Antonio Spadaccini, an expert in social media and websites or eCommerce, reveals the 7 key points to have an effective eCommerce:
- The site must be fluid
Users tend to leave sites that take too long to open: this means that a potential customer may decide to leave the site even before having visited it! So, if you don’t want to lose potential customers this way, you need to make sure that the site loads quickly in all major browsers and their different versions.
- Division of products into easy to consult categories
It is not advisable to start cataloging products by brands. Suppose the store in question sells shoes online: the best way to categorize your products is by gender (male, female, or child); then by the target of the products, for example, casual or formal. Only now can we start dividing products also by brands. Adding a price tag will then help customers compare and understand if they can afford it.
- Provide useful information on product pages
Another secret of eCommerce is to present products from every possible point of view, in doing so the chances of converting simple visitors into loyal customers will increase significantly. For this it is useful:
– providing more kinds of opinions and possible applications for the products;
– make the products visible from multiple angles;
– give information on available sizes, colors, brand, measurements, and approval rating;
– enter a small description of the trends for individual products.
- Make checking out as simple and intuitive as possible
The purpose of creating the product cart is not to try to see more products to users but rather to provide the most intuitive shopping experience possible. The longer and more personal the questions asked the more likely you are to drop out at checkout. To avoid this you need to follow these little tricks:
– a form with the fewest steps to place the order;
– avoid forcing the user to register, leaving the possibility of choice open;
– an online Costumer Service always active;
– integration of the site with the largest possible number of online payment methods.
- Selling dreams
The useful information to provide could be activities, services, profiles, company history: this would help build trust in the potential customer.
Storytelling should not only be seen as telling the story of the company and the founders, but as narrating – sometimes emphasizing – aspects that are often considered secondary to a product. Selling dreams is not about telling utopias, but about telling the same things only with a little more heart. Each product hides a story linked to the materials with which it is built, the area of origin, or simply how it was born. Selling is the activity of sharing one’s passions, so it is always better to share the stories behind the products as well.
- Love those who send back a product or make a criticism
The return policy is the one that makes you perceive the value of eCommerce: Zalando has made it its winning weapon and today it is among the first online sales sites for volumes and customer satisfaction. Anyone who sends back a product because they are dissatisfied or simply because they have the wrong size is not a customer to be indelibly marked on the “bad guys” agenda. Customers who use the “returns” service should, however, be contacted to communicate the reasons that led to the return. In fact, sometimes there is a dissatisfaction with the materials, the price, the service that can help improve the pre-sale phase and support the choice.
- The power of images
A photo is worth a thousand words: this is why a presence on social networks such as Instagram, Flickr, and Pinterest must be connected to a good eCommerce site. Furthermore, the photos inserted must be in high resolution, differentiated from those of other competitors. For eCommerce, a well-done photo gallery will give the feeling of “touching the product” and will therefore increase the propensity to buy.
Could it be Spadaccini for this reason that people from all over Italy ask for your advice? He is now considered the leader of this sector of the digital world!
For information, check out his Instagram @andj_official or website andjcrew.com.