What are the top practical ways to boost customer engagement on e-commerce website?
How to boost e-commerce customer engagement? This has been a question that businesses and e-commerce marketers have struggled with for years. The answer lies in identifying your target customers and providing them the information they need to make the most of their shopping experience with you. Here are ten ways to boost e-commerce customer engagement in your business:
1) Employ digital tools
More and more eCommerce companies are using digital tools to engage customers in real-time. Real-time engagement is becoming popular among eCommerce companies, partly because it is effective and allows businesses to interact with customers outside of selling hours. For example, brands like Gucci enable customers to share images of their purchases through social media channels to create further brand awareness. Other brands send personalised suggestions via email when products become available again after being sold out. By leveraging digital tools such as these that allow for real time engagement, you can increase customer loyalty by providing them with a sense of community that has been lost with traditional brick and mortar stores.
2) Authorize your customers with communities
Communicating with your customers is all about creating and sharing with your communities. We have already spoken about some of these communities, in particular social networks and email lists. But besides these, you may have product groups, and regional communities that share a common interest. You can gather customer feedback and use their knowledge to develop new products and marketing campaigns further. In short: Communicate with your customers as soon as possible after they placed an order - especially if you're dealing with B2B transactions, because your service and assistance are really what matters most at that point.
3) Enhance conversation with bots
In e-commerce, conversational commerce represents a significant opportunity for brands. Approximately 40% of all online shopping sessions start with a search query, but only 1 out of 3 shoppers complete an online purchase. In other words, a whole group of people start their shopping experience by finding product information on search engines or social media, but then abandon their carts before making any purchase. By adding bots—either in text or video form—to product pages and sending automatic push notifications to shoppers' phones when certain products are available at lower prices (or when items they've watched in an e-commerce app go on sale), brands can increase conversions and thus boost customer engagement.
4) Deliver omnichannel customer experience
You can't deliver a complete omnichannel experience if your business doesn't have a clear system for collecting customer information, such as contact and shipping data. Your customers should be able to choose how they want to interact with you - in person or digitally - and provide contact information based on their preferences. They should also be able to provide shipping details, so you know where they are in your sales funnel (whether that's brand new customers or loyal repeat buyers). This way, when it comes time for a customer service interaction or an order fulfillment, your business has everything it needs at its fingertips.
5) Simplify check out process
In today's busy, multi-tasking society, customers are less likely to spend a lot of time shopping online. According to recent research, 78% of people said they prefer easy shopping over cool shopping, and 75% said they would be more likely to buy products from retailers that make it quick and easy. Simplify your check-out process by using a service like Amazon Pay rather than forcing customers to fill out lengthy forms. Plus, when you cut down on data entry for your customers, you improve their overall user experience and increase your conversion rate.
6) Include customer reviews
Make it easy for shoppers to share their opinions about your product with an integrated customer review system. You can integrate reviews directly into your site or app, like Newegg does here with its Shopwise feature on desktop, or use a tool such as Yotpo or Shopify Plus. Consumers are far more likely to purchase a product if they've read reviews from people just like them, so include an online preview function that makes it as easy as possible for customers to share their experiences. Another way is to encourage users to add an Amazon verified purchase badge/checkmark on every product. This helps improve trust among buyer and sellers and boost sales by showing that many other customers have reviewed and liked a particular product.
7) Delight your customers
They're more likely to buy your products and recommend them to others if they have a positive customer experience. Think about what makes customers happy, and then go out of your way to do those things. If a customer pays for an item, express gratitude and personally deliver it; If there's a delay in shipping something out, apologize profusely and give them something extra as compensation; Don't be afraid of genuine connections with customers – that's what really helps business relationships get off on good footing. For example, give customers an incentive by offering lower prices on purchases made during holidays or special events.
8) Extensively use social media activities
If you are selling e-products or services, social media is great for extending your reach beyond your website and connecting with potential customers. Social media offers a level of intimacy not possible in other platforms, and allows you to interact directly with customers and prospects in meaningful ways that go far beyond simply advertising your product. Don't be afraid to share insights on how your business works, explain why something is good or bad, host contests or give away free products as incentives for reviews. Test every social network you can think of before determining which ones are worth your time—but most importantly, remember: being present on social media channels isn't enough; you have to use them actively!
9) Offer a customer loyalty program
Offering a customer loyalty program is one of many ways you can make your customers feel special. By incentivizing repeat shopping, you'll be able to build an even deeper relationship with them and improve your chances of getting positive reviews. There are a variety of ways you can offer rewards to repeat shoppers. For example, you might give away coupons or loyalty points for every dollar spent or offer them a discount on their next purchase after they've spent a certain amount within a specified timeframe. No matter what type of reward program you decide to go with, make sure it makes sense for your business model and industry—or else it could end up being more trouble than it's worth.
10) Acquire customer feedback and work on it
As your brand grows, you'll want to try and get customer feedback as much as possible. Listening is a crucial part of any business, and it can lead to significant opportunities. You might find out that a particular order form isn't working well or maybe you need some FAQ section on your website. Use your customers' feedback as an opportunity for continuous improvement, and you'll be taking steps towards long-term success. It could even be worth offering an incentive or discount if they fill in a customer satisfaction survey. Just ensure they aren't time-sensitive, so people aren't put off filling them in because they don't have time at that moment!
How to Create a Great Ecommerce Call-to-Action?
Creating and optimizing an ecommerce call to action should be one of the main focuses of any ecommerce business, and it’s an area where many companies are struggling to improve their performance. However, by understanding the key factors that will help you craft a winning CTA and ensuring you have all the right parts in place, you can get your ecommerce conversion rates soaring in no time. Follow this guide to learn more about what makes up a compelling CTA and how you can create one that gets customers clicking through to your website repeatedly.
1) A call to action should be specific
If you want people to take some action, visit your site, or call you,, then be specific. You should always include who, what, when, and where if possible, for each call to action. Also, these calls to action must stand out from their background. To make sure that happens, find ways that make it visually stand out from its surroundings. One example of how you can do so is by making words bold or italicizing them, or changing their color scheme by adding a light gray outline around them, for instance.
2) It should have urgency.
If your call to action doesn’t have urgency, people won’t take you seriously. Plus, if your product has an expiration date, you’ll have buyers wondering if it’s still in stock. Put some urgency into that CTA, and people will flock to it. And if they don’t buy right away, they may even drop their price later on down the line – win-win!
3) Make mobile CTAs fill the screen width
It’s no secret that mobile conversion rates are low. This is in part because landing pages often aren’t optimized for mobile. But, if you create CTAs that fill the screen's width, it creates visual urgency and compels users with limited real estate on their phones to act immediately. Think Hurry! You have only five days left! Or Only two more sessions left! Sign up now. On the desktop, design your CTAs, so they stand out from the rest of your page and make it easy for visitors by reducing friction between them clicking your CTA and completing the desired action – from purchasing a product online to calling an organization directly, for example.
4) Test different CTA colors, shapes, and sizes
You have noticed that every CTA is different, but you probably haven’t tested out their effects. But there is good news! As long as you do it within reason, testing out different colors, shapes, and sizes of CTAs doesn’t take much effort at all and can give you vital information about what converts best with your audience. People are more likely to click an orange CTA than a green one, but don’t write that off just yet. Once you understand how everyone else works on their CTAs (colors, shapes, and sizes), test it for yourself and see what happens – you never know what might surprise you.
5) Limit clutter (especially on mobile)
Because of the mobile’s limited screen size, it can be difficult for people shopping on smartphones and tablets to determine where they should tap next. Help them by providing clear, direct calls to action that give users everything they need in order to complete their actions. Of course, these CTAs shouldn’t clutter your pages or overpower other elements like product images; after all, too much text can get overwhelming. They should also be personalized based on what you know about each user (e.g., using personalization data or past browsing behavior).
6) Be as clear as possible
Your call-to-action button should be as straightforward as possible. Don’t use vague words, phrases, or images that mean different things to different people. For example, when you see your bank’s Open An Account image in their advertisements, it might just mean Open an account with us while some other company could interpret it as Getting an account. It’s free! Your goal is for users to understand immediately what they need to do to to get more information, sign up or make a purchase without extra work.
7) Display security seals next to CTAs
On an e-commerce site, you need to create trust, so your visitors feel safe buying from you. One way to do that is by using security seals next to your CTAs (call-to-action buttons). This allows customers to know their information is safe while they purchase. It also lets them see they are dealing with a legitimate company and will enable them to feel more comfortable shopping from you. You can use security seals on any website, including online stores, blogs, or even social media pages, as long as you take care of some essential details before adding them on.
8) Use an imperative phrase in call-to-action
You want your call-to-action button to be clear and actionable. You also want it to get attention and stand out from other elements in your design. Use an imperative phrase for your call-to-action (e.g., Shop Now or Buy Now). You may have noticed that Amazon and many other large online retailers use crucial phrases as their call-to-action buttons; Learn More is just not as compelling as Shop Now. Try using a critical phrase as your CTA; you might see higher click-through rates (CTR) on your CTAs—which will help boost conversion rates!
How to improve overall conversion rate of your ecommerce website?
Improving your ecommerce conversion rate can be one of the most important ways to increase sales, make more money, and grow your business. Conversion rate refers to the number of people who take action after viewing your site or advertisement, and it's measured as a percentage of the total number of people who saw it. If your conversion rate is low, you may be leaving customers out on the table - meaning that you're not selling all the items you could be and are losing out on revenue you could gain from repeat customers or referrals. You can begin improving your ecommerce conversion rate today by following some tips below:
1) Reduce the steps in the checkout process
If customers have already entered all their payment and address information, they will be less likely to abandon their cart. The more steps in the checkout process, the higher your shopping cart abandonment rate will be. For example, they are adding a photo or video attachment step or asking for too much personal information up front can cause customers to think twice about submitting their order. To reduce the number of steps in the checkout process, don't ask for personal information until you are 100% sure it is necessary (for shipping and billing purposes). In other words, wait until a customer clicks the submit order button before asking for their phone number or full name—the second you ask them for unnecessary details, you've reduced your conversion rate.
2) Reverse-engineer the customer journey
Reverse-engineering the customer journey is essential if you want to understand what your customers do when they come across your site. The beauty of ecommerce is that it's so measurable. You can find exactly what people are looking at and how long they spend on each page (if the information isn't automatically provided). Use heatmaps, scroll maps, and time-spent metrics like ClickTale. Set up user testing sessions, in which customers describe aloud as they click through the website.
3) On Site Model
In an On-Site Model, a company's employees work from your offices and you provide all required hardware/software as well as software licenses for applications used. The company will supply its own Internet connectivity. This is a cost-effective model but requires a significant upfront investment from you to acquire and maintain hardware, software, bandwidth, and client support staff resources to keep things running smoothly. You may also incur an ongoing fee if they bring in outside contractors or consultancies whose skills they don't have in-house.
4) Use a simple design layout
Studies have shown that consumers are likelier to buy from an online store if it uses a simple design versus a cluttered, confusing design. For example, you might consider removing redundant navigational links or placing your call-to-action in a prominent place on each page. You could also add pop-up boxes for related products or services—these can boost sales by as much as 50%. Finally, consider improving your brand's image with professional photos and videos of your products.
5) Optimize your site speed
No matter how much you optimize your site, a bad user experience will kill your sales. If your site is slow, people will leave. And that's especially true on mobile, where consumers have even less patience for a long-loading page or app than they do on desktop. Take every opportunity to speed up your site by optimizing images, compressing content, and using other tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights test tool. Don't forget to ensure your SSL certificate is in order, too: Google now gives sites with HTTPS a boost in its search rankings over those that don't have SSL protection.
6) Add social proof
Social proof is a phenomenon that occurs when we do things because we see other people doing them. The term originated in social psychology and was first defined by Robert B. Cialdini in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Social proof is powerful because it removes ambiguity and makes us feel like we're making decisions based on facts, not feelings or biases. It also allows us to save time by following what everyone else is doing. Using social proof, you can help your customers understand that they are not alone when making a purchasing decision; others have made similar purchases and used your product successfully.
7) Offer free shipping
According to a recent survey, offering free shipping can significantly affect your ecommerce conversion rate. More than half of online shoppers ranked free shipping as an essential feature when deciding which e-retailer they'd buy from next. So how do you offer free shipping while still turning a profit? You'll want to get creative with one or two of these strategies.
8) Make it easy for visitors to contact you
For people to buy from you, they need to contact you. Make it easy for them by putting your email address at every point of contact: at the bottom of your emails, your business card, and everywhere else. Keep it professional so people know how to get in touch with you, but make sure it's apparent that you want to hear from them. You may also want to use social media as a way for people to reach out if you don't want everyone having your private email address or phone number. That is completely fine! If social media makes sense for your business goals and audience.
9) Add live chat support
It's essential to have someone at your company available for customer support in real-time. Consumers expect online retailers to offer live chat support and other methods of instantaneous communication. Adding live chat allows you to fix issues quickly and keep customers happy. If a customer has questions or concerns about an order, live chat is beneficial as it will enable both parties to get information directly without creating more email inbox clutter. Adding live chat support also builds trust between you and your customers: Those who can access immediate assistance are likely to have a better experience on your site. Just be sure that whoever is answering your chats is well trained, polite, and quick on their feet!
10) Add pop-ups to your site
While pop-ups are a great way to capture potential customers' attention, they're not always welcomed by site visitors. Although studies have shown that pop-ups increase conversion rates on sites, it's essential to be aware of your target audience and their preferences. As an ecommerce business owner, you want to ensure that your potential customers are happily browsing your site – otherwise, they might find another ecommerce platform altogether. That said, adding a pop-up isn't something you should avoid entirely; if you have a popular enough site with good traffic and a quality offer, it might be worth giving them a try for two months.