eCommerce success comes in different forms. Much like how they come with their own obstacles. Just because they’re online doesn’t mean that things are easier for them compared to brick and mortars (physical stores). There are the issues that even a web developer can’t control for example, when outages with hosts go out, client’s own software issues or limitations on eCommerce platforms. Although they have different issues and barriers, they also have different ways of counting what a conversion is.
There are things that an eCommerce can do that a brick and mortar can’t. A conversion at a brick and mortar is a purchase. For an eCommerce, conversions include newsletter sign ups, social shares, app installation, product rating, among other things. I’ll go over a few that leads to eCommerce success.
1. Newsletter Sign Ups
With newsletters, you can send out current information about the eCommerce. Send any coupons, for first-time sign ups or long time customers, and get people excited for coming up deals and promotions. A sign up is a conversion, using an exclusive email code is a conversion. Plus, you can use those emails to remarket to people who visited the site and didn’t purchase.
2. Product Rating
Having a product have ratings can increase purchase conversions as well as legitimacy for you as a company. This type of conversion can lead to many usages. It enhances product descriptions and it can be used as advertising. Positive ratings will help close more sales and even negative ratings can help. If customers see that you’ve responded to a negative rating accurately, with kindness, and a solution, consumers will continue to trust you as a brand.
3. Surveys and Feedback
When a customer answers a survey, especially for a small business, that is gold. You’re a growing eCommerce and any customer input will better the process and the brand. Feedback on the website can make the experience better and feedback on other aspects such as customer service will improve interaction methods. Valuable input from real life customers is invaluable.
4. Social Sharing
Word of mouth continues to be the strongest way to advertise. Word of mouth comes with familiarity, confidence, and trust. If your eCommerce encourages people to share how they use your product or how they have gained from using it on their social media, their social network will take notice and that’s free advertising. Their social circle is relatively the same since you talk and hang out with people with the same interests. So by having someone share on social media, your product, you are potentially getting new customers. Customers that more likely to purchase than not.
5. Related Products
A customer visits a product page and doesn’t like what they see. Luckily they have 3 or 4 other options to choose from! Once they click on a related product, that would be considered a conversion. The conversion is the customer viewing other products which they might like better and purchase. It’s also keeping them on the site longer than if there weren’t any options available.
eCommerce Success
As you can see, there are different types of conversions for eCommerce sites. Each comes with their added benefit. Using a combination of these will result in what both a brick and mortar and eCommerce want, purchase conversions.