Online shopping carts rock my world! They are by far some of my favorite businesses to manage.
The thing about online shopping carts is that once they’re set up properly, there like cash magnets. Everyone likes to shop, but not everyone likes to get out into the herds of people trying to find a great deal (especially around Christmas). As more and more people turn to convenience shopping, online shopping carts (aff.) are becoming an incredibly lucrative business model. If you already have a cart of your own, you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you don’t, well, it’s about time you jumped on the bus.
There are 5 easy ways to boost your sales without having to be an SEO wizard or Adsense victim.
#1 Product Tunnel Vision
When it comes to your products, keep it simple. Let’s say you were in the business of selling roller skates and your store is named BuyRollerSkates.com. Naturally you’re going to have any and all things roller skating in your online store. Keep it at that. Don’t suddenly decide that having skateboards, hula-hoops, bathing suits, and mini-scooters is going to be a good idea. Even if you’re hitting the same type of people, they didn’t come to your site expecting to see a Walmart. Sure, it seems like having a one-stop shop for anything you could possibly need would be a good idea, and out in the real world it usually is. The internet is different. Google has made targeted search painless and even fun. So be specific with specialized with what your online shopping cart offers. Too many options just leads to your customer over thinking and leaving without clicking Add To Cart.
#2 Painless Interaction
This is all about customer service. Right now your thinking, “How much interaction could there possibly be? It’s an ONLINE shopping cart, right?” My answer to this is, it’s still a store where people come to shop. When you’re shopping sometimes you have questions you want answered before you buy. What’s the return policy? I have a damaged shipment, what so I do? Do you REALLY ship live alligators? By “Painless Interaction” I mean how easy is it for your customers to communicate with your customer service department (which, less face it, is YOU). Will you have a phone number or will you have an email contact only. Choose wisely. If you’re going to have a phone number plastered on your site, you better be able to answer/return all those calls when they come in. Personally, I recommend email contact only (Here are some great email templates if you’re not sure how to handle certain situations affectively). Emails can be answered by anyone at anytime. This is a great task for virtual assistants that may live in other time zones. You can also start a Twitter account just for customer support.
#3 Extremely Detailed F.A.Q.’s
They say the Devil’s in the details. Well, consider yourself the Devil, at least when it comes to your FAQ page. The attention you give this page upfront will drastically cut down on the time you spend responding to normal questions. It’s not just for regularly asked questions either. If you have a question that actually took you some time to research the answer, put it on the FAQ page as a NSFAQ (Not So Frequently Asked Question). This might seem weird, but think of it as time you can focus on areas instead of researching answers you don’t really want to remember anyway. If you’ve just started your online shopping cart you might not know the common FAQ’s so imagine what questions you would have and start with those. Here’s a GREAT example of a really good FAQ page.
#4 Keep It Clean
Keep your site design clean and clutter free. Way too many stores have a bunch of crazy designs and flash videos going off as soon as you get there. Their sidebars are filled with ads, promos, surveys, and hundred different categories to choose from. It’s distracting. You want to create very clear paths for your visitors to travel on without them having to think about it. More than likely, they have arrived at your online shopping cart searching for a specific item in mind. Don’t blast their senses in the beginning causing them to refocus and usually rethink, spending money.
#5 Product Videos
Don’t freak out. It’s nowhere near as hard as you think. In fact, its quick and easy. If you can put together a slide show or power point presentation you can make a product video. Choose a product and find 3-5 good clear pictures of it, preferably at different angles, put them in a sequence and whala! Now all you have to do is add some audio. Nothing fancy. It doesn’t even have to be the greatest audio quality either. Just give a nice overview or name some specific features about the product and your done. Keep the video’s short (30 sec. – 1 min) and make sure you give your store URL somewhere in the video. I usually give the URL in the beginning and end of a video. Using videos is huge simply because no one really does it. Upload your videos to YouTube and any other video sites and then you’ll quickly see a rise in traffic to your online shopping cart.
Follow these 5 steps you will be amazed at the boosted traffic and sales you’ll get to your store.
So what do think of these 5 steps? Have you used any of them?
What methods do you use to drive FREE traffic to your online shopping cart?
