Are You Losing Revenue? Fight Back!

Do you ever feel like you’re going in circles when it comes to finding ways to improve your business model? Perhaps your revenue is stagnating or even decreasing and you’re afraid to open your statistics because of what the numbers might suggest. Every online business has its weak moments, but if you’re brave enough to meet them head on you can show your employees, your customers, and yourself that your online store is worth it!

So, let’s get down to business!

Step 1: Arm Yourself

You have a lot of weapons at your disposal as an eCommerce purveyor including social media and email marketing campaigns, however for this article I have chosen three of them that are very often underestimated — your Orders, Customers, and Visitors.

Weapons’ Specifications:

You have a lot of weapons at your disposal.

Step 2: Learn To Use Your Weapons

Weapon Type: Customers, Feature 1: Build Long Term Relationships

• Create Brand Loyalty — Customers will keep returning if you’re offering consistently high quality products and exceptional customer service. You need to choose a philosophy which reflects your consumers’ beliefs and demonstrates that to them through your overall communication. Be sure to brand all marketing efforts consistently so consumers are encouraged to keep returning to what’s comfortable and familiar.
• Have Excellent Customer Service — There should be an overwhelming commitment to having exceptional customer service within your organization. Outstanding customer service is the foundation of any eCommerce business, and will have a significant impact on your relationships with customers, especially where social proof is concerned.
• Employees Who Stand Behind Your Products — Employees should be seen as the most loyal of all your customers. If your employees promote your product, it is more likely that customers will view the product favorably and make a purchase.

Weapon Type: Customers, Feature 2: Cross-Sell

• A good strategy for maximizing sales is to recommend your best selling products alongside another specific product that isn’t doing well. This works well to encourage your customers to buy outside their comfort zone and also gives you the opportunity to unload stock that hasn’t been as popular.

Customers will keep returning if you’re offering consistently high quality products and exceptional customer service.

Weapon type: Visitors, Feature 1: Lower Your Bounce Rate

• Landing pages should load in under two seconds.
• Large images may be causing your page to load slowly — don’t upload big images and graphics if it’s not necessary.
• Use little or no self-loading multimedia content.
• Use compression software: if your site is full of videos, text, images, buttons and widgets, make sure you use gzip, which zips your files for you.
• Don’t bombard people with intrusive ads that distract from your primary call to action.
• Make sure you are ready for the “mobile first” world.
• The text is clearly readable across devices.
• Calls to action should work across various mobile devices as well as desktop.
• Visitors can quickly find what they are looking for.
• The images don’t distract from the call to action.
• Use clear headers and subheadings.
• The content must be error-free with stylish copy and images including clear call-to-action buttons and obvious links to next steps.
• Buttons should be placed where a user’s eyes will naturally gravitate as they navigate a page.

Weapon Type: Visitors, Feature 2: Increase Your Conversion Rate

• Make a good impression with your landing page.
• Keep the product categories simple.
• Give your product a unique name that highlights your creativity.
• Follow the trends and remember that graphics are essential nowadays.
• Of course, you also want to be there for your customers. If possible, integrate Live Chat options into your website
• Reassure your customers with a clear product return policy.

Don’t irritate people with intrusive ads. They may get angry and go away.

Weapon Type: Orders, Feature 1: Raise Your Average Order Value

• Create a threshold for free shipping at 15–20% above your AOV — motivate your customers to order more to get free shipping.
• Use cross-selling — recommend the best selling combination of products (for example, advertise replacement filters when pitching a water kettle or filter).
• Offer special product bundles — this works well when someone is starting a new hobby but is not well informed about what is needed.
• Offer 15% volume discount — this works towards products that require several pieces, or can be bought in bulk.
• Set time-limited offers — sell some products at strategic discounts, for example offering a 40% less deal during a holiday or weekend.
• Start a loyalty program — reward your customers with discounted coupons and encourage them to put more items into a shopping cart.

Weapon Type: Orders, Feature 2: Lower Your Average Order Processing Time

• Customers want to receive their order as fast as possible. Do everything to provide your shoppers with the fastest delivery option.
• Sometimes customers are willing to wait for their packages but they need to be informed in advance. Keep them in the know by giving them regular updates.
• It’s great to include an approximate shipping date or an arrival date when they can expect to receive their packages.

Good luck and enjoy your battle!