As the global spend online continues to grow you surely want to benefit from consumers willing to part with their money in exchange for your products/services?

If you already have a web presence in the form of an e-commerce website you must free your mind and realise improvements can always be made, no matter how big or small, and this can be the tipping point as to whether a customer buys from you or not!

So consider these ‘danger areas’, think about how they can be afforded. The ‘danger areas’ can be easily dealt with but in order to deal with them you need to be made aware of what they are, even if they do seem very obvious you need to act on them. Some common e-commerce web design mistakes that you may want to address are:

Incomplete product details: One of the most common e-commerce danger areas. A products detail heavily influences the customers purchasing decision, so it needs to be there!

Old design: A complete turn-off for customers! Your e-commerce website needs to be fresh, appealing to your target audience and user friendly. This can be achieved with very little investment, but it’s well worth it.

Payment methods: Don’t limit the customer to a select few payment methods. Customers want choice, why limit them, they will only do business with someone else. More choice = less abandoned baskets.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO): For an e-commerce store to survive in quite a hostile competitive environment good SEO is essential to drive traffic, thus sales. Poor SEO leads to poor rankings and the loss of potential customers. A little investment can see a big return on investment.

Contact details: A bit like ‘payment methods’ detailed above, it’s all about giving the customer choice. However choosing not to provide the potential customer with contact details, in a variety of forms, can damage the credibility of a website. Be open and honest with your customers and give them a choice of how they would like to contact you.

Keep it simple: There is nothing worse for a user than having to wait for a page to load. Keeping your e-commerce store simple is vital and will ensure the potential customer has the time they need to make a purchasing decision. Bear in mind current broadband speeds and don’t overload the page with unessential detail. Keep to the key selling points and you will be successful.

These are just some of the common danger areas that you must address to make your e-commerce store more successful. The online e-commerce world is changing – it’s not just about having a store online anymore, it’s about having a great one!

Attract traffic through SEO.

Engage your potential customers with the right information.

Convert potential by giving the customer choice.

A survey by the British Chamber of Commerce details that nearly 70% of all SMEs aren’t exporting, or are ever likely to be. Some more compelling information from the European Commission, in a survey, found that 9 out of 10 EU internet users agreed that given a choice, they would prefer to visit a website in their own native language.

So, it begs the question: Are you missing out on the opportunity to export and sell your goods and services in other countries?

The proof is already here as to whether it is ‘worth your while’ to invest in a website, or websites, that offer different languages.The Fast Track 100 list from The Times will show you that an increase in language offerings will help grow business. And the more you look at the facts, the more obvious it is that businesses, especially those looking to grow overseas as part of their strategy, should be getting involved with the foreign language internet.

As multilingual alternatives grow your potential market share overseas will decrease, acting early will see you achieving a higher ROI simply
because there is less competition at present. It makes things like reaching the top of the search engine rankings easier and much more cost effective.

‘SeeWhy’ conducted a study on a sample of 60,000 e-commerce transactions to analyze the origin of the people that added items to their basket. This study shows that e-mail brings the most traffic with 56.8% followed by Direct traffic with 17.9% and 10.3% with for Search. Social Media provided only 4.3% of traffic while picking up the rear was Display Advertising which managed only 1.7%.

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‘SeeWhy’ then studied the origin of those who had completed their purchases on the site. Not surprising then when they discovered the best conversion rate is up e-mail with 67.37% followed by Direct with 23.68%. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and Display, two sources of traffic charge, contribute 1% of the traffic conversion.

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Don’t think that SEM and Display are useless, and to remove them would be more foolish, consider them as part of your overall strategy. Just because the user didn’t buy first time it doesn’t mean they won’t the next. It makes sense not to put all your eggs in one basket.

In a recent study to find out more about the shopping experience on the internet today, which is increasingly linked to the use of social networks, 53% of 2000 consumers would have published a review on a product within 30 days of purchase. The review, whether positive, negative or indifferent, would help other users with their buying decision.

32% of consumers have a better opinion of branded products following a positive review. This is mainly because a brand already has a reputation, stigma or an emotional tie to it. So the review, in theory, adds weight to this.

It’s not just the review that can swing a certain product in to being a favorable purchase for the user, it’s more about where the review comes from and by whom the review is written by. The credibility of the review is paramount, users prefer a review from your ‘real’ customer rather than by an ‘expert’ (commercial, journalist, celebrities etc.). However using an expert to support a product can also be an added benefit.

In May 2011 Lotus Renault GP, along with web partners I Can Do It Web Agency launched the Official Store. Using i-BOUTIK the Store allows for a global, multi-currency approach, which fits in to the global aspects of the business. The Store is also multi-lingual, using both English and French at the time of launch, widening further the appeal of the Store to the global fan base.

Take a look for yourself at: http://store.lotusrenaultgp.com

Category: F1 Team.
Catchment area: Global.
Languages: EN – FR.
Currencies: GBP – EUR – USD.
Site URL: http://store.lotusrenaultgp.com

The mobile phone is becoming smarter and quicker year on year, and will start to play a bigger part in all of our lives. Whether you start making purchases, accessing information or simply booking a reservation at your most loved restaurant, this is all possible right now and some people don’t even know it yet. There will be a time, in the not too distant future, that everyone will. People and businesses will come closer together, more local and more relevant.

The ‘humble’ mobile phone is set to become the most widely used portal on the plant.

Take a look at the figures for yourself, they make exciting reading.

This really isn’t just about the fact the customer is purchasing online, it also applies to their buying process in real life. Here are the ‘BIG’ four primary reasons why:

Impatience

There is an ‘I want it now’ culture that governs how customers buy. So if there is a chance that a customer has to wait unduly to make their purchase they are not going to hang about and wait for pages to load. This can be compared to making a trip to the local supermarket, customers want to make their way to the check out as quickly as possible and want to keep queuing down to a minimum.

Confusion

Some say ‘honesty is the best policy’ and this applies to your website. Be upfront with your customers and make important information regarding their purchase easy to find. Information such as delivery dates, methods of shipping and costs, as well as taxes should be detailed as early as possible in the order process to avoid lost baskets. If the customer is confronted with something unexpected you have a greater risk of losing them. My advice – gain their trust.

Caution

Tread carefully when asking for personal and sensitive information or information the customer thinks you just don’t need to know. Debit/Credit card details are so important, you must reassure the customer that any information is kept safe and secure.

Indecision

In most cases customers want the best deal, so being competitive on price is essential. Customers will ‘window shop’ and will compare several e-tailers. You do not have to be the cheapest just being competitive helps. It is natural that visitors will return to your website later to make a purchase or to view other products that they are interested in.