How to create positivity and awareness about
e-commerce and encourage people in online shopping in Bangladesh
Do you have an e-commerce portal (commercial transactions
conducted electronically on the Internet) store but your sales are not where
you want them to be? You don’t have to implement all of these online shopping
marketing tips at once (that would be impossible!) Look through the list, make
a note of any tips that you want to try and schedule them in your calendar.
There are many ways to get people to buy your wares and actually
use the shopping cart you worked so hard to set up on your website.
The first is that, obviously, you need to make the shopping cart easy to find
and easy to use. If someone has to search for a shopping cart, do a bunch of
clicking around to figure out how to buy from you or fill out a bunch of forms
just to use your online terminal, you will lose more sales than you make.
The other way to successfully sell online is to have a really
great call to action. Your call to action is just what it sounds like. It is
the copy on your site that actually tells people to start shopping. You
probably don’t want to simply include “Go buy my stuff!” at the end of your
sales page, though. Creating a good call to action so people actually want to
buy from you is more complicated than that.
The following some tips will help you to have a great call to action, create
positivity and awareness about e-commerce with encourages people in online
shopping in Bangladesh:
Have One Goal
If you try to use your call to action to do too many things, none
of those things are actually going to happen. In this case, what you want is
for people to find and use your shopping cart to buy your products. Don’t go
overboard with encouraging visitors to sign up for an e-mail list or sending
you feedback. Do that somewhere else.
Context Matters
Your call to action has to fit in with the rest of the copy you
have on the page. In this case, put a shopping-cart-related call to action on a
page that talks up the product you’ve created or in an article talking about
how your product solves a particular problem. It would not go well in an
opinion piece about news within your niche.
Keep it Simple
The body of your copy is the place to talk up your products or services. The
call to action is what convinces consumers to start shopping. “Buy my stuff” is
a bit straightforward, but that needs to be the point of your sentence. Find a
more eloquent way to say this, and you’re golden.
Placement Matters
Most of the time, a call to action works best when placed at the
end of your copy or content.If your particular business makes use of the
long-form sales page, putting the call to action higher up is a good idea. You
can highlight the benefits of your products and encourage people to buy. Leave
it up to them if they will read through the rest of your text.
Consider a Different Design
Not every call to action is going to be on a text-filled page. For
example, the page could be highly graphic in nature with just a few words to
convince people to buy or do what you want them to do. If this is the case, you
want your call to action to stand out. Consider making it a different font,
color, or size to draw the eye to it.
Build Excitement
You need to build up the product or line of products in customers’
minds before asking them to buy. This way, there won’t be any doubt about if
they want to take the action you’re calling on them to take. Talk about or show
how beneficial what you’re selling can be in the buyer’s life.
Be Active, Not Passive
“It would be nice if you bought my stuff” is not the same as “Click here to
start shopping.” Passive implies that you aren’t sure if you want them to do
the thing you’re asking them to do. Active voice removes all doubt about your
expectations.
Click ability
It helps if you make your call to action an actual clickable link — preferably
to your shopping cart (which can say something like “Cart empty! Start shopping
here”). This saves the viewer the time of searching for the thing that helps
them do what you want them to do.
Adjust as Needed
It is OK to use two differently worded and designed calls to action to
accomplish the same goal. Just because you use a simply worded “Click here to
start shopping” on one page doesn’t mean you can’t use “Grab yours today before
I’m sold out!” on another. Readability matters more than uniformity. Every
time.
Test, Change, Test Again
Stubbornness is great when advocating for a cause. It is a hindrance when
trying to get people to use your site’s shopping cart.If you know what you have
isn’t working, you need to make a change. Don’t just dig in and hope that
people will come around to you. Your job is to come around to them. It will
take some trial and error before you figure out what works best.
Do you notice any tips I’ve missed? Leave them in the comments! Thanks and
welcome for your valuable comments.
Two things are super important:
1. Fantastic photos and
2. Short, pithy descriptions
Think of your customers as friends – you have a short amount of
time to build trust and a strong relationship with your clientele. It’s small
things, like handwritten notes or individualized email responses, that make a
huge difference.
Creativity & Quality is Key
Although there are many factors to achieving success, I do believe
that being fresh and unique in your creativity will definitely aid in setting
you apart from your competition. Also, providing a quality product. Quality
should never waver–should always be consistent.
Daily New Post
When you post items on a daily basis is when you make the most
sales. You have to keep your items in the public eye and on the front page as
much as possible so create posts as often as you can. If you have multiples of
the same item, list each one individually rather than listing it once and setting
your quantity at 10. Listing the item once each day for 10 days increases the
chances of visibility over posting the 10 items lumped together in one listing.
This also helps keep track of inventory.
Persist
If you have to give one word for succeeding a small business, it
would have to be persistence! Do you feel successful? Yes, this year you do! If
you know you have a quality product with competitive pricing, you can learn the
semantics of selling online as you go – just persist. Don’t give up! Be
determined to succeed, and you will succeed.
You find that products will sell themselves if they do what they
claim or are unique in some way
Most of your new customers come from word of mouth advertising.
They learn about you in chat rooms and forums as well as blogs and friends. The
products we sell are products that we use! I think that says so much about what
we do and how we are able to keep doing it. If you make products that you
yourself love and don’t want to be without chances are others will love them
too. Advertising can get you new customers but keeping customers requires
commitment to a great line of products that won’t let them down.
Try to be as professional as possible in every aspect of your work
Your online shop should look and feel like a respectable business.
Trust is important to online buyers. This means good branding, good photos,
fast shipping, quick and courteous responses to questions and a quality
product. After being featured in e-commerce portal finds a couple of times
early on you have found that most of my sales are by word of mouth. Customer
experience is everything if you want people to rave about your products. 2
friends tell 2 friends, tell 2 friends and pretty soon you have a good customer
base.
A few well-respected beauty bloggers wrote reviews on my products,
and that really helped my business pick up
So I’d say make yourself known to the best bloggers in your field.
Follow them on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and many more social networking portal,
make thoughtful comments on their posts and hopefully they will take an
interest in your work. Many also offer affordable ad space where you can reach
your best potential customers.
There are many challenges to selling on e-commerce portal
The traditional advice of taking good product photos, optimizing
keywords for the search function, writing interesting concise descriptions, and
promoting outside of e-commerce portal is crucial, but it’s also important that
the products themselves are desirable, creative and well-made. Of course one
still has to make a good profit. Therefore careful design and materials
sourcing help keep costs down so one can have a realistically priced, yet
amazing product. You find that every time you compromise the quality of an item
you regret it, and making things the very best that you can (within my
carefully constructed parameters) guarantees delighted customers and continued
success for me.
Pictures are what sell your product
There’s a lot that goes into successful selling on Online Shop:
staying relevant, joining teams, creating unique products, pricing, embracing
the changes, fast shipping, great customer service, the list seems endless! But
all of those efforts are in vain if the traffic your driving to your shop
arrives, and finds pictures that do not captivate the buyer. Pictures that sell
your products by making each item interesting and with a personality all it’s
own. Pictures ARE what sells your product. Natural lighting whenever possible
and great close-ups go a long way towards making an inanimate object into
something that a buyer is curious about.
Be Unique
My biggest piece of advice is to be unique. Let your creativity
blossom and your work will stand out. Try something new that is uniquely yours.
I feel that buyers enjoy the variety.
Uniqueness
Creating something that is unique brings sales. We love to be
different, and want something that can represent that difference at the same
time. The uniqueness isn’t only make your shop stands out from the others, but
it also makes your shop interesting. Everyone has his own taste, and unique
items may be the answer for them. So be unique.
To have excellent customer service
It may seem as though this is a cliche tip, but you have turned
unhappy customers into regular buyers by keeping this in mind. If a customer
doesn’t like something or it doesn’t work for them, you stick to my ‘Love it’
guarantee (if they don’t love it, they get their money back). I do whatever you
can to rectify any issues with orders promptly and kindly. You had an
international buyer lose a package in the mail 2 times in a row. You refunded
her money after the second time and sent out a third, which made it to her. She
was so grateful for the service and left feedback saying it was the best
customer service she’s ever received. She buys from my shop regularly.
Customers appreciate it so much when a seller treats them well. They share
these experiences and almost always return. This not only builds a great
reputation for your company, it keeps customers coming back again & again.
Quantity: You cannot expect someone to stay in your shop unless
you have something to sell
Having a few items in your shop or even 20 items, does not give
the buyer a variety of options. You didn’t start selling steadily until you
have 50 items in your shop and you know you have to keep a minimum of 100 items
in the shop in order to do well on online shop.
Quality: Really work hard to put out an amazing handmade product.
Quality counts and it brings back return customers. Online shop allows for a
few ways to show off quality: great photos in detail of your work, descriptions
and the new about page for the shop.
Provide stellar customer service
From the first point of contact, to the last, it is essential to
provide your customer with the best service possible. After six years in
business, the majority of your customers are now repeat and or referrals from
past customers. Beyond producing an exceptional product, you deliver
exceptional service. Communication is a key factor in your service policy. You
make sure to personally acknowledge every order, upon receipt, and send out
regular updates on the status of the order, including tracking info at
shipment. Your customers let you know that they appreciate your stellar
customer service and you believe this has played a key role in your success.
Offer samples
If possible, always give a chance to the customer to try your
products before he/she decides to invest in a full size item. If you make
products that are not possible to offer as samples – have something affordable
in your shop that will not cost much but will be a chance to feel, touch and
give the idea of what you are doing. It can be a small key chain, handkerchief,
anything that will show your craftsmanship and quality you offer. Also, if you
can – include something for free with every purchase. Even the smallest thing
can be a big pleasant surprise and will make customer feel happy and want to
come back again.
Be honest with product reviews
If you're in retail, you probably know the importance of showing product
reviews. Reviews can greatly influence a buyer’s buying decision. Thus many
retailers moderate reviews so that only positive ones are allowed to display on
the product page irrespective of whether or not the product is right for the
customer. Better are the reviews, more the product will sell?
Unfortunately, you can’t go too far with this kind of opaque
approach as you will fail to build trust for your brand. Brands today have to
be completely honest with their customers. The objective of showing reviews
shouldn’t be to sell a product but to help customer make a wise buying
decision, even if it means allowing negative reviews about the product that
you’re selling.More because, returns & refunds are expensive. If you allow
your customers to know both positives and negatives about the product before
purchasing, you will be able to save money from return orders and refunds.
Best Customer Reassurance
The First, Best Customer Reassurance is that credit card companies
protect their cardholders against fraudulent charges and from merchants that
don't fulfill their orders. They can request a refund from you directly, but if
that fails they can contest the charge with their bank and the system will go
to work for them immediately. You can find ways to remind your prospectus of
this on your shopping pages, policy pages or payment pages.
Ask the question
It's an obvious one, but you need to make sure you're asking
people for their feedback wherever possible. Obviously don't flood your site
with calls-to-action begging for reviews, but think about places where it
wouldn't seem out of context to request feedback.
Publish good and bad reviews
It might seem like a good idea to filter out the bad reviews from
your site, but in reality people expect to see negative feedback and won’t
trust the reviews if they are all glowing.
So although it might seem counter intuitive, it’s important to
publish negative feedback as not only does it reassure buyers, but it also
means that customers will be confident that their comment will actually be
published if they take the time to write a review.
It takes money to make money
When you opened your shop, you decided that you would spend a
fairly good amount of money on advertising.
Promote, Create, Promote
In the age of the internet, it’s easy to advertise just about
anything…including your latest handcrafted item. Facebook and Twitter are great
mainstream tools, but to really market your product to your niche, find blogs
that cater to your customers. There’s a lot of other “social” networks that are
constantly sprouting up. Different forums are a great way to find encouragement
and suggestions from more successful sellers to really make you the best you
can be.
Excellent Customer Service: Go above and beyond with customer
service
People shop where they feel appreciated. Excellent products paired
with fabulous customer service bring loyal customers who tell their friends
about your shop.
Get connected & make friends
Offer specials, sales, & coupon codes. It’s a great way to get
new customers in and reward your regular customers as well.
Virtual Tangibility
Create a description of your product online that is the next best
thing to the tangible. This includes a descriptive portrayal of your product in
the listing and simple, uncluttered photographs of your item from different
angles and views.
Integrity is important
Your e-commerce business success depends on Integrity, mind it is
very important issue for you.
Your
photo says it all
Do
your photos attract customers or are you being overlooked? When you first
started on online shop, you did a lot of browsing. You figured that if someone
was already successful, you wanted to see how they got there. You watched the
front page and carefully scrutinized the photos to see where or how you could
improve your own. To do this, you need to think like a customer, pick any
category and browse and click. What makes you click? Many customers have told
you that your photos are what drew them into your shop and hopefully your
descriptions and customer service are what kept them there.
Write
about Your Work
Tell
the story or inspiration behind your work. You know you are more intrigued by a
product that includes a paragraph with information about the creative process.
This is a struggle for you because you sometimes find it hard to articulate
exactly what was intended by each drawing or painting but you try to explain
yourself as genuinely as possible. You usually express yourself with humor
because that’s what comes naturally to you in both your drawing and writing.
Sharing your thoughts and processes will hopefully allow your audience to
relate and feel more connected to you and your work.
Do
Custom work, quick shipping & communication
When
you started doing customized work for people. People like to be creative &
have something that is unique & their alone. Also, everyone keeps saying
they like how you get your packages out to them quickly & they don’t have
to wait long like they do with other sellers. When someone orders something
they are already thinking of using it & eager to try it out!
Also,
they really appreciate your communication with them on thanking them, when the
order will be filled & when it is sent out with confirmation. They don’t
want to purchase something & then have no idea when they are going to get
it, if the person even knows they ordered it!
Branding
A
strong brand helps keep your shop fresh in the minds of potential customers.
When you first started, this was as easy as creating a simple theme to tie in
your Online shop banner with your avatar. Later, you also incorporated the
theme over to your business cards, Facebook, Twitter, etc… One of the many
awesome things about online shop is that they give you plenty of opportunities
to tell the story of your unique handmade items! Spend time thinking about what
best represents the items you sell and create something cohesive and memorable
to buyers.
Be
consistent
Never
give up. All things are possible. It’s definitely true that when one door
closes another one opens but only if you think positive and make it happens. If
something is not working, figure out how to change things so it does work. You
really have to live and breathe whatever your passion is.
Keep things in your shop fresh
Add new product, retake photos on older items, add new product
lines, update packaging. When your shop is slow this is the perfect time to
update it so it always looks new and exciting for your customers.
To
continue to grow your shop by adding new products as often as possible. It
keeps your shop fresh and keeps old customers coming back and can potentially
draw in new customers. It’s also important to be critical about what’s working
and what’s not. See what is selling- what is most popular in your shop and
build on that. Obviously it’s important to showcase your new products with
great product photos- this not only sells the product but those photos can get
your item on blogs, magazines and used on networking sites where people are
constantly looking for new and inspiring products.
Love Your Shop
If you love what you make and do your very best to make your items
and shop the best it can be, your potential customers will pick up on that and
want to be a part of the beautiful thing you’ve created. Be open to feedback,
and don’t be afraid to experiment.
Make
it Personal
As
an Online shop, you try to give each and every buyer a unique handmade
experience. This means that every order that goes out is wrapped and packaged
like a birthday present: gift wrap, tissues, ribbon, a personalized note and
even a unique decorated envelope. Each item needs to feel personal, not
something that came off a production line order.
I
think most of your sales are generated by your item descriptions (something
that’s been a difficult for me transitioning to wholesale) which usually
include a snippet about your inspiration for each perfume. You get a lot of
responses about your writing, and those conversations have fostered some great
friendships that have also turned into my best repeat customers (who give great
referrals). I would say it’s important to do something you really love and let
your personal involvement show through. On online shop, especially, everyone is
excited to be participating in the handmade economy; they want great shops to
root for and will do so much of your marketing for you if they feel invested.
Take
Great Photos
A
picture is worth a thousand words. Without being able to pick up and feel the
items, product pictures need the best they can be. So product photography is
high up on your list right next to product quality when it comes to your online
shop business. You almost always use a white background, so there are no
distractions from the products. You use natural lighting; you get the best
lighting in the mornings, even and not too strong. When it comes to photo
editing, you just brighten up the background, play with contrast to show off
fabric detail, crop the picture so the product is in the center and it’s done.
Innovate
Develop
as frequently as possible new and accessible products for your customers. New
products revitalize sales. You have that experience most times when you
introduce new items, whether it is jewelry, prints on fabric, prints on wood,
etc. They allow you to increase sales to existing customers but also to attract
others and in the end, to sell more of all of your products, not only the one
you are introducing.
Be
noticed
There
are several things that you would recommend, including interacting with
potential customers via social media and your email responses to questions,
taking great pictures that show off the quality of your product and writing
great descriptions. But the most important thing to me is keeping up with
keywords and doing research.
Of
course getting people to your store is only part of the battle of being
noticed. If you want to be successful, you have to go all out. Great product,
great quality and great service. If your customers come back again and again,
you’re doing it right! But, you can never just sit back and watch orders come
in. Keeping up on the trends and keywords is a full time job and that changes
every day. The more effort you put into it, the more your sales will reflect
your hard work.
Customer
service is key
Respond
promptly to your convoy. People appreciate the attentiveness and it helps
develop a relationship with your customers which is otherwise lacking online.
Trial
and Error
Online
shop is a great place to share and do the “trial and error” method to
see what will be appealing to others. You decided to create a shop where you
could share nature and art through using purses as your canvas. You soon
realized that the shape of the purse and materials used was as important as the
design placed upon the purse. Through constantly working on your designs and
watching the number of “views” they received, helped you to know what needed to
change as well as what was working.
Look
Professional Act Professional
What
you practice in your shop and what you look for in shops that you buy from is a
polished look. This means fill out everything online shop offers like Shop
Announcement/Profile, About Page and Policy Page, a Shop Banner and a full row
of Featured Items. Shops missing these tell you no one is minding the
store. Make sure your description includes details like size and function.
Simply saying here is a pretty candle you made without giving size and burn
time with pictures of the actual item sends you running for the
hills. Saying things in your policy like I’m not responsible once an item
ships also makes me run the other way. You, as a seller are always responsible
until the customer gets their item and is happy with it. Your shop runs on
the Golden Rule – treat every customer as you would want to be treated. It is
how you have built a loyal customer base who come back year after year no
matter what changes Online shop makes.
Packaging
brings everything full circle
You
have realized that you have got to love, like, or at least tolerate all aspects
of what you do, or it is really hard to motivate yourself to work. You doing
enjoy the more tedious sweatshop parts of what you do – packaging, sewing in
labels on the clothes and bags, casting, shipping, answering e-mails,
forwarding shipping information etc. These things take more time then you would
think but you believe it shows in the final product the customer can tell the
time and effort you put in to making everything just so. It is very important
to package things well and thoughtfully. Also, including an unexpected goodie
in the package is always great as it makes opening mail even more fun and can
lead to repeat sales.
Hard
work and dedication
You
get asked all the time how you run a successful online shop. I think best
answer is a lot of hard work and dedication to something you love doing. Work
is fun for me and a lot has been learned along the way. You started with two
things you loved doing, sewing and designing and it took off from there. You
have put in a lot or hard work improving your store in many ways. Customer
service, the best photos you can manage, using facebook to chat with customers
and give them a glimpse of your life and striving for an excellent product.
Comfy
Creations
1)
Photos are very important for customers. This is the only visual they have
of your products. Good, clear photos allow confidence for the buyer of what
they will receive.
2)
Customer service. Meet the buyer’s needs and concerns with good
communication. Reply quickly, follow up on custom orders, create a relationship
to insure repeat business, that you are available for their future needs.
Keep
Your Promises
Outstanding
customer service does not have to mean rushing to the post office to ship
orders the same day they are received or including tons of freebies in the
package. It is as simple as doing what you say you will, when you say you will.
For example, if I tell a nervous bride on a tight deadline that you will send
her an update on her custom order in three days, you make sure you do, before
she contacts with you. If you say you’ll email a customer when their package
ships, you write it in your agenda for that day and am sure to follow through
the moment the package ships. Great customer service is all about letting the
customer know that their order is a top priority.
Think
like a customer
Put
yourself in the customer’s shoes. Do you like good customer service? Do you
want to receive acknowledgement of your order and be informed of an expected
shipping date? Do you want fast shipping service? Do you want to buy well-made,
quality products? If you as a buyer have a question, do you want a prompt
response from the seller? If you handle these issues according to the Golden
Rule of treating others the way you’d like to be treated, you’ll do well!
Create
a Consistent Feel
I
think a key factor to making and keeping a successful online shop is to create
a consistent feel among your products. Ways to easily do this are with
materials you use and also with photo backgrounds/angels/and props. Creating a
unified shop will give your customers security that your shop is well thought
out and cared for.
Get
found
The
tried and true advice you hear all the time is probably the most important-
take great photos, write interesting and informative descriptions, have a good
product that appeals to a wide range of people and take care of your customers.
But that’s mostly helpful once you have eyeballs on your site. If no one sees
your shop, it doesn’t matter how great your photos are. Probably the thing that
has gotten you the most eyeballs on your shop and therefore sales is getting
featured on blogs. First make sure your shop is as good as it can be so when
people do see it, they stay for awhile. Then, think of who your target audience
is. Are they stay at home moms? Crafters? College students? Newlyweds? Cooks?
Do some research? Find blogs your target audience would read, particularly ones
who do features on online shops or artists or items they like. Send the blog
author an email explaining who you are, what you do, a link to your shop and
why their readers might be interested in your products. Be personal and
specific- don’t just send a mass email. You might have to send a few emails
before anyone responds, but someone will. That can and does snowball- other
blog authors see the feature and might contact you directly. You can also buy
ad space on blogs who offer it and you do that sometimes, but I think having
the author actually write about your product is the most effective. A mention
on a site like Apartment Therapy or Daily Candy can equal thousands of views and
hundreds of sales, but small blogs are helpful too. Any blog mention can help
to single you out from the pack of online shops.
Love
your clients
I
would say to take care of your customers, as they always take care of you.
Also, when thinking of new ideas, ask them first, they love to share input. You
have some wonderful customers, and they keep coming back. So grateful!
Keep
it Cohesive
When
you are using many social media venues to market your items it is very
important to make sure they are visually cohesive. Keeping the same colors and
graphics style for your Facebook page, Twitter, Blog, and online shop lets the
customer know you care about your image and care even more about your products.
Add to that some great product packaging & a cute shipping box and your
customer will be sweetly surprised when your item arrives at their door.
To create positivity and awareness about e-commerce and
encourage people in online shopping in
Bangladesh to leave positive reviews, you need to have a strong strategy
in place. Simply telling a customer that you would love it if they said
something positive about you isn’t going to give them clear enough expectations
to follow through with the task. To gain more positive conversation about you
around the internet you will need clear expectations of where, what and how
long each review should be.
When
starting out with online reviews have a long look at your “A list” customers.
This includes your regulars, those who repeatedly return to your website to
make purchases or take advantage of your services. If they are coming back,
then chances are they are happy with what you are offering and may be willing
to share their experience with others. Try encouraging your regular customers
to leave reviews by offering incentives, like special discounts for those who
follow through with the review process.
Your
online review profiles are a valuable space for you. This is an area where
potential clients may decide whether they give your company business or contact
one of your competitors instead. Take advantage of this precious space by
encouraging your customers to fill with positive reviews about your company.
Conclusion
Overall,
there are a number of factors to consider when reviewing reasons why sales from
your store may be slow. But time spent planning and developing a robust,
professional store will aid your ability to successfully sell online.
Measure
the effect of any changes on sales. By noting your online sales figures or, for
more in-depth results, using analytics you can ascertain which incremental
changes are working. By making changes to your website’s conversion
funnel homepage, category pages, product pages and checkout process you should
see a marked increase in your online sales. And if
you have your own tips to add, just leave a comment below.
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