To stand out from the competition and build up a suitable customer base, online retailers now have to dig deep into their bag of tricks. Easy and intuitive operation in the store is extremely important to customers. There are also a few essential must-haves that every online store should offer its customers – and definitely!
The 5 must-haves for a successful online shop
Every online merchant wants to be successful, but not every merchant ends up being so! However, merchants can take a step in the right direction by implementing the following 5 tips in their online store:
1. Improve findability of the shop
The findability of the store on the Internet is the basis for a successful business. If the store is found on Google only on the second or third page, merchants have a hard time generating new customers through it, because they are simply not found by them. For this reason, it is important that merchants think about the issue of findability. Whether paid or unpaid – that is up to the online merchant in the end. With SEO, merchants can already optimize quite a bit. A combination of optimization through SEA as well as SEO can additionally increase the visibility of their own products on the web.
2. Optimize Customer Experience
Even when shopping online, the customer wants to be entertained. In addition, he expects to be offered a positive shopping experience. The customer experience should always be in the foreground and offer the customer the same shopping experience that he expects from brick-and-mortar retail. By providing seamless customer care during and after the ordering process, retailers can strengthen the trust of their customers. According to a study, 56 percent of German online shoppers consider a seamless shopping experience more important than a low-priced offer.
Experience shipping messages in action!
3. Leverage personalization
More personalization is especially worthwhile in online retail. Customers also want to receive the care in the online store that they expect in stationary retail. It is clear that this is not fully possible. Nevertheless, retailers can do quite a bit to personally assist their customers even when shopping online. According to a survey, 43 percent of German consumers prefer personalized offers. Through personalized product recommendations and relevant product suggestions, they can make the shopping process easier for their customers and increase their sales at the same time.
4. Facilitate check-out processes
Shopping cart abandonment is often as high as 60 to 80 percent. There are many reasons for this. Some of them cannot be influenced by retailers themselves: If the shopper doesn’t feel like it after all, or if he just wanted to browse a bit – then even the best checkout process can’t change his decision. But if the order is canceled because the delivery time was too long, the customer changed his mind, or the delivery costs were too high, then the retailer loses a lot of sales potential – and that really doesn’t have to be the case.
5. after-sales phase not forgotten
Online retailers should also keep an eye on the phase after the order has been sent. Shipping is the most emotional part of the customer journey. Unfortunately, many retailers are not aware of this, because they do not care about their customers any further after clicking the checkout button. This is a big mistake, because there is a lot of potential in the after-sales phase that is then simply lost. Here, too, merchants should still take care of their customers themselves. But how? Through personalized and proactive shipping messages, online retailers can stay in touch with their customers as well as skillfully exploit up-selling and cross-selling potential. The parcelLab E-Commerce Shipping Study 2018 shows that there is still room for improvement here. Only 15 of the top 100 online retailers also communicate personally with their customers during shipping.
The 5 Hottest Tips for a Successful Online Store
So what tips should online retailers follow to make their online store (even) more successful?
- Rely on high-quality content that increases the findability of the online store and help it along through SEA – the mix of SEO and SEA is crucial.
- The customer experience comes first and should be continuously improved – because the customer is king. Through individual shipping messages, appreciation can be conveyed to the customer.
- Personalization in the form of personal address combined with individual product suggestions is an absolute must for every online store.
- The checkout process should always be convenient and quick to handle – otherwise customers cancel the purchase at the last moment.
- Customers should be cared for by the online retailer even after the order has been sent. This shows his appreciation and ensures happy and loyal customers. For example, at Lidl 85 percent of customers return to the webshop again after the purchase.
Conclusion
Running a successful online store takes a lot of effort. There are some important things that should be kept in mind. From valuable content in the online store to a personal approach to the customer – even beyond the order – to a simple and fast checkout process, there are a few ways to stand out from the competition and have a realistic chance even against the big guys.
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