subject: Where Did My Customer Go? Ecommerce Consulting Firms Answer [print this page] Getting a customer to change from a traffic statistic to a conversion statistic sometimes seems like trying to climb an increasingly steep glass mountain. The whole process is hard - but the final part is even trickier than the rest.
The process of getting someone to hand over their money is only complicated by the fact that forms and databases are much harder to keep in good working than static content, like product descriptions. If you've been finding that too many of your customers just slip off the mountain, here is a tip list from ecommerce consulting experts on how to make all that SEO marketing work for you ... by keeping those interested customers!
Dropout Reason #1 - Your site is broken
Check every part of your checkout process frequently - every time you see more than a couple of dropouts in a short period. Use error reporting to make sure that the types of error messages being displayed to customers are logged and fixed - or the internet marketing team can find a way around customer-created errors. Every search engine optimization dollar is wasted if your own site won't allow people to buy from you - and it is surprising how many errors prevent people from checking out on smaller sites.
Dropout Reason #2 - Registration required for checkout
Yes, there are plenty of internet marketing success stories that require registration for checkout. And there are also plenty of customers that are so loath to put their phone number, two email addresses, date of birth, sex and household income on a registration form (as well as have yet ANOTHER password to remember), that they just won't bother. Do you want to take that chance? Ask only for required information, and don't make it a prerequisite that a password and account name are created and stored.
Dropout Reason #3 - Not enough information about a product
Consumers will often have second thoughts about a product even during the checkout process if there was not enough information on it in the description. Your product descriptions are search engine optimization gold - don't rush over them. Ecommerce consulting firms recommend using all tools at your disposal - dimensions, color charts, on site reviews or links to review sites, video, 3D viewing tools, etc, to inform customers about the product.
Dropout Reason #4 - Too many duplicate entries
Ecommerce consulting firms often see information needing to be repeated in the checkout process. One of the most annoying habits is requiring a billing address and shipping address to be typed in separately, but there are other ways to do it. Making things too much like hard work is a sure-fire way to make customers go elsewhere.
Dropout Reason #5 - Final price provided too late
If customers don't know how much it will cost to ship things to them until late in the checkout process, or don't have a clear picture of taxes and duties until they're just about ready to hand over their details, you may be getting exploratory checkouts. Provide shipping information separately on site, and have the shopping cart calculate shipping and taxes. Your internet marketing services firm can set it up so a simple zip code entry will allow this.
by: Gregory Smyth
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