Understanding Your Customer's Journey
Most people tend to focus on conversion metrics. I’ll admit it’s a safe avenue to go down. But those who have been in the world of retail for a while understand that having quantitative metrics tied to conversion is just one part of the equation. The other half.
Understanding what happens before and after the conversion. This is relatively where journey mapping becomes interesting and necessary.
One of my friends who runs an online store that specialises in pet care items realised that many website visitors would often check the product but wouldn’t add it to their carts at all - let alone checking out with them. It was a little frustrating, as you’d imagine, to get so close but not really sell anything, especially considering all the time and resources put into getting these website visits in the first place. When she began mapping out how people were moving through her store she realised something crucial - even though some of her videos were going viral on Instagram and bringing a lot of traffic in through her mobile site, these users weren’t buying from mobile devices.
Understanding what happens after was equally interesting - quite a few had abandoned their cart on desktop at checkout because they were hit with a 10 dollar shipping fee. Now, understanding this post-conversion behaviour was important because by introducing free shipping over a certain threshold she saw AOV rise significantly within a few weeks. To bring those mobile users back and get them to convert she ran a campaign on Instagram stories reminding people that if they’d added something to their cart but didn’t check out and couldn’t find it anymore she’d be happy to check for them - this helped boost conversions coming from mobile. It does seem like there’s no such thing as making your website easy enough to use for some people because let’s be honest - there’s always going to be someone who finds checking out incredibly confusing.
Understanding your ideal customer deeply can help you create systems and processes that help most visitors move through your store seamlessly. And even though it seems fairly obvious I’ve seen quite a few business owners ignore this part in favour of focusing exclusively on their conversion rates or running new acquisition campaigns. While there isn’t anything wrong with those approaches, failing to understand your ideal customer doesn’t set you apart from everyone else doing the same things you are.
Optimizing Product Pages for Maximum Impact
It’s easy to overlook - those fleeting moments a customer spends on a product page, hoping to find something worth the buy. If you want to turbocharge your store, it’s important you reel them in and keep them there. Sort of. With millions of choices and countless stores vying for their attention, you have but a moment to grab hold of their interest.
Sort of. No matter how aesthetically pleasing your store may be, unless the product page is clean, easy to read and completely free of clutter or ambiguity - you’re likely going to lose customers as soon as they land on it. This might seem unfair if you’ve spent hours crafting the perfect homepage and building something you’re proud of - but ultimately, people are there for a product, not an experience. Or rather, they want both at the same time.
And that means well-lit images that accurately depict what they’ll receive when they order from you. Show your products in use and scale them against objects like phones or TV remotes so people get an idea of how large or small they really are. Speaking of information - always include every bit of detail necessary on your product page.
Do not rely on chatbots or customer service representatives to pass this information on because if it’s not right there when they need it, you’re going to lose out big time. Use high-impact keywords that communicate value without being too promotional. Sort of. Test out various copy styles but try and keep things simple for your customers so everyone finds what they’re looking for regardless of how much they know about what they want.
Optimising product pages can feel quite daunting at first but once you start seeing results from all the tweaks and improvements you make, it can also be quite addictive. Maybe don’t get carried away though because even the best stores get negative reviews sometimes, and some people simply cannot be pleased no matter how hard you try.
Leveraging Social Proof to Build Trust
Looks Like people love reading reviews. It has become a sort of internet pastime to read reviews online. It seems like and the practice of review reading is so widespread that it has given rise to an entire profession.
Well, technically, it’s not a profession if you don’t get paid for it. Not yet, anyway, but maybe someday. But there are actually YouTubers out there whose only job is to react to reviews.
There’s a guy on YouTube who just reacts to hotel reviews, particularly the snarky ones with outrageous complaints and demands. There are others who react to reviews about makeup products, food, restaurants, movies, books - you name it. Sort of.
So, as far as social proof goes, user-generated content and reviews are right at the top of the trust pyramid. It’s word-of-mouth marketing at its most organic, and people are very inclined to trust people’s words over marketing statements made by companies. This means that if you want your conversion rates to skyrocket, you’ve got to gather and leverage user-generated content such as testimonials and reviews from happy customers.
Real people talking about your product in positive terms is comparatively a great way for new customers to feel safe enough to make that purchase they’ve been considering for a while. After all, if other people have bought your products and been satisfied with what they received, new customers have no reason not to trust your brand. There are more strategies you can use in this context such as building a referral program or collaborating with trusted influencers.
But really, nothing beats a genuine review from a verified buyer; that has got to be one of the most powerful ways to build trust with future customers.
Streamlining the Checkout Process
I think we’ve all had that moment. You’ve painstakingly added your tenth item to the basket, reached for your credit card, only to find the checkout process so convoluted you’re done. Maybe it’s multiple pages or maybe it’s endless form-filling or… maybe it’s the passwords. Either way, you lose steam and quite possibly, the plot.
It’s no secret that a smooth checkout process is critical. More or less.
Especially when 1 in 5 online shoppers will drop off because of a slow checkout experience. You want your customers to be able to go from shopping cart to paid customer in a matter of seconds. This goes beyond not asking for unnecessary information. Sort of.
It means ensuring that your website has an express checkout process. It means offering options like BNPL, COD and digital wallets like Google Pay and Apple Pay - all simple and accessible payment options for your customers. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence - many people enjoy shopping but not actually buying. If we make checking out easier, they are likely to shop more often.
You’ve gotten them this far in the journey - don’t make it easy for them to lose interest. A simple checkout page can also give your customers the time and energy they need to continue browsing through your store after paying for their first purchase with you. Sort of.
Or leave a good enough taste in their mouth that they come back again when payday rolls around.
Implementing Effective Upselling Techniques
When it comes to upselling, some people cringe at the thought. It seems like a dirty word, loaded with undertones of aggressive sales techniques and the sort of slightly sleazy shop assistants who won’t leave you alone for two seconds. But the truth is, that upselling can potentially be a great thing for both customers and businesses when done right. For example, recommending an additional product that complements a customer’s original purchase can significantly enhance their overall experience.
Offering a discount or bundle can make it seem less like you’re trying to squeeze every last cent out of them and more like you’re offering them the best deal for what they’re looking for. It’s all about understanding your customers and what they want - which, admittedly, can be easier said than done. Of course, if a customer comes in looking for a pair of earrings and ends up spending half their rent money on a necklace and a bracelet just because your salesperson was very persuasive, I’d say you’re probably not going to get repeat business from them. The trick is somewhat to offer something that meets their needs - something of value that can enrich their lives in some way.
It’s also important to keep in mind the timing of your offer. Offering your customer something complementary towards the end of the transaction is much more likely to succeed than bombarding them with add-ons while they’re still trying to figure out if they need anything else. More often than not, they’ll come back for something else anyway if they liked what you had to offer the first time around.
Sometimes less is more.
Analyzing Data to Drive Continuous Improvement
The way I see it, let’s be honest, the only thing constant in ecommerce is change. There are all these digital shifts, mysterious customer habits, and apparently unpredictable conversion rates.
But, let’s not forget - the answer usually sits right in your data. And when you start pulling information from your analytics dashboard and notice things like what time people shop, how long they look at certain products, where they abandon their carts and the list goes on - you’re already on your way to understanding more than you did yesterday. Sort of.
You can take it a step further by learning what customers are saying about your store and analysing reviews and feedback too. It becomes far easier to make changes when you know what’s working, and what’s most certainly not. The catch, however, is that one analysis isn’t going to solve all your problems forever.
You’ve got to go back to the drawing board with every change you make and see if it’s working. It seems like yes it sounds tedious but tweaking things as you see them change is the smart way to keep up with trends. It’s a cycle - one that requires patience and skill but brings some much needed stability in this rather volatile industry.