Three major aspects to improving sales on your eCommerce website is to grab your visitors attention, then to keep them engaged and finally get them to do whatever it is you want them to do. Let’s look at the first one first. Getting your visitors attention.
Grab your visitors attention.
Whatever you sell be it online or offline you need to deliver what is called a complete proposition to your intended target market. A proposition is telling your target market ‘this is what we do and this is how it solves your problem‘. I often think of a proposition as a bridge that crosses a river of understanding with what you do on one side of the river and what your target market want.
For your proposition to be powerful it needs to be evident and obvious straight away and get stronger and stronger as the visitor engages with your eCommerce website. You need to therefore first work out what it is your target market are actually looking for and then build that bridge of understanding across the river to what you actually can provide.
The power of appeal.
When somebody reaches your website searching for a solution to their problem they don’t care about how long you have been in business, how many people you employ or even how many offices you have up and down the country. They only really care about one thing and that is ‘what’s in it for them?‘
How is whatever you are offering going to help them solve their immediate need? In direct marketing this is called ‘the marketing appeal‘. You don’t want your visitors to figure out how what you do benefits them. You need to tell them. A message that tells them exactly how what you do is help them will help bypass any thought on their end of if your product or services are relevant. A primary factor in successful marketing is to find the right appeal. The right appeal pushes the right buttons. If you really want to increase the conversion rate of your eCommerce website then you need to work on the marketing appeal.
Tell them ‘whats in it for them’
I spotted a business card earlier that is a classic example of what most people have on their businesses cards. What they do and who they are. The business card i found earlier said that this person did the following.
Kitchens fitted
doors hung
Internal and external painting
wall papering
flat pack furniture put together
gates and fences erected
tiling
basic plumbing
all done at reasonable prices.
Wow. A lot to take in there. Firstly, the thing that sprung my mind was jack of all trade, master of none. Secondly, I would suggest that he concentrate on Parentos 80/20 rule and work on the one trade skill that generates most of his profit. Let’s for instance say that in this case he earns £2000 for fitting a kitchen that he fits in one week making £200 gross profit a day (i’m am presuming he doesn’t buy the materials) with high net profits.
He would therefore be better off targeting that trade specifically and working out the ‘appeal’ or what’s in it for me in the prospects mind.
If i had bought a Kitchen from Ikea and wanted someone to fit it i would be looking for two reasons. Either i can’t do it or i don’t have the time to do it. Therefore, by working out what it is your prospect wants (skill and or time) and creating a bridge to want you do (fit kitchens).
A better appeal would be something like ”Save time and money by buying your own kitchen and I will come and fit it for you”. You offer something that don’t need to be thought about and sells the benefits straight away.
Improve your ecommerce website sales through benefits
If you start to sell benefits as oppose to features you will see a significant difference in the amount of sales you make through your e-commerce site. A feature tells a prospect what it does whereas a benefit will tell them what it does for them. By finding your appeal and selling benefits not features you will improve your conversion rate on your website.
It works for many of our clients. Just check out their successful ecommerce websites and their live e-commerce orders.