Why is it that we Google everything? Because it’s just convenient. Plain and simple. Convenience is a major reason people shop online, watch movies online, play games online, and the list goes on. And people can do this in the comfort of their own home or on the subway on the way back from work. This is why the Login With Facebook feature has become so popular.
Research has shown that the more time people spend in a store, the more money we end up spending. So the goal is to get people to stay in our eCommerce shops for longer than initially intended. How do we achieve this? (more…)
Ever wondered what’s actually going through your customers’ mind when they visit your web store and decided to buy from you? Maybe as a seller, we tend to think we know what our customers want and have tried our level best to offer them what we think they are looking for. I never knew how frustrated I could get with online stores until I started buying online from some of them. Let me just relate some of my experiences to you. I won’t mention any store names here.
The recent hoo-haa about Apple’s latest iPad launch was massive. Everyone wanted a piece of it! Now let’s think for a moment. If someone had never heard of Apple or ever seen an iPad or ANY Apple products and you ask them whether they want it or not, chances are they would be clueless and would check it out online. Now the moment they WANT IT is when they SEE the images of the product along with the really AWESOME video of what that product can do for them. You probably had the same feeling the moment you saw the new iPad video when you checked out the fuss. Now level with me here. Is that the cheapest tablet? Not really. But what Apple did (other than create really awesome products!) is to appeal to WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT by marketing it in a way to capture their attention and make them want it. They made it look relevant to people’s lifestyle.
Out of 10 people who dream of starting their own online store, only ONE actually makes that dream a reality. Many sign up for free trials but most lack the confidence to sign up for a paid shopping cart service. But those who do actually sign up surprisingly progress really quickly in terms of store set up and marketing.
It’s obvious that these folks did quite a bit of homework before signing up. This does work, and we encourage everyone with the intention of starting up a home business work at home setup to do the same.
To help you get started, we will be looking at budgets – a brief look at how much should be put aside to run a web store for a year. Just to digress a little, beware of sites promoting absolutely free home based business opportunities. Many of these claims are just bait for clever scams. As far as we know it takes a bit of effort and some money to get a home business work at home setup going. Money-wise, all you need is a small business start up financing plan to get a clearer picture of what you might be getting into.
People spend as much as 6 hours a day on the Internet, according to ecommerce statistics. Rain or shine, as long as the connection isn’t on the blink, chances are quite a few of the 1.6 billion people with internet access will be online.
If you have subscribed to an ecommerce shopping cart software service and are running a web store, you’ve probably spent quite a bit of time marketing your store. A typical ecommerce shopping cart provider usually includes lots of features to help you market your products. One such feature is eNewsletter Broadcasting.
Find out more about creating effective eNewsletters… (more…)
It is easy to build a rapport with customers or visitors at a conventional store. A store manager can cordially go around chatting with customers while subtly finding out information like how a customer thinks the store can be improved, gather feedback on store campaigns and other suggestions. Engaging customers in this manner gives a store a warmer, more welcoming feel and does wonders for customer retention as well as word-of-mouth marketing.
As you can imagine, the playing field is totally different at a web store. How do you engage your online visitors to increase your customer retention online?
The answer may be simpler than you thought… (more…)
“49% of email marketers said their newsletter routinely justified themselves.” – MarketingSherpa, Email Marketing Benchmark Guide 2008
After SEO, the next most effective conversion tactic for smaller marketers is e-mail and newsletters.
The InstanteStore newsletter broadcast feature is not only a great customer retention tool but more importantly, it has the potential to boost sales by up to 35% if done correctly. There are so many good things going for this feature. Best of all, it’s FREE. All it takes is a little work and you have a proven sales-getter.
So, how do you get this working?… (more…)
If you carry out a Net search for designer spectacles, how much time do you figure you might spend searching? Just like many other internet shoppers, we would likely be prepared to browse a few web pages but may only be inclined to spend a few seconds on each page.
The truth is, a landing page has only 10 to 15 seconds to draw a visitor’s attention before the store visitor is lost forever. Love it or hate it, this is the frenetic pace most of us live with these days. Hence, it is important to design your landing page to be as “sticky” as possible.
The most basic tool a site should have is the right ecommerce template. There are practically thousands of ecommerce templates out there and some are even provided free as part of a shopping cart software package. But ecommerce templates alone may not be sufficient — they need to work in synergy with other contributing components.
In an effort to help you obtain the best out of your ecommerce template, here are 3 very useful smart tips. Click to read on… (more…)
Has it ever occurred to you why your web store’s bounce rate is so high despite having the best offers online?
The problem could possibly lie in your ecommerce template. Many web store owners do not place enough emphasis on ecommerce templates. They do not recognize that ecommerce templates play a key part in getting a visitor to make a purchase. In all truth there is a science to this. The combination of colors, fonts and placement of elements plays a part in transforming a mere visitor into an individual who would spend money on your products. Obviously, that is exactly what each and every web store owner wants.
First impressions are crucial to drawing a visitor’s curiosity. A site has maybe only 10 seconds to achieve this. Every component on the page has to work perfectly in tandem to make this happen. Every feature on the page has a purpose. Nothing should be there simply for aesthetic purposes alone. If a component isn’t playing a part in helping you close a sale then it should be regarded as a waste of both your time and your customers’.
So how exactly does a store owner pull off such a feat? (more…)