Optimize Online Sales – 5 Must Know Tips

Looking to drive traffic to your e-commerce site? Who isn’t?! Now if you want to drive traffic AND get some sales, here are a few ideas to help optimize your e-commerce sell thru.

1. Offer comprehensive product information without a lot of junk in the middle. In other words, be concise but don’t waste your audience’s time with too many fancy words that just take up space. Give a clear understandinng of what the product is, including (if necessary) it’s purpose.

2. Cross sell products whenever possible. Include small photos of complimentary products that your customer may be interested in based on what they are currently viewing or at the very least, what they have already just purchased.

3. Provide multiple e-communication offers. Don’t have a 1-800 number? That’s okay. But give your customers options to get a hold of you in case they have questions about a product or placing an order. Email, phone number, online chat, Q&A list for frequently asked questions – include at least two.

4. Give the sense of touch even when they can’t touch anything. Selling apparel? List the product contents, such as 97% cotton and 3% spandex. Is there texture to a product? Include a snapshot and describe the touch of this. Review your inventory to see what can be described and shown in words and photos that may help your audience in their purchasing decisions.

5. Don’t ignore your SEO options. SEO – Search Engine Optimization – drives consumers to your site that don’t already know about your site. Make this matter for you!

Finally, make sure your check out process is easy for your customers. Include all necessary details of purchasing policies, return policies and payment options. Adding a coupon for a return purchase is a great way to get returning customers, as well!

 

Retargeting Advertising Ideas To Boost Holiday Online Sales

Retargeted advertising is not new, but kicking off a program now for this online holiday shopping season can help to boost sales. Retargeting reaches people who have visited your site by serving an ad to them post-visit on other content sites across the web. Advertisers do this by putting a small piece of code on their site which sets a “cookie” in the user’s browser. As the user surfs the web and visits other sites that serve retargeted advertising, those sites will check for the cookie and use it to determine which ads to display.

This tactic is usually very effective because the user is receiving multiple marketing touches and keeps your brand top of mind. They also tend to be more qualified because they have already expressed interest in your products by having previously visited your website.

Ready for some killer tactics?

1.  Abandoned shopping cart: One approach ecommerce retailers can use this holiday season is the “abandoned shopping cart” tactic. This is accomplished by putting the retargeting cookie code on the shopping cart pages only. Anyone who has seen the cart pages, must have added an item to the cart at some point, right? As they surf the web, you can serve them with an ad that acts a gentle reminder to revisit your store. You don’t want to acknowledge you know they left the shopping cart, because, well, that’s just creepy.

You can, however, reinforce your current special offers like “free shipping” or promote your holiday gift products in hopes they will return to complete the purchase.

2. Loyalty: Another popular approach is the “loyalty” tactic. This reaches customers who have completed a transaction on your site (code added to the confirmation page code). You can use this to cross-sell or up-sell to recent buyers. None of the data collected is personally identifiable, so you’ll need to understand your customer behavior and their repeat purchase patterns to design the most effective “loyalty” campaign.

3. Layering: Retargeting networks like Fetchback, serve display ads only within their specific ad network. Google and Yahoo also have retargeting programs. Google’s program targets prospects on the Google content network, while Yahoo’s targets on Yahoo properties. By layering the display retargeting network with Google retargeting and Yahoo’s retargeting product, you will have have a great deal of saturation and reach!

These three tactics are a strong complement to your current PPC search engine text ads and provide a power-packed holiday strategy you can start today.

Contributed by search engine marketing geek (self described!) Lisa Raehsler. Lisa can be found on Twitter at @LisaRocksSEM and resides in Minneapolis, MN.

The A to Z Of Online Returns

Shopping online often accompanies an acquired taste. First and foremost,  it requires trust. Customers base their purchase on an image and details describing a product before ultimately hitting “check out” on their computer screens. Comfort is often given in the form of return policies. If e-commerce retailers outline return guidelines clearly for customers, it will allow a more enjoyable shopping experience while also saving time in customer correspondence, complaints and other customer service based issues.

[tweetmeme]Suggested points to consider within your return policy include the following:

1. All Sales Final – Ideally, this is not your return policy option. Stating that all sales are final is like stating “go ahead and leave our site now”.

2. Exchanges Only – The advantage of offering exchanges only is that you are still guaranteed a sale and do not have to provide a refund. While this limits your customers comfort zone of easy shopping, it still allows them to return one item for another. This typically also means the customer has to make the exchange at the time of the return.

3. Store Credit – Online shopping often includes shipping fees, however if you subtract fees involved for shipping and provide store credit, customers can feel good about getting store credit in case they don’t like the product they ordered, if it’s defective or possibly the wrong size. Make sure to state your specific guidelines clearly in your return policy so there is no confusion.

4. Complete Refunds – It sounds too good to be true and it is. There is no such thing as “complete refunds” since you will have paid processing fees for credit card payments, shipping expenses and possibly more for one single transaction made. Now consider this transaction a return that you plan to refund entirely. Have you lost money? Most likely yes. It’s okay not to offer complete refunds to help protect your business, but this is an option that may be right for you. It’s something to consider… if even for just a second!

5. Charge Backs – Restocking, shipping, customer service… these can all entail expenses that your customer may need to pony up for. In a perfect retail world, they won’t have to deal with these issues and you can manage them behind the scenes. But when necessary, charging a restock fee or a shipping fee is necessary. Determine what’s best for your business by looking at your competition, your overhead and your general business goals.

While a return policy isn’t always the prettiest of words you have to write, it’s certainly among the most important. Consider your options and consider your customer. Finally, get it done and get it online. Nothing is worst than dealing with a customer who wasn’t clear on your policy after they have already made a purchase!

Understanding Merchant Services

Merchant Services encompasses a variety of payment acceptance methods for retailers.  The primary, being credit card acceptance, is most often associated with the industry.  Merchant services can also be check acceptance and warranty, gift cards, online payments and dial-pay.

 Why should my business accept credit cards?

[tweetmeme]Credit card acceptance is a time-tested, proven form of payment worldwide.  As a retailer, you need to offer your customers as many ways as possible to pay you.  With the increase in debit cards skyrocketing nationwide, consumers are finding cash as more of an inconvenience.  A customer with a debit or credit card is more likely to purchase additional products and services, because they have quick and easy access to additional funds.

 Application Process For Business Owners

 Similar to applying for a small business credit card, merchant services is underwritten as a line of credit.  Your business accepts credit cards that your provider assumes are valid and not fraudulent.  In the event that a card is not legitimate, the provider stands to lose that money, providing that the merchant is no longer in business or has opened a fictitious account.  In the small business world, the owner’s credit is taken into consideration when deciding whether or not to approve the merchant account.

 Read the Fine Print

 Just like any other industry, there will always be bad companies and dishonest people.  The merchant services industry is no different.  Read what you are signing and take your time.  Industry standard is a three year contract with an early termination fee.  Additionally, if you are going to make a decision to purchase or lease your credit card equipment, make sure you understand the benefits and drawbacks of each option prior to making a decision. 

 Choosing a Provider or Changing Your Current Provider

 If a representative comes in off the street, was not referred by someone you know, or is with a company that you have never heard of, be cautious.  There are thousands of ISO’s (independent sales organizations) that act as resellers for large processing companies.  They are nothing more than middlemen, who will end up costing you more in the long run.  If you are shopping around for a new provider, speak to a representative who can give you a statement analysis and not vague generalities about home much money you will save by going with them.

By following these simple guidelines, you will generate additional revenue, save money and increase customer satisfaction.

Contributed by Mike Gianfrancesco, Gianfrancesco is an Assistant Vice President and  Senior Merchant Specialist for Bank of America, Small Business Merchant Services. He can be reached at – Office: 312-992-4538 Mobile: 312-371-6027 Fax:  312-453-6161 or michael.gianfrancesco@bankofamericamerchant.com.

Incentives To Offer Your Online Shoppers

Sell online? Whether you have a brick and mortar store with an online boutique to support it or exclusively sell online, there are ways to support your online customers through incentives that can help enhance their shopping experience. It also provides you with the opportunity to create a new base of customers that will hopefully remain dedicated. Three simple yet effective ways to do this include:

1. Offer free shipping on all your products. No exceptions. If you have to make exceptions, make them few and rare as a way to better support your customers.

2. Provide gift wrapping services for gift items without an additional charge. Make your gift wrapping really fabulous and stand out so that when the the package arrives to the receiver, they are impressed and want to check out your online store, as well, just from the gift wrapping alone.

3. Send email coupons out as thank you for any online purchase. This not only shows your appreciation for their recent purchase, but gives them the opportunity to want to return online to shop for more. The coupon should make the customer really want to return, so offer something more than just 15% off. 25% or more is a nice incentive, as well as other ideas include a gift with purchase or buy one get one free on select items.

Using Email Campaigns To Support Your Online Store

If you have a database of your online shoppers, use email campaigns selectively to communicate your brand message, sales, new items and more. Make sure to excite your customers but not to bombard them with too much, too often. Through your email campaigns, make sure your customers know they are important and among the first to know about all your great products, sales and more. This is a great tool to use as a way to showcase your incentives, as well.

Offer Support To Make Shopping Online Easier

Want to offer even more than what you know you can? Let your customers know that they can contact you through phone or email to communicate their special incentive needs. Be creative and be open to ideas that allow for flexibility to support your clients the best you can.

Finally, recognize that as an online store, you need to reach beyond the expected to stand out from the rest. It’s a tough retail market in all categories, so make sure you take the steps necessary to offer more than what the majority are to your customers in an effort to gain more in sales as a result. Have other ideas on how you can better support your customers when selling online? Let us know! Please comment below.

Why To Introduce A Blog To Your Website

As if we all weren’t busy enough, research tells us that by offering a blog on our websites, we are  likely to increase website traffic. Search engines love new content, so blogs that are updated often will feed in the search engine systems and include you in searches as necessary. Likely, your blog will be updated more often then new product in your web-store or new information on your general site, so it allows you to constantly get refreshed within search engines. Now once you get your audience to your blog, the catch is to keep them there and hope that they will want to come back! So just how do you do that? It has to be a good blog.

No one wants to read boring, not useful information. Whether your blog provides information, humor or ideas, it must keep you audience’s attention so that they will want to come back to you blog (and your site) again. While some people or businesses have a blog and no website, the majority of bloggers offer a blog in addition to a website with other information they are looking to share. Retail Minded is the perfect example of this. Originally founded as a retail and wholesale support firm for small business owners, Retail Minded introduced our professional blog as a way to help more people – clients or not – through the content we share in our blogs. We continue, however, to work with retailers and wholesalers through our support services. As a result of the blog, though, search engines pull up Retail Minded more often and in return, we have gained increase traffic to our website – and new clients!

So if you are looking to gain more traffic to your website, consider these few points regarding how a blog may help you:

1. Frequent website updates, including within a blog, allow for search engines to constantly be refreshed with your website details. In doing this, your website is more likely to pop up during search engine searches, such as through Google.

2. Adding new content that provides information, humor or ideas  that your audience enjoys will keep them coming back for more – hence returning to your site.

3. Make sure to always have a convenient link to your website from your blog, otherwise your website will not get the attention you want it to.

4. The more exposure you gain through your blog, the more likely your website will gain increased exposure, as well. Whether you sell a service or a product, sales should increase if your blog is effective.

5. A blog that allows comments also allows you and your business to hear from your consumer audience. Listen to what they are saying and respond through your buiness.

Each business is different, but the above points offer a general basis as to how a blog may help your business. You have to look at the specifics of your current business demands, your blog ideas and your audience to really know how a blog may help you specifically. And remember – if you do write a blog, stay dedicated! Frequent updates are key!

5 Tips To Optimize Online Sales

Looking to drive traffic to your e-commerce site? Who isn’t?! Now if you want to drive traffic AND get some sales, here are a few ideas to help optimize your e-commerce sell thru.

1. Offer comprehensive product information without a lot of junk in the middle. In other words, be concise but don’t waste your audience’s time with too many fancy words that just take up space. Give a clear understandinng of what the product is, including (if necessary) it’s purpose.

2. Cross sell products whenever possible. Include small photos of complimentary products that your customer may be interested in based on what they are currently viewing or at the very least, what they have already just purchased.

3. Provide multiple e-communication offers. Don’t have a 1-800 number? That’s okay. But give your customers options to get a hold of you in case they have questions about a product or placing an order. Email, phone number, online chat, Q&A list for frequently asked questions – include at least two.

4. Give the sense of touch even when they can’t touch anything. Selling apparel? List the product contents, such as 97% cotton and 3% spandex. Is there texture to a product? Include a snapshot and describe the touch of this. Review your inventory to see what can be described and shown in words and photos that may help your audience in their purchasing decisions.

5. Don’t ignore your SEO options. SEO – Search Engine Optimization – drives consumers to your site that don’t already know about your site. Make this matter for you!

Finally, make sure your check out process is easy for your customers. Include all necessary details of purchasing policies, return policies and payment options. Adding a coupon for a return purchase is a great way to get returning customers, as well!

10 E-Commerce User Friendly Selling Tips

Whether you have a traditional, free standing retail store with an online site to support it or just an e-commerce store, the tips below can help increase how long customers stay on your website, support sales growth, and improve the overall design of your e-commerce website. As a result, you should see more returning customers and more sales. This is, of course, the goal… Right?

User Friendly Selling Tips

1. Don’t use animation in your home page. It slows down the page and some shoppers lose patience when waiting for animation to finish loading and doing it’s thing.

2. Show new products, sale products, or featured products on the home page. This will offer a sneak peak at some of the exciting things you have for sale. Change this often, though! That is key to keeping returning customers returning!

3. All products for sale should be within 2 or 3 clicks from the home page. Don’t make your customers get “lost” on your site or have them work too hard to find what they are looking for. Make it easy.

4. Support all products with an accessible, visible “buy” or “add to cart” button. By offering a buy or add to cart button next to each item, customers won’t lose their urge to shop by the frustration of having to find out how to shop.

5. Offer a great search option on your site. Customers who know what they want can quickly type in what they are looking for. Customers who don’t know exactly what they want can type in key words. This is a win for everyone. In a sense, it’s your own personal store associate directing your customer to what they want!

6. Never, and I stress this, NEVER make customers register to shop to buy an item on your site. This will lose customers, period. I don’t care if you want more names for your mailing list – get over it and move on.

7. Give payment options. Visa, mastercard, PayPal, money order. Online merchants offer a variety of solutions for easy online payments. Make sure you offer more than one.

8. List any costs associated with purchases clearly. This includes tax, shipping, and anything else that you may need to charge your customer. Do not have hidden fees EVER. In addition, list all details pertaining to your privacy policy and security for purchases made.

9. Avoid a long checkout process. By eliminating mandatory registration, tihs will certainly help. In addition, summarize the details you need in a concise, clear, professional fashion.

10. When the deal is closed, give back to your  customers by offering a coupon or incentive for their next purchase. And of course, thank them for their recent purchase!

Finally, remember to update your site often. This includes highlighting products on your home page, changing prices to accomodate sales, and incorporating new, user friendly features that will keep your customers happy.