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Don’t Lose the Sale! 3 eCommerce Mistakes To Avoid

When analyzing your sales process, start with these three common eCommerce mistakes first.


Sales are down. And the worst part is: you don’t know where things went wrong. You created a fantastic product and carefully crafted a marketing campaign – you even fine-tuned the sales copy on your website. Online site traffic is decent and you know there is interest, but it just doesn’t translate into orders. You’re ready for e-commerce success, but you keep losing sales.

Maybe you have experienced this scenario. Quite possibly you are dealing with something similar right now. One thing you’ll quickly learn is that the sales process can often be more complex than it seems. From a persuasive landing page to the “submit order” button at checkout, and even post-sales activities, every step of the sales process is crucial. As such, it may be difficult to isolate the exact reason why you are losing sales. But sometimes it is just a common eCommerce mistake.

When analyzing your sales process, start with these three common eCommerce mistakes first:

 

  1. We Don’t Offer Mobile Commerce

    According to the multinational investment banking firm Goldman Sachs, mobile commerce will be worth $626 billion by 2018. (Source: The Atlantic) Most mobile purchases will be made on tablets, not smartphones.

    The bottom line is: anyone who wants to succeed in eCommerce must have a mobile compatible website that runs flawlessly on tablets. This may seem obvious, but Brightedge reports indicate that 27% of websites are not configured for mobile use. If you have a company website it must be responsive and adaptive to different size screens. The shopping process should be easy to navigate irrespective of the device, and the design should be simple, not overly complex.

    Even DIY website builders like WordPress, Wix, and Weebly offer mobile site options. Regardless of the e-commerce platform you choose, it must be engaging for mobile users. It should never be frustrating or difficult, or it will drive away potential customers.

  2. Shipping Isn’t Our Cup of Tea

    Consumers will abandon approximately $4 trillion worth of merchandise in online shopping carts, according to BI Intelligence. The number one reason is unexpected shipping costs. If you sell physical products, shipping should be at the top of your priority list.

    Some consumers won’t make a purchase if they believe shipping costs are too expensive. Others will compare the actual cost of the purchase, including shipping, against a competitor. Either way, shipping is a consideration that shouldn’t be overlooked. The most obvious fix is to offer free shipping. Approximately 85% of consumers claim their number one purchase incentive is free shipping. Incorporating free shipping, with an increased cost to the customer to offset the price, is a great way to increase sales.

  3. We Offer Offsite Checkout

    Anyone looking to accept credit card payments on their website has a few different options. First, the entire sales process can be completed from your website, or the actual checkout can happen with a third party site, like Paypal. However, having an offsite checkout can be confusing for some consumers. One in 5 customers will abandon purchase if the process is too difficult, especially if they are required to register for an account. Even with trusted secondary payment processors like Paypal, it’s important to keep customers on your site for the entire checkout process.

    The obvious answer to correcting this mistake is to integrate a trusted and simple payment option into the checkout process, on-site — so you can control the entire transaction. For example, Selz is a new breed of eCommerce solutions aims to help anyone sell securely online from their existing website with no coding; with simple setup that can be likened to creating a PayPal button. However, they have a really good streamlined checkout that can include a Paypal option and doesn’t redirect the customer away from your website. Meanwhile, Ecwid and WooCommerce are two other shopoping cart options that can be integrated in to a WordPress site to make checkout seamless. The key is to keep customers where you want them – on your site!

Quick Fixes to Increase Sales

Closing an eCommerce sale isn’t easy.

Every step of the sales process should make it simple for a potential customer to buy your product. There shouldn’t be any reason for a customer to be turned off. From visual branding to payment options, the entire sales process should be simple for customers.

If want to increase your eCommerce sales, start analyzing the entire sales process from A-Z. Then test drive your company’s sales process yourself, as if you were a customer. You can’t control every aspect of a customers buying habits, but you can easily fix simple eCommerce mistakes that drive customers away.

 

This article has been edited and condensed.

Liesha Petrovich is the creator of Micro Business Essentials, a unique business blog exclusively for micro businesses. If you’re looking for fast, affordable, and effective tips to help your business grow, click here to grab a copy of the Micro Business Essentials Toolkit: Free and Low Cost Resources. Connect with @lieshapetrovich on Twitter.

 

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