In the previous post, find the link here: Growing Your Nigerian Ecommerce Website to Make Sales, we talked about the six questions that your customers have in mind about your product page before making a decision to buy.
We said that these 6 questions usually stand as the major barrier between a customer who is ready to buy and with him parting with his cash.
The 13 core elements help to answer the 6 key questions and reinforce the benefits of buying from your brand
Every element should answer at least one of the six key questions.
If you haven’t read the first post about the 6 key questions your customer is asking, please do so before going ahead with this internet, find the link below: Growing Your Nigerian Ecommerce Website to Make Sales
11 Core Elements Every Ecommerce Website Needs
Copy
Copy is a powerhouse player and can answer nearly every question your customer has! Copy includes headlines, descriptions and persuasions. Copy answers every single key question the customer is asking. Copy explains what the product is, What does the product look like? How big or small is the product? Can the product be delivered? Can i return it? Can I trust your brand?
Copy can answer every single question above, but, if you rely strictly on copy, you will be missing out on the possibilities of exploring other elements that can provide better results when mixed with copy.
Copy has to differentiate your product from other products and showcase the specific and unique features that your business operates on.
Copy should focus more on the benefits than features of your product, you can have benefit rich features but always focus on the benefits.
Images
Images are another power player, when used correctly. They are not as powerful as copy, but they are also a power player in conversion. Images answer 4 key questions out of the six that customers are asking on your product page.
Images can provide answers to; what is the product? What does it look like? How big or small is it? Can I trust the brand?
Use the image checklist below when posting images on your product page:
- High Resolution
- Zoomable
- Multiple images
- Show the product in use
- 360 view
USe the best imagery to showcase your product, stay away from stock photos and always portray your product, how it can be used and you will win.
Ratings and Reviews
Simply put, people are more likely to buy when there are ratings and reviews on your website.
Ratings answer one key question only, can I trust your brand? The more ratings you have the greater people’s perception of your brand.
Reviews on the other hand answer key questions such as; How big or small it is? can it be delivered, can i return it, can i trust the brand? 60% of online shoppers consult reviews (nielson)
If you are manipulating your reviews to only showcase positive reviews while deleting the negative reviews, you’re only dehumanizing your brand.
trust is built on balance so having a few negative reviews isn’t the worst thing in the world and could actually help in ensuring your customers trust you further.
Get reviews on your website, if you do not have it, point blank, you are wasting money.
Call to Action (CTA’s)
So CTA’s don’t really answer questions, but you don’t get what you don’t ask for so they are a staple on a product page.
CTA’s must be clear, if you want the next action for the customer to be to add to cart, do not say “buy now”. CTA’s show the customer the next action to take and validate that action, ensure the CTA stand’s out.
CTA Must’s:
- CTA must be clear: If you are adding to cart, DO NOT say buy now
- CTA must validate action: If add to cart, show that the product is in the cart
- CTA must stand out
Price
Nobody wants a surprise charge on their credit card, so tell them what it costs. However, there are different ways to display prices based on your target market. Price answers one question out of the six key questions, which is; can i trust the brand?
Price changes people’s perception of things, if you are a high end brand, and you are undercutting your price, it creates ambiguity and ambiguity creates confusion which causes conversion to plummet and fall.
Some sites that sell high end products usually make their prices a bit smaller in text and light in font, it’s not loud and out there, this is because their audience is not really interested in price as to other factors they are judging to buy with. A website like versace isn’t looking for the everyday man to purchase from their site and so they practice this price display method.
But for most ecommerces that sell everyday items, the price is out there and clear. Ambiguity must be avoided at all costs, it’s important to know your customers and to understand their preferences in price display methods.
Live Chat
Your customers have questions, live chat’s got answers. Live chat is good if you can support it. So if you are a one man shop or you have a few employees, live chat might not be the best option, because if your customers are not getting answers to their questions immediately, it becomes a disadvantage to your business.
Live chat answers all the 6 key questions that customers are asking, because you are establishing a conversation.
Some advantages include:
- Live chat is convenient to the customer
- It provides insights and data to improve your product pages.
- It lets you know the particular questions customers are asking, especially on particular pages.
Modifications
This does not apply to everyone especially those that have single products, but modifications help you to see products in their final form, this can be colour, size etc.
Do you want it in blue or do you want sequins? Modifications are crucial and you need to make them super easy to understand for your customers. Your customer can like a dress in blue, but they might be wondering how it looks in white. Visual modifications need to be there to help modify what the customers are seeing, this is crucial to helping set expectations for your customer.
In and Out of Stock
There’s nothing worse than trying to buy something and seeing that it’s out of stock. Making sure you’re inventory is up to date is an absolute must for any business that has multiple SKUs. It answers the key question, can it be delivered.
If people are trying to buy a product from you and they order and are expecting the product to be delivered only to realise, it’s out of stock, they will probably go to your competitor. be sure to put it from the product page that the product is out of stock, your customers will like you more for it.
Videos
Video is a huge power player that will definitely enhance your page.Videos are extremely useful on product pages and can answer all 6 key questions that the customer is asking. People are seeing higher conversions with videos. Even on Facebook Ad people are seeing better conversion with video ads.
Benefits of videos on product pages include:
- Dramatic increase in conversions (18-40%)
- Better search traffic
- Provide more clarity
- Develops the brand
Drawbacks include:
- Videos are expensive
- time consuming
- Heavy content and can contribute to hard times with site load speed.
Bundle/Upsell and Cross Sell
Give them some more options (if you have them AND they make sense). This answers what is it, what does it look like and how big or small is it.
Benefits of BUC
- It is a great way to increase average order value if you give relevant options.
Short tip: For long form pages, do not cross sell on the product page but after the purchase.
Testimonials
Testimonials are a subset of reviews and really more of an element on B2B sites. Testimonials help you to leverage on the authority of your users or database. It answers the key question, can i trust it.
Please use real people, and a photo. People see through fake testimonials and it damages your brand eventually. Also include company and title if you are in B2B. Ensure testimonials are specific and drive straight to the point about the product or the process of how your customers got it.
You can also read this article to learn more about scaling your ecommerce business
