Converting people from simply visiting your site to engaging with and ultimately buying from your business sometimes requires a little more than just believing you have the best products. Customers, even those who have made online purchases in the past, often need a little convincing when it comes to handing over their details to a website. Besides from the trust issues that still plague eCommerce, people, more than ever, like to know they are getting value for money and buying from a business that will treat them well.
Streamlining your sales process is a great way to increase your finalised transactions. The key is to strike the balance between customers being amazed at how easy it was to make the purchase, while not creating problems with accidental purchases and buyer’s remorse. Huge companies like Apple and Amazon have spent decades building customer trust to the point where they store credit card and payment information to enable purchases with a single click, however for small and medium business, or those just starting out, there needs to be some middle ground that works for both your sales system and the customer’s experience.
1 – Payment methods
When eCommerce first began, a credit card was required to make an online purchase. Today, there are many ways to transfer money from customer to business and people like to be able to choose the way that suits them the best. PayPal, Bitcoin, debit cards, and BPay have all opened up a new world of customers to the joys of online shopping. Your sales can only increase if you make it simple and convenient for your customers to pay you.
2 – Make it mobile-friendly
People love to browse while they’re out and about. Whether waiting in line, on the train, for friends, or just sitting around away from home, mobile browsing figures have skyrocketed and have surpassed desktop numbers. This means that your site needs to look as good and function as well on a small screen as on a large one. While eCommerce sales figures on a mobile device are yet to catch desktop ones, it will happen and probably sooner than you think. This makes it imperative to anticipate the surge and have your system in place to handle whatever the future will bring.
3 – Purchase without sign-up
People are busy and often don’t have the time to complete a sign-up process, especially when using a mobile device. Some sites make this step a requirement and will lose countless sales because of it. While it is important to capture user information from a marketing and analytics perspective, actively turning away sales is bad business. If you provide a great service and a secure payment gateway, fast, efficient delivery, and an all-round great experience, then an anonymous customer will more than likely return and become a regular signed up one. If they don’t, despite enjoying the best your company has to offer, then you have made a one-off sale and not lost anything. Preventing that initial sale is more likely to turn away potentially loyal customers as much as it will the one-time people.
