Turning a site visitor into a paying customer is the number one priority for any eCommerce business. And often, an eye-candy storefront and several items in the catalog are not enough to guarantee a conversion.
With the growing number of retailers that turn online and the abundance of choices online shoppers are exposed to, it becomes even more challenging for SMBs to stand out and beat the competition.
This article is designed for Magento-based merchants who seek ways to ensure successful site operation. Alternatively, store owners who run their sites on other platforms will also find value in the shared pieces of advice.
Let’s dive right in and explore some working tips to help you come closer to successful store operations without further ado.
Table of Contents
Tip #1: Build a system of customer rewards
A unique program to reward customers is something that can help your brand get noticed and pitch in your conversion rate optimization.
It’s no news that converting a returning customer is much easier than a first-time site visitor.
A compelling system of points as a reward for completing specific on-site activities or as a thank you helps make the shoppers feel positive and valued about their experiences with your brand.
Thus, when building your store’s rewards system, you need to:
- Study the expectations and needs of your customer base
- Learn more about the best practices in your niche
- Define the goals of your rewards program
- Define what a successfully running rewards system means for your brand and increase in which metrics it includes
- Soft launch your rewards program and A/B test the customers’ interactions with each its element
- Collect feedback about the integrated rewards program continuously
- Make sure the program rules are clearly written and concise
- Plan communication and the announcement about the launch and/or edits in your rewards program
Launching a successful rewards program is not an easy endeavor. In Magento 2, the out-of-the-box functionality may not be enough to integrate all the required features, and you might need to opt for an extension from third-party vendors.
But when done right, the benefits you reap are certainly worth the candle.
Tip #2: Do SEO instantly
Seeing your brand on the first page in the SERPs is like a dream come true for many companies.
Organic search remains the primary source of bringing customers to your site.
Thus, it requires continuous tracking and improvement.
Magento-based brands need to cover such aspects as:
- Optimize metadata
- Improve site crawling and indexation
- Add cross-linking
- Make your rich snippets look eye-candy
- Gather and solve SEO issues
- Extend breadcrumbs
- Get rid of duplicate content
- Set up redirects
- And more
Either manually or with the help of an SEO automation extension, merchants must take care of these SEO aspects to see their brands grow.
Tip #3: Find a good shipping strategy
Shipping and order delivery can become a stumbling block for many businesses.
On the one hand, it’s the question of making shipping charges decent while delivering orders on time. On the other hand, it’s the question of setting up shipping charges without cutting into the bottom line.
Besides, according to the research conducted by the Baymard Institute, 50% of your shoppers would abandon their carts because of unexpected shipping, tax, or fee costs at the checkout.
Normally, the most popular strategies for pricing shipping are as follow:
- Free shipping
- Exact costs shipping
- Flat-rate shipping
The choice is not as easy as it may seem as multiple business processes and expenses must be taken into regard, including product packaging, selected carriers, insurance, tracking, etc.
Tip #4: Focus on mobile-first
What percentage of your site visitors come from mobile devices?
To answer this question, go to your Google Analytics account. Under the Audience arrow, click Mobile, and then click Overview. That’s where the data about your audience distribution across various devices is located at.
For better visualization, you can always click the Motion chart and choose Percentage.
It’s clear that if a website has a high number of mobile users, it’s a must to make it mobile-friendly.
But what should you do if under 5% of users come to your store from hand-held devices?
Undoubtedly, focus on mobile-first.
We’d probably need a separate article to cover all the reasons behind such a statement.
But mainly, it is vital because:
- Such optimization is required to get your site higher in Google rankings
- The mobile-first world requires smooth site operation on any hand-held device
- Such an approach brings potentially high scalability
Tip #3: Optimize the checkout flow
No process of site optimization is possible without making the checkout experience as smooth as possible.
The goal of any eCommerce site is to ensure conversion.
For that, you need to make sure no issues or bugs arise while your shoppers intend to place an order.
The checkout flow must be error-free and intuitive and not force the shopper to perform a specific activity before they proceed to the “Thank you” page.
Guest checkout and social login can give you a hand in achieving that.
Tip #5: Involve urgency and scarcity
Limited-time and limited-edition deals are often hot.
People like to own unique items. That’s why scarce deals often make offers seem more valuable.
You’ll need to blend FOMO marketing into your sales campaigns to introduce this optimization tactic.
Consider adding to your product and category pages:
- Social proof notifications
- Stock level progress bars
- Countdown timers
- Product popularity popups
- Recent sales notifications
Displayed during special campaigns or continuously, such tactics will help make your deals even more desirable and thus pitch in your site’s optimization.
Tip #7: Level up personalization
When we think about face-to-face contact, personalization seems natural. We know the name of our favorite barista in the nearby coffee shop, and we surely know our barber or a nail technician.
The inline world should be no different.
The customer expects to be addressed by name, displayed relevant offerings, custom deals, and even prices.
To ensure customer experience with your Magento-based brand is optimized, the strategy of personalized prices and promotions should be well though-out.
Wrap Up
We hope we’ve managed to collect some valuable pieces of advice that will help to set your brand off on the path to successful site operation.
Magento boasts high capabilities to help you integrate the required functionality.
Otherwise, be it Magento 2 extensions by Mageworx or be it solutions from other vendors in the Magento Community, businesses that run their sites on Magento 2 have a unique opportunity to opt for third-party solutions if the default codebase does not allow them to achieve a specific goal.
Now it’s your turn:
What advice are you planning to work on first?
