How to make your ecommerce site user friendly?
One of my friends wanted me to write on this subject and hence I am not keeping my promise of following up with Facebook. But I will be back with Facebook for sure. Meanwhile, I will tackle this important subject which is generally relegated to the background. Many of us simply ignore this aspect and concentrate on SEO and traffic generation. But let me tell you one secret: There is no point in attracting traffic if they go away from our home page without looking in. Bounce rate or percentage of visits to facebook.com that consist of a single page turn is 12.5%. There are others who fare lot worse. Sometimes if the user interface is not optimal the bounce rate can be as high as 40-50%. Making your ecommerce site user friendly is therefore important-very important.
Tell people what you do. Don’t beat around the bush
How many sites have you seen which seem to carry no significant message? Thousands I am sure. The mistake which ecommerce site owners make is in assuming that what they sell is more important than the site .The website is only a vehicle to sell their products. This assumption can be fatal. The home page of your ecommerce site is like a billboard on a highway. The passerby only gets a few seconds to absorb the message. Making your home page attractive is not enough. It must create an interest and inspire visitors to browse through your catalogue of products. I don’t mean great visuals and design. It is the message which must be clearly conveyed. What do you do? How does it benefit the visitor? What is in it for me? These questions must be answered if you want to retain visitors .
Consistency
I recently had a client who was into home insulation products ( I know it is a boring subject but hang on). The catch word was “Are your electricity bills killing you?” We have a solution for you: Use Super duper epoxy and save 50% on energy bills. This seemed like a great message. But what did I see in his printed material. “ Our Super duper epoxy is eco friendly. It is made from used PET bottles”. The messages were so different that a user was most likely to get confused. Your ecommerce site, printed promotional material, your sales pitch, everything should be same and consistent.
Don’t overstate your product quality and performance
The same client wanted the catch word “Are you electricity bills killing you?” to be replaced by something sober. You must remember that yours is an ecommerce site. People visiting your site must perceive you as a solid, dependable and no nonsense kind. Too much of flowery language may put off a potential client. Your message should therefore be sober.
Create a blog to support your ecommerce website
You would be surprised at the kind of response a blog can generate as compared to a formal call to action. I always say that everything is in the mind. Human mind is a strange creature. If your friend or peer recommends a product, you are more likely to go in for it. The same product if pitched by a salesman would elicit suspicion.” This guy wants to dump the product on me,” you would think. A blog works in a similar fashion. If you see stray comments from different people, there is likelihood that you are influenced more than a formal pitch. That’s why blog is a must to supplement your ecommerce site. I have seen some guys adding dummy comments on the blog just to sell their product. But I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. My take is that a blog should be a sincere reflection of your sincere effort not a gimmick.
Start a newsletter
A newsletter can boost your sales. Make your ecommerce activity more exciting by sending off newsletters. What’s new on your site? Is there a discount sale? Provide discount coupons and vouchers. Have a bargain sale. Great ecommerce sites like EBay and Amazon have great newsletters with plenty of discounts and offers. This is the secret of their success. You must therefore get a newsletter going.
Avoid saying the same thing again and again in your newsletters. A newsletter must carry news otherwise it is bound to land up in the spam folder. Newsletter campaigns are a specialized activity by themselves. One must understand the nuances and subtlety of creating impactful newsletters.
