Practical eCommerce recently asked 50 industry insiders to share a great, innovative idea that could help an ecommerce firm. Here’s what ten of them had to say.
Check Your Impression Share
“Take a long, hard look at the Impression Share of your paid search campaigns. It’s possible that your ads are not running as often as you think, which is deadly if the campaign is profitable.”
Alex Cohen
Marketing Manager
ClickEquations, Inc.
Widgets Can Expand Your Reach
“Push your marketing to the edge by using a widget to display your products for purchase on other websites. Whether implemented on social networks or through your affiliate programs, widgets can create natural link popularity and help expand your reach without having to drive users directly to your website.”
Jason Kreidman
Ecommerce SEO Strategist
Kreidman, Inc.
Add Alternative Payment Options
“It is possible to increase revenue and sell globally without risk. Adding new alternative payment options such as inpay allows customers to use their online bank to pay instantly and worldwide. You can sell to customers with no credit cards and get orders even when a card transaction is rejected.”
Jacob Thomsen
Founder
inpay.com
Develop Banking Relationships
“It is vital to develop banking relationships as well as financial jurisdictions, especially in the midst of this recession. This will provide a merchant with the means to expand an e-business globally, as well as improve his customer base.”
Sharon Gal Franko
Marketing Director
SafeCharge
Develop a Strong Marketplace Strategy
“Customers will always compare prices online before making a decision. Develop a strategy to list products on marketplaces like Amazon.com. Your products will be presented to millions of viewers, and you pay only when there is a sale. Also, don’t forget to list your products on Google Base, a great source for free traffic.”
Parag Mamnani
CEO
Webgility
Contact Customers by Phone
“Include an optional field in your “Contact Us” form where customers can leave a phone number and request that you call them. You will be able to close more sales over the phone than over email.”
Rishi Shah
CEO
Flying Cart
Offer More Payment Methods
“Maximize closing sales by offering more payment acceptance methods because many people do not wish to pay via credit cards or debit cards. With methods like PayPal and WorldPay becoming increasingly popular it makes good business sense to not reject the end user based on their payment method.”
Matt Morrison
Managing Director
Opal Logic, Ltd.
Recurring Payment Plans
“One emerging and profitable trend is recurring payment plans. The best use is to understand the life of your product. If you sell homemade soap that lasts about a month, enable your customers to join a plan where you will ship them a new product monthly. This moved you from one sale to twelve.”
Troy Wilson
President and CEO
Merchantguy.com
Review User Sessions
“Knowing which pages your users visit can help you understand what people are looking for so you can make it easier for them to get it. You can get this information from website logs, but my favorite new way is using Clicktale, which plays back each user session in a video.”
Mark Thomason
CEO and Co-Founder
iConvene, LLC
Build Credibility
“Regardless of increasing consumer confidence in online retail, people buy from people they can trust. Build credibility with security audits of your website, and in turn include security accreditation logos in strategic points on your site. Client testimonials also add value.”
Alex Stephens
Marketing Executive
Selfserve UK, Ltd.
Got a helpful ecommerce tip? Email kate@practicalecommerce.com.