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Wednesday 06th April 2011Social Media to Boost Your Ecommerce Store

As the owner of an online ecommerce store, you may or may not have taken the time to dive into the vast pool that is social media. By social media we are referring to networking and content sharing websites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
 
If you haven't taken steps to get involved in social media, we're here to tell you why you should, and what benefits that can have for your business online. 
 
Getting Social
 
Anybody in business will tell you that word of mouth is one of the best ways to acquire new customers. If someone has bought something from you before, and found you to be really good value for money, or they received excellent customer service, they may recommend you to others as a result. 
 
If you can relate to that as a statement then you're likely to be open to the way that social media works.
 
You should start by creating accounts for your business at the various social media hubs, like Facebook and Twitter. In doing so, you will probably find that each has it's own format and way of working, but this is great for injecting some diversity into how you promote your business.
 
Facebook
 
Long thought of as a hub for students and youngsters to chat amongst their friends and post photographs of what they've been up to. While this admittedly does still constitute a lot of what Facebook is about, you will also find that it is now a massive hub for businesses.
 
You are able to create a page about your business and invite people to 'Like' that page. In the same way that people might like your business offline and tell their friends about you, if they 'Like' your page online, that fact is broadcast to all of their other friends on Facebook, and so acts as a sort of recommendation. 
 
The more people that 'Like' your page, the more of an audience you have to post content to. By posting content we mean offering links to offers that you are running, or uploading pictures of your new products. Create a dialogue with those who are fans of your page to create a more personal front for your business.
 
Twitter
 
Twitter functions in an entirely different way to any other social media platform.  Once armed with an account, you can start posting snippets of information about your business, and growing a following of fans.
 
With Twitter you are limited to posting short amounts of information, no longer than 140 characters. So the challenge here is to convey information and updates to your audience as succinctly as possible, while also give them some added value.
 
Again, if someone 'follows' you on Twitter, and so receives your news updates, that fact will be shown in their profile, and others may follow suit. They also have the opportunity to interact with your post. So if you post something about an offer that you have running, they can 'Retweet' that post, meaning that they add it to their wall, for all of their followers to see, hence a recommendation that works much like word of mouth.
 
LinkedIn
 
LinkedIn is another social media site that is unique in the way that it operates. Unlike the others, it is solely meant for businesses and business people who want to network on a professional level. In the beginning you are only able to 'connect' with people that you know on LinkedIn, so you have to have worked with them, be friends with them or have gone to school with them. 
 
However, once you have started to build your network, you can ask for introductions to others in your friends networks and beyond. 
 
Aside from the business networking side of things, you also get a public profile for your business, which you should aim to fill with as much useful information as you can. The fact that you're listed on LinkedIn and have a sizeable network should bode well for your business.
 
YouTube
 
Often overlooked by ecommerce businesses, perhaps because they're not entirely sure how a video sharing network could be useful to them. We would blame this on the fact that YouTube is often thought of as a home of music videos, film trailers or funny videos that people have made themselves. Less often is YouTube credited for being a place where you can find useful videos like 'How To's' and instructional videos.
 
Why not consider creating, or promoting videos related to your products. If your products stand out from the crowd for whatever reason then a video might be a good way to actually demonstrate that, going above and beyond people just having to take your word for it. Create a 'Channel' and start gathering subscribers.
 
YouTube also has a range of functions available to allow people to share videos or to embed them on their own website. This is a great way to spread word of your business virally if your videos are interesting enough. 
 
Exploring the social media circuit is definitely worth the time for your ecommerce business. With a little bit of time and dedication, you could be opening up your business to whole new audiences who are keen to 'Like', 'Retweet' and 'Subscribe' to what your business has to offer.
 
 

Posted on April 06th 2011 at 11:28am
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Labels: social media

Monday 28th March 2011Our Shopping Cart Development Story

I've been prompted to write this blog post as we have just completely overhauled the shopping cart that comes with our ecommerce store solution. Our previous shopping cart worked perfectly well, and had all of the features and functions required to get customers from a-to-b, and paying for products, however there is always room for improvement and development.
 
The Shorter, The Better
 
We like to keep a keen eye on what is trending on the web, and how website design and programming is evolving to meet customer needs, and we have especially monitored the airwaves for talk about ecommerce shopping carts. The trend in this case seems to be that people want to spend less time in the cart than ever. They want to be able to see what they're buying, pick a payment option, fill in their details and be out of there. The fewer steps the better.
 
Shorter shopping carts have always worked best, simply because people are easily dissuaded from completing processes online if it seems too complex, or it is taking too long. It's an odd phenomenon, wherein we expect things to be more or less instant online. It's not like we would spend time shopping at Tesco, get to the checkouts and ditch a trolley full of food because the checkout line required that we wait more than a couple of minutes. 
 
Our last shopping cart process had 6 pages overall, those were:
  • Basket page with order summary
  • Details page where you sign in if you're already a member, or fill in your details if you're new
  • Shipping page where you make your shipping choices and review the cost of that
  • Final order summary page and payment choice page
  • Payment page
  • Order confirmation page
We based that shopping cart on the Amazon model, because that was obviously working very well for Amazon, given it's rate of growth and market dominance. 
 
Our new shopping cart process is now much more streamline:
  • Basket summary, with shipping choices and choice of payment methods
  • Express checkout / log in page
  • Your details
  • Payment page where you fill in credit card details etc
  • Order confirmation
We have already found that, by shortening the cart to fewer pages, that our clients have seen drastic increases in the number of shopping cart conversions. Increased conversions means increased profits, which is the aim of the game where ecommerce is concerned.
 
Clean, Clear and Comfortable
 
As well as shortening our shopping cart solution, we also completely changed the design of it. We reviewed what was 100% necessary for people to see during the cart process, and what could be classed as extraneous information that either crowded the cart, or caused people's attention to be diverted from the goal of checking out. 
 
The first thing that we did was clean the cart up and clarify the order status at all times throughout the cart. For the most part, that meant creating the cart in a split screen view, meaning that you can see your order, and the cart total at each stage so that you can see exactly how much you are going to be spending, and perhaps alter your choices accordingly.  We found that this meant that people didn't feel the need to use the back button, or to move back in the cart at all for any reason, which is good as the aim is to keep them moving forward. 
 
 
Another major change that we made was to offer an Express Checkout, meaning that existing users could log in if they wanted to, or they could just use the express checkout to quickly make their payment and complete their order. The same for new users, they weren't required to create an account. They could use the express checkout, and if they wanted to, those details could be used to create an account at the end of the process. We find that most people use the Express Checkout regardless of whether they have used the site before or not. 
 
 
Something which we've always considered important, is allowing customers to pay on the website pages where they are making their purchase, rather than re-directing to the payment processors site (such as Paypal). This became a more complex process with the introduction of stringent PCI DSS compliance rules, but this was something we were able to overcome with the new cart by offering iFrame integration. This means that our clients can allow their customers to pay on-site, using various payment options, but for the transactions to be processed through the payment processors systems, meaning that no credit card data is stored or transfered on our clients sites. 
 
Lessons Learned
 
Throughout the development process, we have learned a great deal about how customers interact with shopping carts when dealing with an ecommerce website, and have been able to apply this to the ecommerce solution that we offer our clients. 
 
We know that shorter shopping carts perform much better,  so it became a case of learning just how short a cart needed to be to perform well, while retaining all of the features that a good shopping cart needs. 
 
We know that on-site payments are better for conversion, so we learned how to make that happen in the most efficient, and hassle-free way for our clients.
 
We learned which features of a shopping cart pull customers through to the end, and what may potentially halt or slow down their progress. We then built the cart around removing these features. 
 
Overall we feel that we have achieved a lot in developing our new cart, with clients reporting increases in shopping cart conversions, and a drop in shopping cart abandonment. 
 

Posted on March 28th 2011 at 01:48pm
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Wednesday 05th January 2011 Attract Customers and Increase Sales With Great Customer Support

With the current state of e-commerce stores, customer service is an easy way to distinguish yourself from your competition. Great customer support will increase your sales by resolving any issues your customers have. It will also attract new customers due to satisfied customers promoting your business for you.
 
Dealing with customers one-to-one isn't the most appealing concept for any store manager. It is easy to avoid them and hide behind your website. This will leave customers feeling ignored, cold, and (most importantly) less likely to continue purchasing from your store. With your competitors' stores being just one click away, and with social media's ability to turn one dissatisfied customer into a PR disaster, great customer service is more important than ever. 
 
What Do Customers Want?
 
What customers really want is for you to care. They want to feel like you are genuinely concerned that they are satisfied with their experience shopping at your store. If you can provide this, you will create repeat customers who will recommend your store to others.
 
There are many ways to improve your e-commerce store's customer service:
 
Prompt Replies
 
This could mean employing a customer service representative, who will be able to quickly reply to any customer queries. Another approach is to have a dedicated telephone line. This allows customers to call you at their own convenience should they have query or run into a problem.
 
If you respond using e-mail, is important to have a help desk so that all queries are dealt with as efficiently as possible. While in an ideal world instantaneous response is best, pragmatically that isn't always possible. Having a help desk is the next best thing.
 
Proactive Customer Service
 
Rather than wait for customers to come to you with their problems, you could be the one to initiate contact. Customers can appreciate this level of service when it is done right. For example, if a customer abandons an order before completion, you can contact them offer further assistance should they want it. It shows that you care and might also create an extra sale.
 
Offering customers many opportunities to give feedback is also a great way to be proactive about customer service. It can highlight problems that you didn't realize existed, allowing you to increase both your customers' satisfaction and your sales. This can be done through social media like Twitter and Facebook.
 
An Extensive, Easy-To-Use FAQ Page
 
Not all customers are willing to contact a customer service rep, and this can mean the loss of a sale. A frequently asked questions page can provide answers to common queries without any need to contact your company. On top of that, it will save time for both yourself and your customers.
 
Show Your Human Side
 
Online profiles of everyone in your company with pictures gives your website a more friendly feel. This can be particularly effective with customer service representatives. If they send an e-mail, you could include a picture in their signature. These small personal touches can make a big difference.
 
You could also add a blog to your store. A blog can be like the public face of your store. It allows customers "to get to know" your store, building trust and removing doubt, and thereby encouraging a sale.
 

Posted on January 05th 2011 at 05:25pm
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