E-commerce is a booming field, making the world a place where almost everything is now online. However, it comes with its own set of cons. Sitting at home and scrolling through their phones has made window shopping a lot easier. Often, website visitors simply ‘lurk’ without buying anything. So here are some tips and tricks for you to convert visitors into customers in your Shopify store.
If you’re a Shopify store owner, the most important step for you is to turn your shop visitor into a customer. This is not only about increasing sales but sustaining and growing your online business. This is why, this blog will be starting a fire in your creative mind to use some strategic marketing and convert visitors into customers for your Shopify store!
Understanding Visitor Conversion
Before we get into the strategies to convert your visitors into customers, let’s first take the time to understand what this means. Here, we will take you through two important things- what visitor conversion actually means, and why it is important for you to understand.
What is Visitor Conversion?
In the world of business, visitor conversion is also called conversion rate. This is measured by a percentage and includes visitors of a website who take the action targetted by the website owner. Generally, this action can be signing up for a newsletter, filling out a form, clicking on a blog, etc. For a Shopify store owner like you, this action is making a purchase.
So, to put it simply, visitor conversion is the process of turning your website visitors into paying customers.
Conversion rates are an important metric for any e-commerce business as they directly impact revenue. This is because a higher conversion rate means more visitors are turning customers, and your sales are increasing!
Importance of Visitor Conversion
There are several why visitor conversion or conversion rates are of paramount importance:
- Improving marketing strategies: It helps businesses understand the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. When the numbers are not up to your expectations, you can assess what’s working and what isn’t. This way, you can refine your marketing strategies smartly and direct your efforts in a way that engages your audience.
- Data-driven decision-making: To support a change in marketing strategies, you need real-time data. This data can give you insights into trends, patterns, and the behaviors and preferences of your target audience.
- Potential for growth: As you attempt to try out different marketing strategies, you allow your brand to adapt. In addition to that, you can identify areas of improvement in your website’s design and functionality.
Factors Affecting Visitor Conversion
Visitor conversion, the process of a visitor making a purchase in your online store, can be influenced by a variety of factors. Understanding these factors can help you improve upon them, to ultimately enhance your conversion rate:
- Quality of the product: Needless to say, your Shopify store can quickly gain some traction based on the quality of the products you offer. Having better quality products can compel your existing customers to leave a review on your site, which in turn acts as a nudge for your visitors to make a purchase. To woo your visitors through a different medium, make sure to use high-quality and compelling images of your product.
- Pricing: Visitors are more likely to make a purchase when they have clear pricing information and a compelling value proposition, rather than seeing something fishy. A compelling value proposition is all about staking out the pricing for your competitors in the market while providing the best offers to your visitors. Here, make sure to remind your visitor of the quality of your product, making it worth its price!
- Website design: A user-friendly design is one of the first things that catches a visitor’s eye. An attractive website design although very important, might not mean much if a visitor finds it difficult to navigate, or find a product of related information. A confusing layout can also make a visitor abandon your site without making a purchase. Visually appealing, yet user-friendly websites can enhance customer experience and boost conversion rates.
- Use of marketing strategies: To actually increase conversion rates, you need to make sure you employ every effective play in the book! Effective marketing strategies can drive more traffic to your site and increase conversion rates. One of the most important marketing strategies is having a clear call to action.
Strategies to Improve Conversion Rates on Shopify
Now that we have covered the basics, let’s get into making some loyal customers!
#1 Be creative and craft up an irresistible storefront
First impressions are crucial. To turn a visitor into a customer, you first need to knock them out with your user-friendly and appealing website! Make sure that your website design aligns with your brand identity. For this, use brand colors, colors that you use in your logo. Keep a consistent tone of messaging along with the style of typography.
A clean navigation setup and intuitive search function can help a significant number of visitors get what they want effectively. This ultimately leads to higher conversion rates.
Pro-tip: Be sure that your website is mobile-friendly since a large number of shoppers use their mobile devices for online shopping.
#2 Improve Product Descriptions
Clearly define as many properties of your product as you can. This makes your product seem trustworthy. Your store, in turn, will gain a positive reputation for being thorough and real.
However, this does not mean you can go on to write paragraphs about the product! Be clear, concise, and to the point. Write about the material of the product, its sizes, and dimensions, how to use it, and any benefits or points that suggest durability.
Not only this but using high-quality images and videos can go a long way in winning the hearts of your potential customers. Say you’re showcasing a pretty table. Instead of simply placing it in front of a wall and clicking its picture, try showcasing it in a real-world setting.
This will help your potential customers visualize how they can use your product in their lives when they own it!
#3 Improve Website Speed
A slow website can be a big no-no for your visitors. It is one of the main reasons that lead your customers to abandon your site without even checking out your products!
One of the factors that decide the speed of your websites is the size of your images. Large images can significantly slow down your website. In that case, consider compressing the file size without compromising on the quality. As we know, quality images reel in customers!
Another point to look out for is the use of unnecessary plugins. They make your website complex and increase its loading time. Remember to use only essential plugins or add-ons.
You can also make use of Shopify tools to help you improve your website speed. Shopify’s online store speed report is an integrated tool that can analyze your store’s performance. It also provides you with some recommendations to improve speed. Another Shopify app called ‘Tiny: SEO’ can help you size your images and optimize them to complement the store loading speed as well as improve your SEO rankings.
#4 Use Social Proof
A never-to-be-missed ritual before buying any online product is to check its reviews. One of the most crucial points in converting a visitor into a customer is when the visitor checks reviews for your products.
A positive review or testimonial can help prove your credibility as a quality store and can quickly influence a visitor’s decision to make a purchase.
If you think some visitors might not take the effort to scroll lower and check out the reviews, Shopify now allows you to easily integrate customer reviews into your product pages!
#5 Offer Competitive Pricing
As we’ve said before, offer your visitors the best prices, while reminding them of the quality you uphold for every product. Remember to research your competitors’ pricing strategies and price your products competitively.
Offer discounts for first-time customers, seasonal deals, and even last-minute discounts to attract and convert visitors into customers!
#6 Offer Multiple Payment Options
Making the customer go through right when they’re about to check out can lead to cart abandonment. Minimize the number of steps they go through and offer multiple payment options. Shopify supports a variety of payment gateways, including credit cards, PayPal, and Apple Pay.
Offering flexible payment plans or financing options can also help boost conversions. These factors might seem negligible, but can significantly improve the checkout experience and increase conversions.
#7 Email Marketing
As visitors land on your page, try and direct them to sign up for a newsletter or email reminders. This helps you stay in touch with visitors who either did not complete making a purchase, or previous customers. Regularly send out newsletters to your email list. Provide posters or brochures about new products, sales, and other relevant information.
Another target for email marketing is to reach out to those who abandoned their cart without making a purchase. This can encourage them to come back and complete the purchase.
#8 Social Media Marketing
A strong social media presence is a must for any online store. Make sure to use different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even Pinterest! Post regularly on your social media platforms. Engage with your followers by responding to their comments and messages.
To widen your reach, host giveaways and contests, post quizzes, and take questions using the Instagram Story feature. Another way to reach a whole new audience through a trusted medium is to collaborate with influencers in your niche. They can help promote your products to their followers.
#9 Provide Customer Service
Let’s say your website visitor has a query that needs to be answered before they make the decision to purchase a product. In that case, having an accessible and responsive customer support service can hit the final nail in their decision-making process.
A pleasant resolution to their questions or issues can quickly build trust with the visitors, turning them into customers. Not only that, but it helps turn first-time customers into loyal customers!
A great idea to implement this is a tactic that Predis.ai used- the live chat feature that you can use for your website. This allows customers to get immediate help when they need it.
Pro Tip: Consider using chatbots for instant replies to the most common queries. This will come in handy, especially outside of regular business hours.
Wrapping up
To sustain and grow your online store, visitor conversion is a crucial step. However, just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, converting visitors into customers is not an overnight process. It requires a combination of effective marketing strategies, excellent customer service, and a user-friendly website design. By implementing these strategies, you can increase your conversion rate and boost your Shopify store’s sales.
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