6 Key Questions To Ask Yourself About Your Ecommerce Store
Whether you’re just getting started in building your ecommerce site or are an online veteran, there are 6 key questions to ask yourself to ensure you’re reaching and retaining the most customers.
Do you have Live Chat or a customer support system in place to help you help your customers?
Studies have shown that website visitors are more likely to hit that “buy” button if they can have their questions quickly and easily answered without having to leave your website. According to a recent survey,
31% of online shoppers said they would be more likely to buy after having a live chat conversation.
With that stat in mind, that means that you have the potential to increase your conversions by nearly one-third just by offering live chat. With live chat support, an issue or question that might cause a potential customer to abandon their cart can be immediately satisfied.
Learn more about live chat: 5 Reasons Customer Love Live Chat (and Will Love You Too)
Do you have and display a Privacy Policy on your website?
A privacy policy lets visitors know what information you collect from them and what you do with it. In legal terms, a privacy policy is a disclosure document. A comprehensive, specific privacy policy tailored for your site can help protect you against complaints and potential lawsuits.
Facebook, Google and many other big names have faced lawsuits connected to their privacy policies and use of user data. But be aware that simply copying and pasting an existing privacy policy from another company’s website simply won’t do: you need one that matches the specific ways in which your company gathers and uses visitor information. With the online free privacy policy generator at FreePrivacyPolicy.com, you can create privacy policies for your site in minutes.
Do you have a Terms of Service (or Terms of Use) Agreement on your website?
If you’ve got an ecommerce site, you need a Terms of Service Agreement.
A Terms Of Service Agreement essentially states the rules for using your website. While it’s not a legal requirement to have one on your site, it offers a lot of legal protection. A Terms of Service Agreement can limit your liability if you end up in court, something that happens a lot more frequently than you might think.
In addition to having a ToS to protect yourself, you can use one to let potential customers know they’re protected, too. 4x Buyer Protection includes a Terms of Service Guarantee as one of its four services. (The others are shipping insurance, price match guarantees and identity theft protection.)
Do you have Website Security to protect your customers’ data and credit card info?
If the threat of a cyber attack or data breach wasn’t already on your radar, it should be. Nearly half of all businesses have been hit by a data breach, according to a recent report from the Poneman Institute.
Unsurprisingly then, in survey after survey organizations around the globe say cyber attacks and data breaches are the biggest threat to their business.
There are more than 66,956 vulnerabilities out there that hackers can use to walk right into your website. In fact, an incredible 86% of websites fail their first vulnerability scan, meaning most sites are prime hacking targets. Learn more about protecting your site: How Website Security Can Boost Your Sales and Lower Your Bounce Rate (Video)
Do you have a Price Match Guarantee?
A key way to keep website visitors from clicking off your site is by offering a price match guarantee. Retailers reported in a survey by research firm BDO that the second-biggest reason customers were enticed to buy from them was through price matching. (The first reason? Free shipping.)
According to a recent survey, 36% of consumers reported they spend 30+ minutes comparison shopping before deciding to buy. (Source: Selz Blog: 40 Amazing Online Shopping and Ecommerce Statistics) If website visitors know they don’t have to make the extra step of checking for a lower price – and thus clicking off your site – you’re more likely to keep them on the page and hitting buy.
If you’re curious about using price matching to gain customers, you can try a price matching service so you don’t have to do the so-called legwork yourself. For example, 4x Buyer Protection offers a price match guarantee plus shipping insurance, customer identity theft protection and a terms of service guarantee. Learn more at 4x Buyer Protection.
Do you collect and display Ratings and Reviews from your customers?
Customers rely on peer reviews to decide whether they want to make a purchase. 46% of users read reviews and blogs before purchasing online, according to the experts at VMO.
Just think of sites like Amazon or Sephora. Where would they be if not for customer reviews? How would customers be able to choose? With a service like that collects local reviews, merchant reviews, and product reviews, your ecommerce site will attract more customers and increase sales.
Check out this case study to learn how one retailer increased reviews and traffic with a ratings and reviews company.
