Throughout this ecommerce project we have gone over the value of customer service and providing the customer what they want. Treat your website like you would your retail high-street shop, the customer will dictate how you design, market and manage your online business. Being adjustable in these economic times is one of the major attributes to your business surviving and becoming successful.
User-friendly ecommerce solutions
As the rate of spending is increasing year on year online the need to move with the times is an essential trait for all ecommerce solutions. There are still a huge amount of websites that have poor usability throughout the ordering process and this occurs in potential customers dropping out of the shopping basket and not converting. These steps should improve the usability of your ecommerce software and maximise your conversion rate. In this final step of how to build user-friendly ecommerce solutions we look at the importance of sending out a verification email to the customer once the order has been placed on the website.
Product details track such as order number
Once a user has placed an order on the ecommerce solutions, a confirmation should be sent out immediately. This provides the customer with confidence and assurance that there order has been accepted and processed correctly. The confirmation email should include the customers details, name and delivery address, be brief as the customer does not want their personal details being sent over the internet by email. Only put in the relevant details that are important to the order. Include the product details such as order number, title and pricing. Some ecommerce software includes a tracking number for delivery where the customer can track their order in the postal system.
Help to manage ‘special offers' button or ‘sale'
The email should be a commercial for your ecommerce store, eBay store or Facebook store, so adding branding and relevant information regarding the business and order is crucial to customer satisfaction. A well designed eCommerce Solutions for Amazon and thought about confirmation email will add to the customer experience and market your online business as confirmation emails are rarely deleted and remain in an inbox for many weeks. So by adding marketing triggers such as ‘special offers' button or ‘sale' button within the email will cause repeat business traffic and conversions.
Ecommerce guides can only take you online business
By adding important information within the email will also cut costs for the ecommerce store, eBay store or Facebook store, it is much cheaper for someone to resolve a problem online rather than having to call a customer service line. By thinking about what the customer wants and needs within the confirmation email, such as delivery time, the customer service can be minimised and there will be more time for promotion.
Using these ecommerce guides can only take you online business so far, which is why constant testing and analysis is needed for all ecommerce solutions. Ecommerce software has become increasingly more advanced and with analytics software you should be able to monitor every aspect of your website. Putting all of these tools and guidelines together your online business should become increasingly user-friendly and therefore successful.
Generating a user-friendly ecommerce site
As we continue to build the steps for generating a user-friendly ecommerce site, take into account the area that you are going to sell too. The market of social networking is huge, so managed by the right internet marketing will be key to the online business. Whether you target this market or stick to traditional markets such as Amazon Seller Software will depend on your budget and marketing. Having a presence in both forms can only help your online business and there is new ecommerce software available to manage both markets.
Marketing purposes such as SMS and web promotions
In this step we will look at how identifying required fields in the ordering process is essential to completing the order. There is nothing worse than filling out an order form online and having the form return because of missed information. An online business should be targeted for only information that is needs, if the business only needs an email address then only put an email address field as users are less likely to fill in huge amounts of information. The less information the user is required to fill in, the more chance of the user completing the order. In the ordering process it should be clear from the outset which fields need to be filled in and which are optional through the ecommerce solution.
This can be done in a variety of ways, to work out which is best for your online business is up to you. Only add fields that your business requires, for example don't ask the user to put in their home address if your product is a download, or don't ask the user put in two phone numbers, most people now have mobile and these are the best number to take for marketing purposes such as SMS and web promotions.
Ordering process and marketing needs
Mark each required field with either an * or say ‘required field' next to each field. Most ecommerce software now incorporates these features and they can be manipulated to your brief. Creating informative data in the ordering process gives the user confidence and does not give them an excuse to leave the ordering process and become distracted by another web page.
Each ecommerce solution is different and no one knows your business like you so what fields you require is based upon your ordering process and marketing needs. Setting out the ordering process goals of your online business in the first instance will save you time and money, don't overcomplicate the process. Include your most necessary information, the other details can be sourced later with online marketing. The systems offer a complex process but the new ecommerce software for your online business offers a more user-friendly checkout procedure. Entering username, delivery address, delivery method, payment options and then finally confirming the order is too much to do at once so this process must be broken up.
Breaking the process up into smaller sections allows the user or customer to tackle each step one at a time. This gives the user less to think about at each stage and less information to enter. By doing this the user is less likely to make mistakes and more likely to continue along the smaller order processing forms and finally confirm the order.
