The Key to Ecommerce Success Is Simpler Than You Think

More often than not, the secret to ecommerce success is avoiding the mistakes that others have made in the past. Trial and error is pretty unavoidable in the world of business but it can be handy to understand where people have gone wrong in the past and try to avoid making that mistake.

Many of the best ecommerce solutions are in fact rather simple, once you are aware of them. However, when you’re busy managing accounts, coming up with a marketing campaign, sending out orders, corresponding with customers and stocking up on products, you may find that the really obvious things escape your attention.

One of the most important decisions to make when setting up an ecommerce website is how much to charge for delivery. Whilst you want to increase your margins as much as possible, it is important that your delivery fees are not putting customers off buying from you. As a general guideline, avoid charging more than 10 per cent of the items cost for delivery. Delivery fees and your returns policy should also be crystal clear. If the customer is unaware of this until they read the small print or get to the checkout, they may feel that you are being deceptive by hiding your information. You’ll probably find that a site with a lower, hidden delivery fee loses more customers than a site with a slightly higher delivery fee which is displayed prominently on a website.

Never make assumptions about how people view your website. Ensure that your website is compatible with all devices and browsers. Just because you don’t know anyone who still uses Internet Explorer, that doesn’t mean to say that your customers don’t use it. Your website should be tested on all browsers, you will be surprised how many websites aren’t completely compatible on all browsers. Nothing makes a customer leave quicker than a website that isn’t functioning correctly.

Finally, ensure that your offers and promotions are relevant. It can be easy to make the mistake of offering free things out to your past customers, without considering whether these things are actually relevant. For example, if you sell sofas, is it really appropriate to offer further offers for sofas to past customers? How often do people need new sofas, really? Instead, opt for something appropriate, such as additional living room furniture which these customers may be more likely to be interested in.

About the Author

For the best ecommerce solutions, visit eCommera’s site.