DEVELOPMENT,eCommerce,ONLINE MARKETING,Website DESIGN
When you are ready to take your company online, you will need to construct a high-quality, detailed website that will let your potential customers know who you are and what you represent. There are several characteristics that every eCommerce website should have in order to be successful. If you want to make a good first impression with your customers and clients, while also building up your company’s online reputation, you will want to pay attention to these seven important factors.
Customers love to stay informed on all the latest items for sale, promotions and special upcoming events. By offering an online newsletter, you can choose to contact all your customers in a single click by sending out a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly message filled with everything your valued customers need to know. Just be sure not to send out too many newsletters as this may cause some subscribers to start placing the emails in their junk folder.
No matter how nice your products may be, there will always be a reason for returns. Make sure that your online customers completely understand the terms and conditions for returning items by having a section on your website dedicated to this information. Also, you may want to provide information on how to report shipping issues and delays in this section as well.
By allowing your customers to create their own online account on your website, you are providing them with more control and convenience. By logging on, your customers can review past orders, track shipping for recent orders, change payment details and update their shipping information all without contacting customer service.
It is important that your customers feel safe while they are placing an order on your website. Even those who frequently order products online may be hesitant to provide you with their bank account or credit card information if your website does not appear safe. That is why you should display your Privacy Policy clearly on your site, on every page at the footer, to ensure that every customer feels confident about placing an order with your company.
Let your customers know you are happy to do business with them by offering special deals and promotions. Money-saving opportunities such as promo codes and free shipping offers will help encourage frequent customers to buy from you often, and entice potential buyers to make their initial purchase. This is the ideal way to increase sales as you also display gratitude and respect at the same time.
No one wants to visit a website that hasn’t been updated in ages. While you do not have to give your ecommerce site a complete overhaul each month, it is a good idea to provide customers with a brief news and update section so that they will know what new products are available and what upcoming promotions to look out for. This section can appear on your website or separately on a blog.
Placing your business online can mean many more customers, who may or may not be able to pay using your current payment methods. Look into accepting a variety of payment options including PayPal, E-Checks and accepting international payments. Be sure to display all the payment options you accept in several areas on your website so that your customers will know how to pay long before they even begin to add items to their cart.
This is just a sample of the characteristics that make up a great eCommerce website. However, if you start out with these 7 tips, you are sure to see your online business grow with more customers coming back time and again for their online shopping needs.
