Customers rely on ecommerce sites for pleasant shopping experiences with the click of a button or swipe of the finger. Brands have a lot of big decisions to make when it comes to crafting the perfect ecommerce site, including its design, product pricing and customer service. Perhaps one of the areas that deserves the most attention is making the ecommerce site social. After all, it’s people that drive the success of a website.
Below are a few tips for making your ecommerce site a social butterfly.
Make Your Product Come Alive
The biggest hurdle to shopping online is that customers can’t see or touch the product. Without this type of sensory interaction, it’s harder for customers to make a purchase. Offering competitive prices is helpful, but the real test is making your product come alive. Short demo videos, how-to articles and photos of customers using the product are effective ways to show the various dimensions of your product.
Create a Personalized Experience for Users
Customers want to know that they matter. The more they feel important, the more likely they are to provide feedback, help other customers and continue to be loyal advocates of your brand. To show customers that their difference is noticed, create a personalized, user-friendly experience. Think about how you can greet them when they sign onto their accounts, or what types of related products you can recommend. Evoke emotion and feeling. Design with a purpose.
Encourage Customer Feedback
Certain ideas and features may sound great at the design table, but users may not share the same sentiments. That’s why it’s important for businesses to listen to their customers and encourage feedback. Ecommerce sites should have a clear plan of action for how they plan to collect feedback, and the responses should be read, shared and acted upon. By reacting quickly, you show customers that you are listening.
Incorporate Social Media
If you want to be social, then you need to be on social media. While you can’t rely on it entirely, social media networks offer an effective platform for targeting audiences and driving traffic. Ecommerce sites find the most success with sites like Instagram, Pinterest, Etsy and eBay. No matter which social channels you choose, make sure that you give them equal attention and effort.
Go Mobile
Not only is social media important, but so is mobile. Customers expect that they can make a quick purchase on their smartphone or tablet, so there’s no question that your ecommerce site should be mobile optimized. Not to mention, more people are choosing mobile devices over laptops and computers, so there’s an audience that you won’t be able to reach if your site is not mobile.
Offer Incentives
Sometimes, customers just need a small incentive to hit the “buy” button. Promotions, discounts, free shipping or VIP programs are the best methods for getting consumers to act quickly. The good thing about these types of incentives is that they cost you nothing but can make all the difference for the consumer.