Almost everyone wants to get online these days with an e-commerce website / online store and start selling to the global masses. But before you build or design your e-commerce website, keep in mind the below tips.
Remove customers' fear
How easy is it to use your product? How easy is it to place an order? How easy is it to get a refund if I am not completely satisfied? If your customers are not convinced that using your product is as easy as ABC, they will not buy it. They may need it but they will not buy it without you show them that it is easy to use / install.
Since there's nothing to touch or feel online, give your customers a demo version if you can. Let them have the freedom to try out your product before they decide to buy. If you sell tangible products, give away samples. Many people are hesitant until they get a free trial version or samples. Also, make it clear that you will be there to guide and help them in case of any problem.
Make it easy to buy
If they're going to buy from you online, ensure the ordering process is easy and uncomplicated. Do not have too many steps – people may not have the patience to go through different pages and clicking on a dozen yeses before they finally get to 'buy' the product. Value the input from your web developer but take a closer look at the ordering process before the website goes live.
Try beta testing – this is what web developers call real user testing of a completed system to weed out potential bugs and problems before it is released for actual public use. Test the e-commerce system yourself and get your friends to do it with you before you open your 'store' to the world. Launch your online store only when you are completely satisfied with the ordering process. Otherwise, go back to the drawing board.
Check out the competition
It's always healthy – not to mention fun – to watch your rivals and learn from them. It's easy to do this on the Internet because you can always surf into their websites and check out what they're doing right and more importantly, what they're doing wrong. Observe and apply what is interesting to your own online store but never copy! It's not being sneaky, it's called checking out your competition.
Make them trust you
Trust is important if you are selling online because if your customers do not trust you, they will not buy from you. To enable them to trust you, be as explicit as possible. Display your privacy policy and return policy clearly. State how you will ship products to customers and what happens if there are returns. What else can you do to grow trust? Put up a money back guarantee so that the risk is completely on you, not on the customer. Assure the customer that others have bought safely from you by putting up customer reviews or testimonials. Use real customer names for greater credibility when you are putting up testimonials.