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Ten Great New Ecommerce Ideas for July 2009

Practical eCommerce asks industry insiders each month to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce company succeed. Here’s what ten of them had to say for the July 2009 installment.

Focus on Upsell Products

“To succeed with your ecommerce solution, it is extremely important to focus on having the customer picking an upsell product with better profit, or adding accessories together with the product they are purchasing. This is no more than a time commitment, but well worth it. Find products that you can add as accessories, not only to a few of your products but to all of them.”

Roy Andre Tollefsen
Lead Designer
Silverthemes
Silverthemes.com

Automation is Not a Substitute for Outstanding Support

“It is critically important to have user friendly automated tools, dynamic and well-designed web pages, and clear communication processes. But don’t forget the importance of coupling this with easy access to an outstanding, knowledgeable and helpful support representative to create positive, long lasting, impressions of your company.”

Nathan England
Vice President of Reseller Marketing
R3Sellers
R3Sellers.com

Tap Location Online to Drive Offline Sales

“The consumer’s expectation of ‘research anywhere, buy anywhere’ means merchants must bring offline decision-making to online commerce. And, location plays an integral role. With geolocation technologies, online enterprises can proactively drive offline sales by highlighting the nearest retail locations or presenting coupons for in-store use based on shoppers’ geographic locations.”

Rob Friedman
Executive Vice President
Digital Element

A/B Split Testing

“Do A/B split testing of landing pages using Google Website Optimizer. It’s free and you’ll be pleasantly surprised at your conversion’s improvement.”

Jon West
CEO
3tailer

Find Related Forums and Blogs

“Targeted marketing is the most effective way to drive potential customers to your site. Use the search engines to find related forums and blogs, and sign up for as many you find. Participate by adding useful information, comments and advice, and be sure to include a link to your website.”

James D. Ballotti
Owner and Publisher
iPic Publishing

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

“Diversifying your product range is an excellent way to expand your existing business and reach new customers. You can add value to your online store and increase your margins by introducing new complementary products. This will also allow you to test new suppliers for quality and reliability.”

Diane Wang
CEO
DHgate.com

Maximize Your Profit on Every Item Sold

“Setting the right price for items is key to maximizing profit, but it can take experimentation and may vary based on who the actual shopper is. Understanding how your shoppers respond to pricing and promotions and making fine adjustments will deliver large returns. Leveraging new vendor solutions that are low risk will simplify this complex process.”

Heather Dawson
CCO
Runa
Runa.com

More Trust Equals More Revenue

“With all that consumers are hearing in the media about identity theft, hacking, and fraud, they are understandably more concerned than ever about transacting business online. Merchants need to be sensitive to these concerns and reinforce the trustworthiness of their site wherever possible.”

Bill Fallon
VP of Marketing
Comodo Group Inc.
Comodo.com

Add a Video Play Button

“The benefits of product video on ecommerce is well established, but how it is triggered by shoppers is critical. Take a cue from YouTube and news sites – use a superimposed ‘play button’ in the immediate vicinity of the primary product image. Shoppers know immediately what this means, and your conversion rates will be maximized.”

Rick Martin
President and CEO
SellPoint
Sellpoint.net

See Things From a Customer’s Viewpoint

“Understanding complete customer experience requires monitoring from the customer’s viewpoint (not an internal one) through the entire order lifecycle. How easy is it to order and how long does it take to receive it? It’s also important to analyze how technology enables or hampers the customer experience.”

Vincent Fabrizzi
Chief Sales and Marketing Officer
Jagged Peak Inc.
Jaggedpeak.com

Got a helpful ecommerce tip? 

Ankush Agarwal
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