Happy
New Year folks! We sincerely hope you've enjoyed the holidays and
you're fresh-faced and ready to get your teeth stuck into a
productive year.
If
like us you've already given up on some of your more ludicrous
resolutions then we don't blame you. We never really saw ourselves as
the six pack, bungee jumping, lion taming types anyway.
But
what about the ones that really matter? The ones that will shape us
as Ecommerce pros? That's what we really should be focused on.
So
we've put together 10
Ecommerce New Year's resolutions
that you really need to stick to if you want to rise to success in
2015....
1.
Make way for omni-channel
We're
a big fan of omni-channel, so much so that we've already predicted it
to be one of the hottest
trends for 2015.
You need to start making sure that your entire shopping experience is
streamlined - and available - across all channels. From your website,
in store, your social channels and beyond, every point of contact
with the customer needs to be consistent with your brand.
The
fact is, there's plenty of channels that your customers will look to
shop on now – and it doesn’t have to be your website. Making it
as easy as possible for your customers to close the sale is the name
of the game and savvy platforms, including
ours,
will give the tools you need to offer shopping across all channels
including email and social.
2.
Have a 24-hour response policy
Great
customer service is a sure-fire way to succeeding in Ecommerce, and
that includes being responsive to your customers. When a customer
contacts with a query, you need to reach out quickly. We'd suggest
automating an email away to let them know you are looking into their
inquiry. Then it should take you no longer than 24-hours to resolve
the issue. If it takes a little longer, make sure you keep them
posted.
Integrating
with a platform such as LiveChat
can also help as it lets
your
customers reach you instantly. That way you can offer them the help
they need and provide exceptional customer service right from the
start.
3.
Be clear with costs
Why
do online shoppers leave without paying? Well this study
shows that 56%
of people will abandon their carts
if they are presented with unexpected costs. This
tends
to be either shipping costs, or tax on
the product that doesn’t get added on until the very end. Although
you may want to make your price as attractive as you can, there's
nothing more annoying
for a customer than hidden costs.
What
do we suggest? Be
clear right from the start.
Show them what the tax will be before they reach the very end of
their cart journey. It may also be beneficial for your store if you
sell your products at a slightly higher price and then offer
customers free shipping.
4.
Keep creating high-quality content
Content
marketing has really taken off over the past few years and it doesn’t
look like it's going anywhere in 2015. With an impressive 93%
of companies
using it just last year, this number only looks set to rise. If you
want to help push your brand, increase your leads and boost your
sales, then you should definitely add content marketing to your New
Year's resolutions.
What
you need to do is first
put a strategy in place to find out who your customers are, what they
like to share – and then start creating content that is tailored to
them. Your content needs to be authoritative, actionable and
educational so you can stand apart as a thought-leader in your niche.
5.
Start using email drip campaigns
Drip
campaigns are a great method to bring customers through your sales
funnel
with ease. The idea is that you automate a series of emails to 'drip'
information to the customer, depending on where they are in the
funnel. For example, if a customer leaves some products in their
cart, you can send them an email at the right time to encourage them
to go back and buy.
The
most successful email drip campaigns include; educational
- to inform a customer about your products; promotional
– to send customers offers and exclusive deals; training
– to teach the customer how to use your product; and reengagement
– to invite a customer back who hasn’t shopped with you in 6
months.
6.
Get responsive
With
7
out of 10
consumers preferring to use a mobile-optimized site, there's no
denying that mobile is the future. If your site isn’t responsive
then this needs to be a top priority, as it can seriously harm your
reputation in the Ecommerce world. Not only should your website be
responsive, but you should also make sure that the emails you're
sending out are fully optimized for mobile too.
Don't
worry, we don't let you do all the hard work by yourself. Our
platform
provides you with plenty of tools to help you create a responsive
website without the need for any coding skills.
7.
Stay up to date with SEO
With
new updates released, hot trends to follow and fresh strategies to
develop, you should always stay on top of your SEO game. There
are
already talks of what the latest focus will be in 2015,
and
the most popular predictions are that content and keyword
optimization will go hand-in-hand.
As
we mentioned above, it's so important to produce high-quality content
and we definitely don't promote keyword stuffing. However, it's still
important to do your research and optimize your store with the right
meta-tags,
indexing and keywords. And instead of trying to build loads of links
around your site, focus your efforts on earning links – again it's
all about producing high-quality content that people would want to
link back to.
8.
Segment your audience
When
it comes to marketing, If you think that a 'one-size-fits-all' will
work for your businesses then you're seriously mistaken. You need to
ensure that you're segmenting your audience and targeting them with
the promotions that are specifically tailored to their customer
journey with you.
Smart
store owners are starting to realize that personalization is the key
to success, so whether it's your email campaigns, landing pages, or
your ads, you need to make sure that each point of contact is
personalized to cater to
that customer. Segment your promotions to target different customers
and direct them to the right page on your site, depending on their
journey.
9.
Freshen up your design
We're
not saying you should change your brand, especially if it's working
for you, but design trends will always evolve – and you should
evolve with it. So what's hot for 2015?
Well
we believe large product images will help to increase sales; long
scrolling sites have become popular amongst many sites; CTA buttons
that are a different shade or color help to close the sale; and of
course making sure that your navigation provides a great user
experience all-round.
10.
Never stop testing
The
final resolution that has to be on your list is to test, measure and
learn. By analyzing everything on your website, you'll be able to
build the perfect relationship with your customers. With platforms
such as Google analytics you'll be able to do keyword research, plan
ad campaigns, and monitor your web traffic. Using
an analytics tool like Kissmetrics, you can track the entire user
journey, from the first visit to a placed order and beyond.
In
addition to analytics tools, have you ever considered a/b testing?
This is a great way for you to test various features on your site
including the design, so you can see what your customers like, and
what they don't like.
Happy
selling!
So
there you have it – 10 New Year's resolutions that you need to
make, and keep, if you want to run a successful store in 2015. Keep
checking in with our blog for plenty more posts on all the latest
trends and remember, if you're looking for an Ecommerce platform this
year then why don't you start
your free trial
with us?
Here's
to a great year!