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Your website is your virtual shop front, and the services and menus you offer are a part of your customers' buying experience. Many people focus too much on promotion and neglect the user-friendly features that make a difference for their customers. In fact, marketing and customer service should go hand in hand, and you have to meet your clients' expectations to make them come back and make another purchase. You Below you will find a few tips on making improvements to your marketing and website functionality at the same time.
Do Your Research
Before you start to redesign your website, it is a good idea to look around the internet and see how similar shops have implemented customer friendly features. There might be some new plugin and software you are not aware of but can implement to improve the overall shopping and browsing experience of your visitors. As a minimum, you will need a search button and a category list, but there are some advanced search features that make browsing even more enjoyable. If you sell products, you can find a way to help your visitors find the right products for their needs by adding smart search.
Add Plugins
If you are using WordPress as your store's online platform, you will find an endless source of information on the best plugins for retail. Whether you are selling services, digital products, or merchandise, you can find the right WordPress retail plugin that will make it easy to complete the purchase, check stock, calculate delivery, and more.
Implement Safe Payment Processors
It takes a lot of courage for most people shopping online to submit their card details on your site, still. If you would like to reassure them that you take care of their details and their financial information is safe, you might want to invest in an advanced payment processing system that works with credit cards and major online accounts. There are plenty of software development companies offering merchant services for eCommerce websites as well as mobile retailers, so you can get paid through the internet and in person on the go.
Provide Value
Whatever you are selling, you have to differentiate yourself in the marketplace . You have two main options; either provide more value or reduce your prices. There are several great ways to add value to your customers, such as free gifts, loyalty discounts, updates via social media messaging, and rewarding feedback. You will have to find a way to stand out from the rest of the retailers and give your visitors a good enough reason to buy from you and not your competitors.
Seek Feedback
It is also important that you seek feedback on your website from your customers and visitors. Follow up every purchase by a short survey. There are plenty of free tools that let you collect feedback on various areas of your site, such as SurveyMonkey and Google Surveys . It is important that you keep your clients satisfied, and spot problems as soon as possible. Losing customers over a slow button or a broken link is something you can't afford in a competitive business environment.
Test Regularly
It is also your responsibility to test your site and update the software and safety plugins. If you neglect these tasks for too long, your site will become outdated and potentially unsafe. Schedule a time every week or at least fortnightly to check everything is backed up, safe, and functioning as it should. You might also ask your employees to test the site from time to time or members of your business network to provide you feedback on how your pages are performing on their devices.
Make the Navigation Simple and Ads Non-Intrusive
The most important part of your website is the navigation. If your visitors can't find what they are looking for in a few seconds, chances are that they will leave soon. You have to ensure that your web designer knows what your business needs in terms of marketing and functionality, so they can tailor the layout and menus to your needs. Hiring the wrong web designer can cost you a lot of money and customers, so be sure to check their credentials. When it comes to ads, keep them discreet and non-intrusive, or you will scare off customers.
If you want to make your website user-friendly, it is crucial that you test the sales and marketing process yourself. Be careful with your web design and software, and implement features that make it easier for your customers to find and buy products.
