Businesses are moving online more and more to expand their reach and provide the best experience possible to their customers. Being online comes with more competition, so business owners must develop ways to amplify their game to gain a bigger market share.
Do you own an e-commerce business, or are you looking to start one? Read on to learn about ways to delight your online customers.
Put the buyer’s journey at the forefront
The buyer’s journey is the path your customers take when they purchase from your website. Your responsibility is to focus on their journey and give them a clear and easy path to navigate.
The website’s homepage is the face of your online store, so be sure you make a positive first impression. By just looking at the homepage, it should already be clear to your customers what products or services you’re offering. This is also your first chance to show why your business stands out.
You can organise your products into groups such as “New Releases” and “Bestsellers” or have seasonal offerings such as “EOFY Deals”. Have a robust search function that allows customers to find specific products easily. Aside from making your online store easy to navigate, you should also ensure mobile-friendliness to meet the needs of customers that increasingly want to make purchases quickly from their mobile devices.
Make sure to set clear expectations, such as using a “Start Now” button if there are a few steps to take, or a “Purchase Now” button that implies immediacy.
Make the process easy and straightforward
Customers love a straightforward buying experience. Having a simple process will make it easier for customers to keep saying “yes” to the purchase. This then gives them fewer reasons to abandon their cart.
To make more sales, it’s essential to make it easy for your customers to navigate your site and achieve their goals. Ensure that the shopping process is as efficient and smooth as possible. Ensure all links work on your site and all product or service descriptions are accurate and current. If you can, have a one-click buy option available so people in a hurry can make a purchase easily and quickly.
If you sell products that encourage repeat purchases, have an option for your customers to repurchase the same product easily, either through a “buy again” button or a subscription.
Integrate the right apps into your business
With technology continuously evolving, more and more apps are being developed to automate and streamline processes. In order to effectively scale and grow your online business, it is vital to have the right technology.
Xero is a leading cloud-based accounting software that can make your accounting more manageable and save time working on your books. Apart from securing your data and making it easily accessible from the cloud, what’s great about Xero is that you can incorporate a range of other apps that support retail businesses with things like payments, inventory, shipping, and many more, making this cloud accounting system even more powerful.
Final Thoughts
The future of small business is looking bright as customer preferences change, and people turn their focus to local or independent businesses.
To establish a successful e-commerce business, you need to make sure your numbers are on track. So let our accountants take over the finance side of your business while you focus on doing what you do best growing your business.
If you have any questions, feel free to Join the conversation…