Ecommerce has been an integral part of consumerism for the past decade and has become increasingly more prominent as our society has continued to move more digital. To catch up or keep up with the demand for eCommerce, here are some tips on how to improve your Shopify store throughout the awareness stage, decision-making stage, and post-purchase stage.

AWARENESS STAGE

Being visible online where there is an abundance of content is no easy thing. However, here are some proven methods to get and stay on people’s radar.

ATTRACT CUSTOMERS

If you want people to become aware of your Shopify Store, you need to attract their attention. You can do this with Content Marketing and producing quality content. You can write guest blogs in your field. By writing guest blogs, you can establish your voice and your store as a thought leader in your field while also building backlinks that will benefit your SEO. Lastly, you can also write a blog for your own website that features an influencer in your market. By alerting the influencer, they may acknowledge the post and establish a relationship with you or even repost the blog feature on their channels.

CALL TO ACTION BUTTONS

Having simple Call To Action Buttons on your homepage is a great way to direct traffic on your site. When viewers on your homepage see “Today’s Deal,” “Popular Products,” or “New To Sale,” they are more likely to view them. Major eCommerce stores like Amazon and eBay use these simple CTA buttons to boost their sales.

OFFER FEATURED COLLECTIONS

By offering featured collections, this indicates that some products are only available for a limited time. Having featured collections may prompt people to make purchases, as well as imply that there will be a circulation of new products. With featured collections, people will continue to check your website for new items.

SHOW OFF TESTIMONIALS

Testimonials are a powerful tool in today’s E-commerce world. 80% of shoppers trust online reviews and use them to make purchasing decisions. Shoppers trust other people’s reviews on products and services, and featuring transparent feedback is a great way to build trust with potential customers. By providing testimonials, you are providing social proof to your customers.

MAKE SURE YOUR WEBSITE IS SOLID

What does a “solid” website look like? It is not overwhelming to the eye, it is easy to navigate, it doesn’t contain broken links, and it has high resolution and compressed images. Besides the SEO basics, your website should also include a blog section to establish your brand as a thought leader. You should have an About Us page to detail your history and values, as well as a Contact Us page with information on your shipping policy, return policy, privacy policy, and terms of service. If you're looking to customize your store theme, you can get an expert from a service such as TaskHusky to help you customize your theme!

DECISION-MAKING STAGE

Once you have people’s attention, it is essential to keep them on your page. To retain people’s attention, it is necessary to minimize the barriers keeping them from making a purchase.

HAVE A LIVE CHAT OPTION

Having a live chat option for customers shows that your store is easy to contact and wants to be there for customers as soon as possible. A live chat option shows customers that they are your priority. This live chat opinion builds customer loyalty, as well as opens the door for you to make suggestions or recommendations regarding products and services.

HAVE A WISHLIST OPTION

Enabling a wishlist option is beneficial to both you and your customers. For you, the customer is showing you exactly what they like. It will give you insight into what items are popular. You can also alert customers when items on their wishlist go on sale or have low inventory. For the customer, a wish list allows them to organize and collect items they are interested in.

ALLOW A GUEST CHECKOUT OPTION

Customers love a guest checkout experience because it is fast and easy! Customers don’t enjoy being forced to create an account at every e-commerce store they shop at. If you are worried about losing emails of regular or big-spending customers, don’t worry. You can make the wishlist on your website require an email, and you can set a budget on guest checkouts. If a customer’s total exceeds your set limit on guest checkout, they will be required to make an account. Similarly, you can add an incentive to create an account by offering a discount for first-time purchases.

HAVE SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

Having social media links boosts your exposure. By having multiple platforms, you can build your brand reputation. Social media links increase your reach of potential customers as well as act as an excellent gallery for customers to view your products and services. Also, having social media links boosts your SEO by building backlinks.

OFFER FREE SHIPPING

Free shipping is a tremendous influence on purchasing behaviors. Free shipping increases orders by up to 90%! By offering free shipping, you eliminate the final barrier standing between customers and their purchase. Free shipping also boosts your brand's reputation as being reliable and wanting to give all that they can to their customers.

POST-PURCHASE STAGE

Getting people through the sales funnel once is rewarding, so why not do it again? One-time customers are valuable to your sales, but returning customers are even more beneficial. Loyal customers, on average, make up 20% of your clientele but account for 80% of your sales.

HAVE QUICK DELIVERIES

By offering quick deliveries to customers, you will leave them with a positive impression in their last interaction with your store. When they think back on their satisfaction, they will remember the positive experience you provided. Quick deliveries will give your store a competitive edge. Conversely, having slow deliveries is a great way to guarantee people will never shop with you again.

OFFER A CUSTOMER LOYALTY PROGRAM

Building customer loyalty is a great way to boost your revenue and brand reputation. By offering a customer loyalty program, you are converting one-time purchasers to loyal customers. Gaining customer loyalty means you are taking up space in customers’ minds, and that is a priceless thing.

ACTIVATE A REFERRAL PROGRAM

Having a referral program is another significant way to boost your brand reputation and build customer loyalty. With a referral program, your current customers are rewarded, and you are connected with new potential customers. Referral programs are a noteworthy way to grow your clientele base while also leveraging testimonials.

USE MARKETING APPS TO CAPTURE EMAILS

Building an email list is the first step in implementing email marketing. So how can you get access to customers’ emails? There are multiple Lead Capturing Applications out there to help you retain emails. As mentioned before, you can also make it mandatory for people to add their email to make a wishlist or to access a special sale.  

HAVE EMAILS AND NEWSLETTERS

With email marketing, you can further focus on creating loyal customers by keeping your brand at the forefront of their minds. You can also inform customers of sales opportunities, new products, seasonal items, and more.

IN CONCLUSION

Having an enjoyable user experience and being visible online are both paramount to your success in E-commerce. These tips will help you to improve the overall experience at your Shopify store for your customers, as well as they will help boost your sales. It’s a win-win!

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