The festive seasons arrive and the mayhem begins on ecommerce websites! Festivities apart, it is the busiest time of the year for brands! Stocks are replenished, social media efforts are at an all-time high, ad campaigns are running round the clock, broadcast messages sent every day, all in an effort to expand the customer base and increase the conversions on the website.
For brands that have been around for some time, the trick is well understood and safely tucked away to be used when the time is right! However, for newer brands, it’s a time for experimentation!
The question we often get is; How can we increase the conversion rate on our website during the sale season?
Well, if there was a cheatsheet, every other brand would be a Myntra now, wouldn’t they?
But, WAIT! Is there one?
YES and NO!
The knowledge is available for all who have the patience to try it out. The ecommerce business is no rocket science! You have a product/ service and you have a target audience that it will benefit, however, the trick is, how do you position yourself in a way that customers surpass all others and choose yours to spend their hard-earned money!
We’ve been in this business for over 3 years and we’ve seen it all when it comes to website changes for CRO. It’s great to experiment but bear in mind that experimentation comes at a cost, often too steep for new businesses to manage.
What if there was a way to combine the vast knowledge available on Google, with key industry insights from a tech development agency into an easy to read a blog that can help one boost their CRO efforts? Well, that’s what we’re here for!
Let’s begin.
The first thing one needs to understand is the psychology of the users. You will always have three kinds of customers; those who know your brand, understand its quality and will purchase, those who will not regardless of your efforts, and the third kind that needs that much-needed push!
Great! Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at something called the ecommerce conversion funnel. It’s been around forever and has been adapted to suit different needs, but the essence remains.
How can you implement this seemingly easy looking funnel onto your website to increase sales?
Let’s look at it step by step.
Firstly, let’s talk about; AWARENESS
The top of the funnel, often known as TOFU, includes all the activities you would invest in to create a buzz for your brand! Simply put, how do you ensure you stand out in a sea of countless others. Remember, visibility is key!
- Increased efforts on Social Media
- Investing in paid Online Ad campaigns
- Investing in paid Offline Ad Campaigns
- Venturing into collaborations with influencers
- Perfecting your SEO game
All of these efforts have an underlying CTA; to get the users to the main website! By ensuring that your TOFU efforts are top-notch, you are giving the users a reason so strong to view what more you have to offer, that they have to take the next step. A few ways to measure the success of your TOFU include, of course, conversions, but more importantly, bounce rate and scroll data. If these are too high, something is off on the page you’re customers are landing on.
This brings us to the second step; INTEREST
Sure, they liked what you had to show or say but that’s not enough to guarantee a sale. When users land on your landing page/ homepage, they’re looking for something that captures their attention. Fail to do that and they’ll bounce. So, what can you do?
- Implementing UI changes on the homepage (festive banners, festive imagery)
- Displaying best offers on the homepage
- Using timers counting down to sale or the end of the sale
- Displaying your best products on the homepage
- Reworking the UX to create a faster loading website
- Showcasing product collections
Well now that you’ve got the aesthetics in place, what’s the required push to ensure they go on to the product page?
This is where the third funnel step comes in; PREFERENCE
Your products can be chalk and cheese when compared to other brands or similar in all aspects, but giving users something so compelling that they have to visit your product page, is the secret to this step!
- Displaying key attractive offers
- Offering customizations in orders
- Offering DIY offers (gift boxes, pick and choose products, etc)
- Promoting cashback options
Bear in mind, the above-mentioned need to be clearly visible on your homepage. If users have to navigate to read these, it’s not happening.
So, you’ve got their attention and a key to their wallet.
How do you ensure that it fits in the sales lock?
The fourth step of the sales funnel; INTENT
You’ve given the users a reason to add to cart and proceed to checkout, but what’s the guarantee that post seeing the cart value they will not move on to other websites to find a similar product? This is where it becomes even more important to offer something enticing to tip the odds in your favor.
- Offering additional offers in the form of coupons
- Upselling with relevant products at a cheaper cost
- Giving offers on select bank payment methods
- Implementing attractive offers on in-app wallets
- Creating smaller checklists and registration forms
- Offering secure payment options
- Offering a variety of payment options
Now, you’ve gotten them to purchase from your website, is that it?
Of course not!
If they’ve purchased from you today, there are all the reasons in the world to believe they will want to continue doing so in the future, but you have to put your game here.
This brings us to the last step of the sales funnel; PURCHASE
Often known as the Bottom of the funnel or BOFU, it’s as important as TOFU. With so many competitors in the market, it’s quite easy to sway users, hence you have to give them a reason to come back to you!
- Offering exclusive time-bound offers
- Giving VIP passes to the next sale
- Offering short term bonuses added to in-app wallets
- Focusing on continuous email retargeting
Conclusion
The sales funnel is not a sure shot trick to conversion heaven, however, it encompasses all the major steps brands can take to ensure they are on the way to that sweet spot. Remember, the funnel is a strategy altogether, you cannot implement one step and hope it works. Different areas of your website are targeted throughout the funnel and one can only hope for success when each step is given the importance it deserves. Often, brands focus way too much energy on the TOFU funnels and ignore the slightly harder BOFU funnels as those require UI changes.
Remember, most ecommerce purchases are subconscious decisions.
It all depends on how well you can tap into the psyche of your user!
