Improve Your eCommerce Conversion
Sending you a check-list of things that can help your eCommerce sites convert BETTER
Hey You,
Another edition, but this time it’s for all your e-commerce brands. Another edition also means I stayed consistent yet again.
If you’ve been added by a well-wisher or you’ve signed up yourself, it’s going to be a fun journey from here on. You are part of 4000+ avid readers of experiential (read: tactical) content on design & content. If you’re interested to read more about me, here’s my LinkedIn. No ads here I assure.
Now on to today’s topic.
Boosting Conversions for your e-Commerce Store
One question I get asked by pretty much every brand owner I talk to is "How can I squeeze more value out of my existing website traffic?" It's a great question - just like both you and I have 24 hours in a day, your online store and your biggest competitor both have the potential to convert way more customers. It just comes down to how well you guide people through your digital aisles.
The more you do for your customers, the better you'll convert. If you have a "build it and they will come" mindset, you're going to struggle. When we compare an e-commerce site to any offline store, there's a key difference. In the physical offline world, it's all about owning that prime shelf space. Online, it's not about slotting fees, it's about who can best guide people to your digital shelves.
The truth is, even a 3% conversion rate is considered pretty healthy these days. I was chatting with a hair care brand that was doing 7% - that's killer. And I saw a 6% rate for a supplement brand. Generally, the more premium or unique a product is, the lower the conversion tends to be. But there are ways to fight that. Here are my top 3 favourite tactics.
Optimise Your Data Capture
You're probably already running an email pop-up when people land on your site. Maybe you have a phone number collection too. The average pop-up converts at 3 -4 %, according to Klaviyo. That's honestly pretty weak - you should be aiming for 10% or more. Most of our clients are in the 8-11% range. If you can improve your pop-up conversion by just 1%, that could make a huge difference.
When I’m advising any ecommerce brand, I would tweak and optimise that email pop-up weekly. Testing different visuals, copy, offers (% off vs ₹ off vs free gift), CTAs, even adding coupon code functionality. The end result is a pop-up that's in the top 1% for data capture.
And if you really want to level up, instead of a basic freebie, offer a valuable digital product as a lead magnet. Your margins on digital goods should be insane - close to 100%. Say you’re a personal care or a healthy foods brand, you can add an Ingredient Report. Or a personalised recommendation quiz. It’s super valuable for the customer and aligns perfectly with your brand. Plus it shoots up your conversion rate from what you were traditionally doing as well as increases average time spent on your site.
Other ideas for killer digital lead magnets: Whatsapp communities, tutorial or explainer videos on your Youtube etc. The more valuable it is, the higher your conversion. Urge them send in their details against a super valuable insight that they would receive in their email or whatsapp.
I’ve already given you more top funnel content ideas for your Youtube Channel in here: Tutorial Videos / Explainer Videos / Myth Busting Videos when people land onto that video from that email sign-up. Start with your hero video but the intent should be to have a binge bank for users for when they land on to your Youtube. We’ll tackle Youtube content for your brand, in another edition of the newsletter soon.
No one cares about your value props, they care about the outcome
Stop leading with product value props or even benefits! I find that a lot of times when a brand tells me "but we built landing pages before and they didn't work", it's because their internal team was drinking the Kool-Aid. When you're all hyped up on your own stuff, that's what ends up in your copy.
The eCommerce customer is lazy and status hungry. All they understand are outcomes. How would your customer describe your brand to a friend? A couple other ways to uncover killer benefits:
1. What would someone say when first opening/trying the product? Like the first time they feel the material of your athleisure line or open a packet of your protein bar.
2. What would someone say after experiencing the life-changing benefits? Like workout chaff free and feeling fit in those athleisure line of yours
Here's an example for an athleisure brand that's' making gym / workwear for men or women:
Value Prop: Our clothes are chaff-free, soft fabric that absorbs sweat and fit well
Benefit: Our clothes make you workout for longer hours
Outcome: Our clothes make you look fitter
These are just placeholder examples, but you get the drift.
As someone moves through your funnel, you can get more into the nitty-gritty value props. But to hook them initially, focus on outcomes to your user.
Social Proof are no longer press reviews
When you land on a brand's site, you'll usually see some social proof - reviews, testimonials, press mentions, etc.
The best e-commerce brands are all designing landing pages and homepages around short-form videos now, because they have the highest trust factor. Everyone knows traditional press can be bought. Customer quotes can be cherry-picked. But short videos show the genuine, unfiltered reaction.
If you don't have any reviews, quotes, or press on your site, you're already behind. Get that stuff live ASAP. And if you're feeling lazy, just use screenshots of WhatsApp convos and Instagram Story reposts as reviews (and it works).
These 3 are the lowest hanging when it comes to improving your website traffic.
Well, that’s it for today.
Gratitude,
Sak