumbling block if you require them to sign up. Help your customers to shop with ease and to buy an item with less textboxes to fill.

  3. Help your customers.

    Do not assume that everyone knows what they want to buy. You have to educate your customers about your products and provide them a buying guide especially if it is their first time to shop online. Help them to shop smoothly and to get a product that will find useful. For example, if you are selling beauty products, you can maybe provide make up tutorials, or create a video about essential must haves.  If you are selling dresses, you can provide style guides. Give out visual guides on outfits for various seasons, different body types, and age groups. Whatever your business might be, guide your customer because if they will like what they bought, they will surely comeback to buy more.

  4. Keep your website design simple.

    You don’t need a colorful design. Using two or three colors will do. There is nothing wrong with embracing the white space because this way your customers can see your products clearly. Give them better product photos and vibrant CTA buttons. Do not focus on the design; make them click that Buy Now instead.