Setting up an eCommerce website alone is not sufficient to start generating revenue. It requires continuous implementation of marketing strategies to grow online sales. In other words, succeeding in the eCommerce business is not easy (let’s face it).
It’s no longer the “set it up, forget it, and people will buy” theory.
Getting traffic on an eCommerce website is excellent, but does it ensure high conversions? Not necessary. Why? Because the traffic may not be converted into paying customers. Sounds familiar? I bet most of you will say ‘Yes.’
In this blog post, I will share some of the great & secret weapons for eCommerce business owners to help them increase conversions from existing traffic.
Product Upselling
You can take advantage of traffic on your website by offering them other products that you/your eCommerce system think they may be interested in buying. For, e.g., if you sell men’s trousers and shirts, you may offer your visitors to buy leather belts and wallets too. Since your targeted customers are interested in shirts & trousers, they may also be interested in the accessories. At the same time, when prospective customers are unlikely to buy products from your online store, offering them combo deals with related accessories may push them to checkout and pay.
According to several online studies, product recommendations account for an average of 10-30% of eCommerce site revenues.
Newsletter Signup
With the help of your eCommerce developer, you may integrate a feature on your eCommerce website that if the users try to quit your online store without buying products, they must see a newsletter signup window saying, “Sorry to see you going back without buying from us! Please leave your email with us, and we will keep sending you great offers in future because we would love to see you here again!” and start collecting their emails to save them under your “unpaid users”.
What will you do with the list of “unpaid users”? Wait, I am going to explain it in more detail.
Abandoned Cart Notification
Are you caring for users who added your products to their cart but never checked out? Or do you forget them because you think they will not be your paying customers? If that’s the case, let me tell you that you already made a massive loss in your e-commerce business.
Not all abandoned cart users dislike your product or change their minds halfway. Just think about whether their cart was abandoned because of their interrupted internet connection, whether they were using a shared internet connection or 4G at Starbucks, and decided to complete the purchase using their home internet connection. Still, they could never find your website link again.
Wouldn’t it be great to at least send them an abandoned cart notification after 12 or 24 hours to remind them that you are still holding their product and waiting for them to pay?
Retargeting
It’s time to remove your “unpaid users” and retarget them through Google Adwords (PPC) and Facebook remarketing strategies. Several types of research and studies on customer behavior say that a customer is likely to buy products from websites that he/she sees more than three times on several online placements. So, chase your “unpaid users” and show them you care about having them as your customers.
Hint: Use appropriate “viewable impression” settings in Facebook and Adwords to ensure your ads do not irritate prospective customers.
Referral Incentives
Everyone loves incentives! Why not offer incentives to abandoned cart users for each referral? This incentive could be a discount that users get when they complete their purchase, and at the same time, the referee also receives a discount. Studies show that referral incentives help abandoned cart users return and bring new customers.
Hint: Why should referral incentives be given only to abandoned cart users? Referral incentives can also be given to existing customers to grow your sales.
Recommended post: Saving abandoned orders on your eCommerce website