Successful E-Commerce
Giving your custom designed website an
e-commerce function can be a great way to extend your brand and
increase revenue. There's no reason your online image can't double as
a storefront as well.
However, as with anything else in
business, there is no magic formula for a successful e-commerce site.
There are only techniques and tips that have been cultivated through
years of trial and error. Here are some things to keep in mind when
you're working toward success with e-commerce.
Customer Service
Shopping has always been a multifaceted
experience that involves more than just the merchandise. Although
many are excited to no longer have to leave the house, most shoppers
still want to participate in finding the perfect product, learning
everything there is to know about it, and comparing it to other
items. Going to a brick-and-mortar means having an expert on hand to
field questions, give tours, and ultimately help guide this process.
Keep this in mind as you try to
replicate the experience digitally. No matter your product or
service, it always helps to have expert information immediately on
hand for potential customers to consider. Whether it's an FAQ or an
instant message to a readily-available employee, the entire novelty
of shopping and customer service needs to be adequately condensed.
The bottom line is to simply be
available to your potential customers.
Blogs & Newsletters
An e-commerce site should almost always
be paired with a good blog. It opens up an infinite amount of ways to
discuss your products and services. You can spotlight new items,
offer specials and discounts, provide testimonials from other
satisfied customers, etc. They are your products, and if you have a
lot of great things to say about them, you should.
Furthermore, when you're discussing
specific products or time-sensitive deals, you can then merge these
with an email newsletter effort. Last year, approximately 66% of
online customers who made a purchase, did so as a result of opening a
specific email.
Finally, a consistent blog is just
plain great for SEO. If you're churning out high-quality, relevant
content, it will work in the end to drive more traffic your way.
Responsive E-Commerce
Responsive website design allows you to
have a website that looks good on any device. The pages will
transform and resize themselves to look appropriate, whether you're
on a laptop or a phone. Although we have a lot to say about responsive design, today we will simply (though emphatically) suggest
that your e-commerce site be responsive.
Though it is a recent phenomenon, most
online shopping these days is done through a hand-held device. And
when it comes to parting with their hard-earned cash, most online
shoppers want clarity and navigability as they prepare to do so.
Having to zoom in, scroll around, and repeat, is simply too fatiguing
to inspire a call-to-action.
Having a sleek, responsive website
design makes your products pristine, and it makes the shopping
process painless.
---
Here at Hazel Digital Media, we give
you all of these tools and more to help you get the ball rolling on
your custom e-commerce website. In addition to these tools, we also
make it incredibly easy to crunch the numbers and measure the
analytics on the backend.
If e-commerce is something that you're
interested in, Hazel Digital Media can help. Feel free to Contact Us today.
Giving your custom designed website an e-commerce function can be a great way to extend your brand and increase revenue. There's no reason your online image can't double as a storefront as well.
However, as with anything else in business, there is no magic formula for a successful e-commerce site. There are only techniques and tips that have been cultivated through years of trial and error. Here are some things to keep in mind when you're working toward success with e-commerce.
Customer Service
Shopping has always been a multifaceted experience that involves more than just the merchandise. Although many are excited to no longer have to leave the house, most shoppers still want to participate in finding the perfect product, learning everything there is to know about it, and comparing it to other items. Going to a brick-and-mortar means having an expert on hand to field questions, give tours, and ultimately help guide this process.
Keep this in mind as you try to replicate the experience digitally. No matter your product or service, it always helps to have expert information immediately on hand for potential customers to consider. Whether it's an FAQ or an instant message to a readily-available employee, the entire novelty of shopping and customer service needs to be adequately condensed.
The bottom line is to simply be available to your potential customers.
Blogs & Newsletters
An e-commerce site should almost always be paired with a good blog. It opens up an infinite amount of ways to discuss your products and services. You can spotlight new items, offer specials and discounts, provide testimonials from other satisfied customers, etc. They are your products, and if you have a lot of great things to say about them, you should.
Furthermore, when you're discussing specific products or time-sensitive deals, you can then merge these with an email newsletter effort. Last year, approximately 66% of online customers who made a purchase, did so as a result of opening a specific email.
Finally, a consistent blog is just plain great for SEO. If you're churning out high-quality, relevant content, it will work in the end to drive more traffic your way.
Responsive E-Commerce
Responsive website design allows you to have a website that looks good on any device. The pages will transform and resize themselves to look appropriate, whether you're on a laptop or a phone. Although we have a lot to say about responsive design, today we will simply (though emphatically) suggest that your e-commerce site be responsive.
Though it is a recent phenomenon, most online shopping these days is done through a hand-held device. And when it comes to parting with their hard-earned cash, most online shoppers want clarity and navigability as they prepare to do so. Having to zoom in, scroll around, and repeat, is simply too fatiguing to inspire a call-to-action.
Having a sleek, responsive website design makes your products pristine, and it makes the shopping process painless.
---
Here at Hazel Digital Media, we give you all of these tools and more to help you get the ball rolling on your custom e-commerce website. In addition to these tools, we also make it incredibly easy to crunch the numbers and measure the analytics on the backend.
If e-commerce is something that you're interested in, Hazel Digital Media can help. Feel free to Contact Us today.