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CHAPTER 19 Ways to improve internet sales
10 Sure Fire Ways to Improve Sales
It's the holy grail of e-business - ten sure fire ways to improve sales.
1)
Make the buying process easy
You might be surprised at just how much you can
add to your bottom line by taking a cold, hard look at your online sales process,
from finding a product right through to checkout.
The three key areas where e-businesses often go wrong are;
Top of the list is registration. Registration processes tend to be very cumbersome. People don't mind handing over information to big brand name companies, but they can be suspicious of smaller online businesses.
Search features are another potential stumbling block. If your search doesn't meet the requirements of your users, even though the items they were looking for are available on the site, they will leave and use a competitor.
The third key area for investigation is the checkout process; customers can be led astray at any point in the process. One company has three options at checkout stage - go to checkout, continue shopping and abandon basket. The customers might see the word continue and assume that by clicking they will continue to the checkout. The customers will be very confused when they land back at the shopping pages.
2)
Offer your services to third parties
If you've developed a killer e-business
with some fabulous content why not offer your product to other sites and ride
off the back of their marketing spend.
One of the Internet kings of the white labelling business is MoneySupermarket; its financial services appear on many major portal sites, including Freeserve and Yahoo. Some of these are white label deals and some are co-branded. Try and partner with these portals because they've already got the distribution model sorted. As a result of its many partnerships MoneySupermarket is now generating as much personal loan business as Barclays Bank each week - and, make no mistake, that's quite some achievement.
3)
Don't forget the phone
Many successful online businesses have some kind of
call centre operation as well as an online arm, and this can definitely help increase
sales, as well as giving potential customers a warm and cuddly feeling about your
business.
I am a firm believer in the benefits of taking customer phone calls. When you're conducting business online you can get divorced from your customers. The best way to stay in touch with them and their needs is to be at the end of a phone line. You can usually solve their problems much easier than by email and you can do something about the underlying problem.
4)
Multiple Brands
A sneaky way to boost your sales is to set up multiple online
brands. The adult industry is rather partial to this marketing technique - it's
not unusual for adult content providers to set up hoards of sites devoted to all
manner of specific sexual fetishes.
You could have a multiple brand strategy and that allows you to position each brand differently and to appeal to all sectors of the market. One could be aimed at the cheap and cheerful end of the market, while another could be a bit more up market, but they all draw information from the same database and that's the key.
People think they can always get a better deal elsewhere so they search around several sites. Then if another company quotes the same price they begin to believe that you were offering them a good deal in the first place.
5)
Online reward schemes
An online rewards company, such as My Points or ipoints,
can help boost your sales. You can offer reward points for a variety of tasks
- for example, to encourage customers to shop with you, or to buy specific products
or even just to register with your site.
6)
Email newsletters
It's a bit of a hoary old chestnut, but if you haven't already,
you really should have a go at sending out email newsletters to your existing
customers to lure them back to your site. You might think that people are getting
sick of marketing emails, but a well-targeted sales message can still work.
7)
Paying for search engine placements
It'll cost you, but stumping up money for
placement in search engine results can really boost sales. And since research
firm IDC reckons at least 80 per cent of Internet users go to search engines to
find products and services, it's not a bad way to spend your marketing cash.
Here's how it works - you bid to get prime spot on the search results for specific keywords. Say your site sells under pants; well you might bid on search terms including thongs, bras and corsets. There are a multitude of companies offering these services - Google runs its own Sponsored Link and AdWords services, Espotting paid for placements appear on Yahoo Europe, Lycos Europe, AltaVista, Tiscali and AskJeeves, while Overture's results appear on AOL, Freeserve and MSN.
8)
Up-selling/cross-selling
It's much easier, and cheaper, to get your existing
customers to spend more than it is to acquire new punters, that's why it's worth
trying various up-selling and cross-selling techniques to boost your basket value.
For example, when somebody orders organic tea, they might also see a special offer on organic milk to go with the tea and maybe some organic chocolate biscuits too.
9)
Build up some community spirit
According to a recent report from Jupiter Media
Metrix community features can help boost sales at e-commerce sites. The study
found that visitors that contribute to community features are nine times more
likely to come back to that site and twice as likely to make a purchase.
So
it's definitely worth thinking about how you can add chat rooms, bulletin boards
and message areas to your site to increase sales.
10)
Chat to customers online
One of the latest online selling technologies is Web
chat, where sales or customer service reps engage the customer in an online instant
message-style conversation.
Web chat certainly has its benefits, you can respond to customer questions while they're in active buying mode, they don't have to leave your site to contact you, it could lower the number of abandoned shopping baskets and it's a good way to do a spot of up and cross selling.
ADVICE: 10 Traps to avoid by staying clear of the following pitfalls...
o
Sending out un-requested email marketing messages, better known to most people
as junk mail.
o Hiding delivery and shipping prices so they're only added
right at the final stages of a transaction.
o Having out of date information
on your site. Customers are going to be really frustrated if they find the item
they've just ordered won't be in stock for three weeks.
o Having a non-secure
server for processing payments.
o Having no returns, guarantee or warranty
information on the site.
o Not having a phone number for customer service.
o Not having a postal address for customers on your Web site.
o Wasting
visitor's time by making them fill in a lengthy registration form before they
can buy.
o Missing claimed delivery dates won't help customer loyalty.
o
Not having a site search facility can leave visitors frustrated.
Checkout & Abandoned Shopping Carts
Lack
of quick orientation for first-time visitors
What does the site sell? I've
had to poke around for several minutes sometimes to understand the focus of a
site. Jargon is one culprit. Another is lack of context, like an airline site
that sells tickets not giving a single clue on the home page in what countries
or even what continent it flies
Explanations
that don't explain
What does the product do and not do? Another basic, but
it happens often that a site doesn't explain whether their "Turbocharged
VT27-Plus" is a one-time download, a subscription, a Web-based service or
something else. An alternative payment system's site failed to offer a clear,
systematic description of how it works.
Missing
prices and shipping charges
How much? You shouldn't have to put something
into a shopping cart or enter your credit card information to learn how much an
item costs, including shipping. Unfortunately, you still find this mistake at
sites that have had plenty of time to get their act together.
Unreadable
text
Say what? Creativity gone haywire seems to be the hallmark of some Web
designers. Orange letters on a blue background, olive green on black, light gray
on white and blue on blue were combinations that sent me packing, as did lettering
too small for over-40 eyes.
Inconsistencies
Huh? One site says, to sign up, click on the Sign Up link at the top of every
page. But the site does not have any "Sign Up" link, only "Sign
In." Such carelessness wastes the time of earnest shoppers and gets them
frustrated and fed up, never to return.
What's a Retailer To Do?
By making sure your site isn't creating any of these obstacles, retailers can reduce shopping cart abandonment and create happier, more satisfied customers.
Blunders are equally rampant at well-funded corporate sites and those from home-based businesses. The good news is that many of the errors are extremely easy and inexpensive to fix.
I can also offer tips for small retailers who want to makeover their Web sites to stand out from their competitors. These inexpensive ideas can make a big difference in your online success and help drive business to your physical store:
1. Take advantage of your Mom & Pop status, if you fall into that category, and make the site reflect your personality and your geographical location.
2. Add community-oriented, local features that the national retailers wouldn't be able to compete with.
3. Be responsive and personal to people who email you - something the big sites usually can't manage well.
4. Include your phone number and a map to get to your store. Some people finding your Web site won't be familiar with your city or town.
5. State your store hours and make sure they're up to date. You'll make people angry if they show up when your Web site said you'd be open and you're not.
The conversion equation
Work out your conversion rate by finding out the total number of unique users you have had to your website using the log files of your sever. Divide 100 by the sum of the number of users (x) by the number of conversions (Y). So the formula is 100 / (X/Y)
Online selling is essentially a numbers game. The more visitors to a site, the more sales that site will make. The number of sales made divided by the total number of visitors to a site is called the conversion rate. A typical site will have a conversion rate of between 1 and 2 percent, or 1 to 2 sales per 100 visitors.
It is obvious that if the number of visitors increases, and the conversion rate remains the same, then sales will increase. Traffic is the first variable that most online marketers attempt to influence when they begin their online marketing campaigns.
There are two basic problems with the increase traffic method. The first is that it is expensive to run advertising and improve a site's ranking in the search engines. The second and subtler issue is that there is no guarantee that the conversion rate will remain constant.
So what about increasing the conversion rate? Using the example above, if the number of buyers could be increased from 1 or 2 per hundred visitors to 2 to 4, sales will have doubled! So what can be done to increase a web site's conversion rate? Below I list 7 techniques designed to accomplish this goal:
There is an old saying that I agree with 100%. "Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising." The same applies to Web sites. Nothing will suck up money faster than a poorly structured Web site that can't convert sales.
You might have the best product in the world. However, if your site isn't specifically designed to convert visitors to sales, you'll be wasting a lot of money to bring traffic to a dead site. All your marketing efforts and advertising dollars will go right down the drain.
Before you begin - or continue - marketing your site, be sure you are ready to whiz customers through your ordering process with ease. Do a double check to ensure that your site can instill trust in your visitors.
So what do you need to do in order to dramatically increase conversions? There are a few simple, free things you can do right now that will pay off big time!
1)
Reduce the number of clicks to purchase.
Make it easy for your visitors to
find the information they need. Implement the three-click rule. It should take
no more than three clicks for your visitors to get from the index page to the
checkout page. I can promise you that they will not hunt for a way to spend their
money. They will simply leave.
2)
Make your privacy policy obvious.
With all the spam and scams these days, customers
are getting more and wearier of giving out personal information. They want to
know exactly what you intend to do with it. So tell them! Make sure your privacy
policy is up-front and easy to read.
3)
State your guarantees immediately.
If you guarantee that customers will be
pleased with your product or service, tell them. If you offer a money-back guarantee,
say so. This helps to build confidence. As we all know, people buy from those
they trust.
4) Build
a relationship with your visitors.
People also buy from those they like. Get
personal. Use your "about us" page to its fullest. Make the language
friendly, and let the visitors know you are a real individual who cares about
their problems and has a viable solution for them.
5)
Offer multiple payment options.
Giving your visitors choices is always a good
thing. This lets them feel as though they are in control.
6)
Make yourself easily accessible.
Give a physical address and even a phone number
on every page of your site. Let the visitors know that - should they have questions
or problems - you'll be there to help them.
7)
Provide plenty of testimonials.
These testimonials should be from previous
customers and should include specifics as to how the product or service helped
them solve a problem.
Obtaining testimonials is no problem, just ask. People love to be asked what they think; most will be willing to share their thoughts on your product or service. Implement a process of following up with your customers with a questionnaire. Leave plenty of room for their comments and make it clear that their comments may be used in your advertising.
8.
Improve your follow up.
Many people will not buy the first time they see your
product. In fact, some experts claim that people must see your message seven times
before they are ready to buy. Auto responder courses are a great way to follow
up with the potential customer. There are many free auto responder services on
the web. I use FreeAutoBot.com.
9.
Give away free samples.
By letting your customers try before
they buy,
you can significantly increase your sales. If you sell an information product,
provide a few paragraphs or even the first chapter by auto responder. This technique
also helps to improve follow up by guaranteeing you obtain contact information.
10.
Give a bonus product.
Everyone likes to get something for nothing, especially
if that something is perceived as valuable. E-books make a great bonus, especially
if they contain original content. If you are unable to create your own e-book,
you could give away someone else's.
11.
Focus the web site. Use the Direct Response Site model.
A direct response site
is one where the customer's choices are very limited. Essentially they can buy
the product, bookmark the page, subscribe to your ezine, or leave the site. The
more options a visitor has, the less likely they are to make a purchase.
12.
Follow on sales are crucial.
It is well known that successful businesses make
75% of their sales to repeat customers. Start a free ezine and get your customers
to subscribe. Get their permission to send them information on upgrades and new
products. On their receipt, mention a product that compliments their purchase.
Don't have a product to offer for follow on sales? Find and join an affiliate
program offering products of interest to your target market.
13.
Change the web site copy.
Appeal to target emotion rather than reason. People
respond more intensely to emotional appeals than to intellectual discussion. Design
your copy to focus on the visitor's dreams, desires, fears or goals. Position
your product to appeal to their emotional needs.
As you can see, all of the above relate to building trust and making the buying process a quick and easy one. These are two fundamental, but vital, areas of Internet marketing that many people overlook. Implement these tips, and watch your online sales increase.
Once you have your site spiffed-up and ready to convert - then and only then - begin driving traffic to it in droves. You'll see a dramatic increase in sales!
Review sites
There are many websites on the internet which allow people to leave a review of your company. These services will ask people to comment on there overall experiences of using your company. They are a great way to boost customer confidence in your company and also to gain inbound links to your website. However if your customer service is substandard they can also allow people to tell other people about the bad experiences they may have had.
You can not prevent people from voluntarily leaving comments, but you may also want to encourage them to do so. This can be done by signing up with review services such as BizRate, Epinions and Alexa to name but a few. Once you have enough good reviews they will allow you to display a certified sign on your website which again will give people the trust and credibility they may need to encourage them to purchase.