Ecommerce Website
14.02.13
Making the most of your e-commerce website. Part Two.

When someone lands on your site, you want to make sure they stay for as long as possible and have a good browse around that will ultimately lead to a sale. Here are some of the techniques you can use to ensure that people using your website have a positive experience that means they’ll come back for more.

Earning trust

Many people are still a little wary about making online purchases – particularly customers in the older age bracket. The more you can reassure them that you’re a reliable enterprise and not a ‘cowboy’, the better it will be for your business. Add logos for your security certificates to your ecommerce site so that people know their details are safe, and if you are a member of any professional bodies add these logos too. And most importantly, make sure you have a landline phone number clearly listed on the site. If people feel confident that they can speak to a real person if they need to they are much more likely to make the purchase.

About us

Make sure you give people as much information about your company as you can – without rambling on for too long, obviously. Potential customers like to know who you are, why you set up the company, what your story is. All this information adds to the overall personality of the company and, again, reassures people that they are dealing with a legitimate enterprise. If you have a mission statement or particular code of ethics that you follow – share it with people. It all helps to create a positive impression.

 

Peter and Parker, E-commerce Website

Security and privacy policy

Online security has become a very important issue in recent years and many customers are still very wary when it comes to making online purchases. They need to be reassured that their private information and payment details are going to be stored securely and not used for anything else other that the purchase they have just made. Take the time to write a comprehensive security policy and never share your customers’ information with other people.

Ts&Cs

It’s important that your customers know exactly where they stand when they make a purchase and what their rights are with regards to returns and exchanges etc. Provide clear information on things like cancellation, returns, warranty, and conflict resolution. This ensures a happy shopping experience for everyone.

Contact us

People feel reassured when they can see visible contact details. Make ‘contact’ one of the main tabs on your site so that your customers know exactly where to go if they need to email or speak to you. There’s something a bit off-putting about having your contact details hidden down at the bottom of the page where people have to hunt for them. It suggests that you’d rather not be contacted and your customers will wonder why!

 

Ecommerce Contact Page, Cutter and Squidge

Help and FAQ

If you find that customers are asking the same questions time and again then have an FAQ page on your site where they can search for the answer to their queries. This will save you a lot of emailing time and means you can focus on other aspects of customer service. Do make sure contact details are clearly visible on the page, however, just in case your customer hasn’t found the answer to their question.

Testimonials

Endorsements from real people are a great way of reassuring customers that you do a good job or sell great products. Include real names so that customers know they are legitimate and offer some kind of thank you to people who do provide you with testimonials and allow you to use their full name.

Repeat business

Most businesses really start to thrive when they start winning loyal customers who buy repeatedly. How can you make sure that your customers return to your website again and again? Consider tools like blogs, podcasts, videos, competitions and monthly giveaways or new reviews. The more unique, fresh content you have, the more people are likely to return to your site and the better your natural search rankings will be. And don’t forget to make the most of Twitter and Facebook and update your profiles regularly.