How painful is it as a business owner to watch a customer pick up an item and put it right back down? You always wonder what their thought process is, especially when they’re so excited to grab it in the first place.
When you sell online, you don’t even have the luxury of watching them pick it up in the first place. You’re simply left to wonder why you haven’t sold as much this month as you did the previous. However, there are several reasons why you’re actively chasing customers away and not even be aware of it. Here are five things your customers are saying about your website right now.
1. “Where do I go?”
One common reason customers bail on buying something from your store is they can’t find their way around. You only have a set amount of time to make an impression on your visitors, and if you blow it, they’ll simply move on to the next website. There’s no incentive for them to stick around.
Make sure everything is easily clickable and all links are labeled. Be sure your search feature actually leads them to the products they’re trying to find. And make sure your shopping cart is easy to find and not hidden somewhere on the bottom left. How are you going to make a sale if customers can’t figure out how to pay you?
2. “What is all this junk?”
You have great stuff. You KNOW you have great stuff. Unfortunately, nobody else does, because you hide it in the back of the store! Well, proverbial back anyway. When an item starts selling like hotcakes, you don’t keep it hidden – you feature it so it sells even more. The same is true online. Put a hot selling item on the front page so everyone knows they’ve found a great store right off the bat.
3. “Is that a candlestick or a wax figurine of Marilyn Monroe?”
Again, your items are great, so that’s probably not the problem. The issue is nobody can tell what it is you’re selling because your pictures are a total mess. Blurry, unfocused, filtered – they look like you snapped them during a hurricane!
Retake all your pictures so visitors can clearly tell what they’re looking at. For highly professional pictures, invest in a light box so all of your products photos have a clean, uniform look.
4. “This description makes no sense!”
Now that you fixed up your pictures, you have another problem. Customers have no idea what you’re talking about in your descriptions! Your copy is confusing and misleading and people are still clicking away in droves.
Not everyone is an expert at writing descriptions, so if you really need the help, consider hiring outside help. The right description can elevate a mediocre seller to a must-have product.
5. “AwesomestuffIShouldBuyRightNow.com? What is that?”
It has to be said: you don’t have to chase anybody away if they don’t know you exist in the first place. You need people to come to your site if they’re going to buy your stuff. If you’re not putting yourself out there, it will never happen.
Bone up on your marketing, SEO, and PR techniques. Meet some other store owners to see how they got noticed by the public. Don’t be scared to try different tactics out. Whatever you do, spread the word that you exist or all your other work will be for naught.
Have you ever made a change to your website or marketing that dramatically boosted your sales? Leave us a comment and let us know!
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