It takes a lot of work to get people to your eCommerce site. You not only have to establish a strong marketing strategy but you need to gain attention over all of your competitors. And with the increasing number of eCommerce sites on a daily basis, this job is getting harder all the time. So, when you do manage to get a customer to your site, you want to make the most of the opportunity.
The percentage of visitors that perform the desired action is known as your conversion rate. If you can improve this conversion rate, you can grow your business even if you bring in the same amount of visitors. Below are a few strategies you can use to improve your eCommerce business’s conversion rate.
Macro and Micro Conversions
First, it’s important to differentiate between macro and micro conversions. Doing so will help you refine your strategy and optimize it better. A macro conversion is a big action on the part of your website visitor. For eCommerce brands, the typical macro conversion is the visitor buying a product.
However, there are also micro conversions. For example, a visitor might sign up for email alerts or follow you on social media. These actions don’t directly result in a sale but could result in future sales.
Take the time to identify the actions you want your visitors to take and whether they are macro or micro conversions. Doing so allows for better evaluation of your marketing campaigns and is essential to understand how your conversion rates impact your ROI. Once you’ve divided your conversion rate, you can also divide your resources appropriately.
Focus on Mobile Experience
More and more people are choosing to do their online shopping on a mobile device. As an eCommerce business, it’s essential that you provide a strong mobile experience, otherwise you are likely to miss out on conversions. There are a few things you can do to improve your visitors’ mobile experience.
One place to start is by optimizing your website for mobile screens. You could do this either by ensuring your website uses responsive design, which adapts the design based on the screen viewing it, or you could develop a separate website that’s just for mobile screens. Both options allow customers to visit your website on their mobile devices and have the experienced optimized for the smaller touchscreen.
Another option is to make an app. Many eCommerce businesses develop their own mobile apps, as these provide for an even better customer experience. To develop an app, you can either use an online service, learn to do it yourself, or hire someone to do it for you. Once you have a dedicated mobile app you can not only provide a better experience but also learn more about your customers and contact them directly through notifications.
Add a Live Chat Feature
A great way to improve conversions is through a live chat feature on your website. A live chat feature is a small messaging app in the corner of your website that allows visitors to directly talk with a member of your customer service team. Here they can quickly ask questions or get help with the buying process.
Providing a live chat feature helps your conversion rate in a few ways. First, it provides a better customer experience and happier customers are more likely to buy something. Second, your customer service team can assist customers in the purchasing process, making it less likely that these people leave without converting. Finally, you can train your live support team in how to upsell, which can make your conversions even more impactful.
Send Targeted Emails
An email marketing campaign is an important strategy for eCommerce brands. However, it’s essential that you send out emails in a targeted way. Rather than sending out the same email to every subscriber, you should only send out emails that might interest the recipient.
For example, you can send out an announcement about a sale of a product to people who have previously bought or viewed that product. These are the people most likely to take advantage of the sale and therefore convert.
If you send out too many emails that are irrelevant to your audience, they are more likely to unsubscribe and you’ll lose the chance to convert them. Focus instead on only sending targeted emails to your audience for the best chance at improving your conversion rates.
Measure and Improve Your Conversion Rate Going Forward
Improving your conversion rate is always a good goal for eCommerce brands. Even if you only raise it a fraction of a percent, this could make a big difference for your company in the long run. Start making it a habit to closely track your different macro and micro conversion rates. Then, test out new ideas and see how they perform.
If you stick with the ones that work and adjust the ones that don’t, you’ll start to see a steady climb in your conversion rate. The result will then be more profits for your eCommerce business, even if the total number of people viewing your website remains the same.