![]() | |
![]() | |
![]() |
Ecommerce Information |
|
![]() |
The Essential Christmas Web-store Makeover
Ten great tips to turn online holiday shoppers into eagerbuyers - and satisfied customers. When meeting potential clients, you wouldn't dream ofshowing up late in a mismatched outfit, hair disheveled,with food on your tie and no business card, would you? Andif they asked for testimonials or explanations about yourcompany policies you'd hardly say, "Sorry, I don't give outthat information." So why do it on your website? Just like in person, Internet shoppers look for clues(consciously or not) that suggest you are credible andprofessional - and they make that judgment call inside of aminute or two. That means you have a small window of timeto impress would-be buyers and gain their trust. Unlike inperson, however (where you can apologize for tardiness orcharm customers with funny tales about how that mustardlanded on your lapel) you have zero opportunity to redeemyourself online. One click and they're gone for good. But fear not. As Web-goers gear up for their Christmasshopping sprees, there are things you can do quickly andeasily to inspire confidence. Here are some surefire waysto turn browsers into buyers and buyers into regularcustomers: 1. Put on your best Web-suit. You don't need to hireArmani to redesign your site, but make sure it's clean,organized and error-free. Check for typos, broken links,inconsistencies in graphics, repetition, clutteredappearance and the like (think of it as good groominghabits). Such lack of attention to detail sends a message,however untrue, that you will be equally careless in yourbusiness dealings. 2. Put your best logo forward. Provide familiar visualclues on your site, such as well-known brand names andlogos. Also, list any other trusted brands, includingsuppliers, business partners and customers - and alwaysdisplay their logos to make a stronger impression. Whenshoppers see recognizable names, it increases theirconfidence level in your store. They'll be more inclinedto buy your goods knowing FedEx was shipping theirChristmas gifts instead of Joe X. 3. Proudly wear your credentials. If you have attained astandard of excellence or have met minimum certificationrequirements, such as for service or security, letcustomers know about it. Credible trust marks* displayed onyour home page will instill confidence in shoppers sothey'll stay on your site and discover all you have tooffer. (*TrustGauge.com has a nifty utility for measuringthe trustworthiness of your website. Simply type in yourURL and get instant results. By filling out their form,you can improve your score - and build credibility withcustomers. Subscribing to certain trust marks is also aneasy way to increase your TrustGauge score.) 4. Pass out your virtual business card. Make sure yourcontact information is visible and indicate all the waysthat you may be reached - including your physical businessaddress. Besides being convenient for the customer, ithelps assuage fears that you will take their money and runinto cyberspace, never to be found again. 5. Don't be a Grinch. Offer freebies (such as trialsoftware, free advice, money-back guarantees, etc?). Thisallows customers to experience doing business with youbefore they actually buy anything. Similarly, if yourwebsite is easy to navigate (again, see tip #1), it tellscustomers they can expect their buying experience to bejust as pleasant. 6. Insure - and assure - customers. The single mosteffective thing you can do to build customer confidence inthe short-term and transform reluctant shoppers intospenders is to provide a third-party insurance policy. Payment services such as PayPal provide Buyer Protectionprograms that assure your customers they are protected fromloss or damage caused by shopping on your site. 7. Deal with privacy matters. Shoppers now know thatinappropriate use of their personal information can bedevastating. Address privacy issues explicitly whenever youare asking for any information. Tell customers why you arecollecting the information, how you will use it and how youprotect it. Use clear, concise statements. Legal wordingand fine print make people think you're trying to hidesomething. For those customers expecting compliance with specificprivacy laws and regulations, explain why you are incompliance and back it up with relevant third- partyassurance. A well-recognized privacy seal, such as fromTRUSTe.org, assures them you are taking care to protectand respect their privacy. 8. Be transparent. Online fraud is growing at an alarmingrate and people are becoming increasingly sensitive to thethreat. Unlike when shopping in a store, online shoppershave no way of witnessing what's really going on and oftenfeel vulnerable. Your website should include easilyaccessible information on why your store is a safe place toshop. Tell customers how you protect them with safeshopper policies. Consider joining the ePublicEye.com SafeShopping program. 9. Hold the customer's hand. Once the customer is readyto buy, walk them through each step of the onlinepurchasing process. Assure them at each prompt that youare sensitive to their concerns and deal with each concernor issue as it comes up. Provide a clear link to yourmission statement, customer service policies and otheraspects of your business that may need explaining. Evenbetter, follow tip #10. The objective is to eliminatethose moments of hesitation - especially in the finalstages of the sale. 10. Offer a personal touch. One way to instantly endearyour customers is by having a real person assist them priorto and during their purchase. Use today's Internettechnologies that provide a variety of communicationchannels ranging from IP telephone to instant chat. Forhigher value transactions, provide a 24- hour toll-freetelephone number - with prompt, friendly service. It'soften the last touch that sways hesitant holiday shoppersto buy. At the end of the day, it's all about building trust. Following these tips will definitely improve your onlinecredibility and create more satisfied shoppers at yoursite. It will also prepare you for the next critical stepin the trust process of winning clients over the long-term,which will yield even higher returns for many seasons tocome. Let me know about your experiences implementing each ofthese recommendations. I'm confident you'll see adifference. Happy e-tailing this holiday season! Sidebar: A Christmas bonus Five easy ways to please your online holiday shoppers 1. Add a touch of holiday spirit to your site. Don't beexcessive. Just add a few colorful graphics to let shoppersknow you have Christmas gifts to offer. 2. Categorize products to make shopping for gifts easier: Use catchy phrases like "For Her", "For Him", "Gifts under$50" and "Holiday Specials." 3. Alleviate clients' worries by communicating well withthem - online, by phone and/or e-mail - and assuring themtheir gifts will arrive on time. 4. Be clear about shipping fees and return policies. Thelast thing you want is to surprise clients with unexpectedfees and conditions regarding your return policy. 5. Flash a Smile. Tell a joke. Last but not least, havefun with your customers whenever you get a chance,especially at Christmas. Clients may not see you smilingbut they can certainly feel it. And they'll remember youfor it too. Alex Todd is president and founder of Trust Enabling Strategies, a management consulting firm that helps organizations to excel by codifying trust as a critical success factor. Comparative Trust Enablement Assessments help online businesses to improve their competitive advantage and increase sales by identifying processes that boost customers' confidence throughout the onlinetransaction lifecycle. For more information visitTrustEnablement.com/Web-store_Assessment.html CONTACT INFORMATION: ** Attention Ezine Editors / Site Owners **Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in yourezine or on your site so long as you leave all links inplace, do not modify the content and include the informationcontained in our resource box above.
MORE RESOURCES: Apple Valley Approves 2.6 Million Sq. Ft. eCommerce Project Along 15 Freeway, Council Vote Ahead Victor Valley News Is WordPress The Right Choice For eCommerce Websites? Search Engine Journal Shopify Among Fastest Growing E-Commerce Leaders: Check Out Names Just Added To IBD 50, Stock Spotlight List, More Investor's Business Daily Interview: Ecommerce lessons from growing Norsland Lefse Digital Commerce 360 Tariffs tilt the scales: US e-commerce sellers poised for margin gains amid trade tensions FreightWaves US Pressures India To Open Its $125 Billion E-commerce Market To Amazon, Walmart: Report Yahoo Finance Watsco leans on digital growth as Q1 revenue declines Digital Commerce 360 K-ecommerce: Interview With Partner Channel Manager Rich Fowler About The Web Store Platform Pulse 2.0 US presses India for full e-commerce access to Amazon, Walmart amid trade deal talks: Report Times of India How will you buy your Heineken in 2030? BeverageDaily.com From Model to Menswear Founder Practical Ecommerce BigCommerce's New Enterprise Partnership Promises Seamless Site Performance for Major Retailers Stock Titan New ecommerce rules spur cost-benefit debate in Turkey Arabian Gulf Business Insight | AGBI Ecommerce earnings recap: What you missed from Movado Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Trends: 5 shifts happening because of new tariffs and trade rules Digital Commerce 360 Tariffs, consumer sentiment weight on March Ecommerce Stock Index results Digital Commerce 360 Amazon signals major shifts for B2B ecommerce Digital Commerce 360 H-E-B opens eCommerce fulfillment center in Houston H-E-B Newsroom Albertsons integrates shoppable video ads into e-commerce site Chain Store Age U.S. pushes India for full ecommerce market access for trade deal - report (AMZN:NASDAQ) Seeking Alpha EU warns shoppers to avoid cheap cosmetics from ecommerce sites Cosmetics Design Europe Tariffs, Temu, and Shein: What Supply Chain Leaders Can Learn from the U.S. / China ECommerce Shakeup Logistics Viewpoints - US Ecommerce Market Shares 2025 eMarketer North America, Western Europe Spell Opportunity For E-Commerce Brands Looking to Expand in 2025 Sourcing Journal India under tariff pressure to give Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart full market access Financial Times Distribution of the e-commerce market in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2025, by country Statista Bringg’s Dynamic Delivery Slots to Offer Precise E-Commerce Delivery Windows Supply & Demand Chain Executive US to push India for greater ecommerce market access Libyan Express 79+ Brand New E-Commerce Statistics for 2025 Exploding Topics LOT Cargo successfully automates US ACAS pre-load filing with CHAMP’s Traxon global eCommerce caasint.com China’s top ecommerce firms retreat from refund-only policy StartupNews.fyi Costco ecommerce sales growth in Q2 reaches three-year high Digital Commerce 360 Ecommerce Stocks To Follow Now - April 22nd MarketBeat Kroger goes all in on ecommerce Supermarket News Top 13 Ecommerce Trends (2024 & 2025) Exploding Topics As US slams door, can the rest of the world offer Chinese ecommerce a lifeline? | Opinions Campaign Asia Lighting-centric e-commerce brand debuts Home Accents Today 5 Trends Influencing the Future of Ecommerce Entrepreneur New Metapack® Survey: How Consumer Expectations are Reshaping Ecommerce After a Quarter Century of Retail Transformation Business Wire Local bookshops thrive despite e-commerce giants The Sheridan Press How Pattern PXM’s Content Brief is driving conversion on ecommerce marketplaces using AI Amazon Web Services (AWS) Insights into the Mexican E-Commerce Competition Landscape CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies E-Commerce packaging is evolving with sustainability and tech London Daily News US Presses India to Open $125 Bn Ecommerce Market to Amazon, Walmart outlookbusiness.com Walmart online sales rise in Q4, account for 18% of total sales Digital Commerce 360 Alltricks Signs As Official E-Commerce Partner Of French Riviera T100 Triathlon Endurance Sportswire Logistics startup Zippee launches 60-minute delivery service for ecommerce marketplaces Indian Startup News Bottom-funnel, top priority: Why are brands carving out dedicated e-commerce mandates? Exchange4media Shopify targets B2B ecommerce growth with strong financials and expanded tools Digital Commerce 360 Retail Sales Show Dining Out Declines and eCommerce Gains Ground as Consumers Pull Back - PYMNTS.com |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
RELATED ARTICLES
How To Accept Credit Cards Without a Merchant Account To increase sales on your website, you must accept credit cards. To process credit cards, you could apply for a merchant account through your bank or other financialinstitution. Grow Your Business Using B2B Emarketplace - Part II Selecting the right emarketplaceAlthough, IT spending has been staying flat for the last several years, corporate spending in e-business is gaining significant ground and at present surpasses 20 percent of overall IT budget.This means, more and more businesses are undertaking ecommerce initiatives, and as a result increasing sales, streamlining business processes and dramatically boosting productivity. The House Of Print.Com Publishing has always been a difficult business to promotesuccessfully, which titles by which authors to promote, which genre, will it be fiction or non-fiction? Will theysell? Will they make money, both for the publisher and for the author? So many questions which there is no definitiveanswer and so the publisher takes a chance with his moneyand his time and resources and decides on which books to publish, promote and distribute to the bookshops. He may only distribute to bookshops in his own country and if theydon't sell well enough, will not be seen by anyone else in the world. Building eCommerce Websites That Work - Part 1 You want to succeed at eCommerce? Welcome to a very big family. Right off, let's be clear - there are lots of ways to do business on the internet. 6 Steps to Attracting Black Customers Online by Jamila White, "The E-Commerce Diva"In the rush to keep up with technology, many African-American business owners are so busy trying to add the latest bells and whistles to their Web sites, get to the top of the search engines, and learn the latest database technology that they often forget this simple fact: people do business with other *people*, not computers. Understanding the importance of relationships is key to attracting African-American buyers online. Doing Business Online - Private B2B Exchanges Business processes are the building blocks of an enterprise. If one of these processes fails to live up to its expectation, business starts to flounder. Saving Money On Your E-commerce Site After building and transferring many e-commerce sites it still amazes me that owners of e-commerce businesses are still wasting money in three basic ways. For fear of stating the obvious, saving money is the same as making money $100 saved is $100 added to your profit margin. Tell Them Whats in The Can! What does 'the can' mean? Well, its literal meaning relates to canned goods on supermarket shelves. If your can is up there among thousands of others, the label had better state pretty clearly exactly what's in the can. Drop-Shipping - A Great Way of Making Money Online Using the Internet to sell products and services to ever increasing number of net users is a good way to start your own business. If you are not taking advantage of this great opportunity you are just missing the boat! Consider this: e-commerce, contrary to popular believe, is thriving and increasing at a double digit growth rate. How Merchant Accounts Can Save You Money We all know that accepting credit cards is the key to online sales. Unfortunately, most merchants are unaware that acquiring a merchant account can actually save them money. Stakeholder Analysis and Stakeholder Management What is a Stakeholder?Try "define: Stakeholder" in Google and you will be surprised by the huge differences in the way this simple word is defined. It perhaps proves - in a way - just how confused people get about Stakeholder Management and how inconsistent the different approaches to it can be!My simple definition is "anyone affected by a decision and interested in its outcome". Something new in e-commerce: the Echo System Build How four partners build and manage an exclusive art posters web site by emulating the way the echo works.Imagine a top-notch photographer, some demanding visitors and an e-commerce site that wants to make money. Is It Easy to Build An E-commerce Web Site? --Online Commerce--E-Commerce website is all about selling products and services over the Internet. Amateurs may think that it is easy to build your own e-commerce system and our advice to you is to stay away from these amateurs. Retirement Signature Frames - The Perfect Retirement Gift! When most people think of a retirement gift, they think of a watch. It's the tried and true gift that companies give employees to say thanks for all the years of hard work. Select a Niche Market for Ecommerce Choosing a carefully pinpointed niche market should be one of the first steps that an internet business owner has to take. A very common way of describing a niche market is 'a targeted group of individuals with very specific and similar needs or interests. Gooooooooooogle It! .. Products for a Successful Web Business There are F words in business. We have seen many small businesses on the internet flourish and fulfil their dream, but sadly we have seen some flounder and fail because they had the wrong product. 7 Key Steps To Reduce Refunds and Chargebacks One sure-fire way to loosing out big time on your business profits is from incidences of excessive refunds and chargeback requests. If the number is high in any period you could risk loosing your third party merchant account altogether. Starting An E-Commerce Business The development and expansion of the Internet has made business opportunities, once only available to the wealthy, available to nearly everyone. In the past, opening a business was a huge commitment in terms of finances and risk. Get Out of The Way Get out of the way and make it easy for your visitors to find what they want.Recently I completed a report for a site that was the most 'peaceful' and among the most 'useful' I had seen in a long time. ![]() |
home | site map |
© 2006 |